Day 4
7/13/2019
No trip to Hollywood would be complete without a trip to the famous Hollywood sign! The hostel I was staying at, offered a free walking tour up to the Hollywood sign every Saturday. The tour started at 11 AM, and in my opinion, was at the worst time possible. By the time we made it up to the top, it was midday and peak temperatures. This made the journey up to the sign rather unbearable.
Getting to the Hollywood Sign
We started the tour by taking the DASH bus from Hollywood Boulevard up to the corner of Beachwood Drive and Westshire Drive. I appreciated that the DASH bus had cheaper fare at only $0.50 versus the traditional $1.75 bus fare. Once off the bus, we trekked up the rest of the way to the Hollywood Sign Viewing point.
Directions for those visiting:
Take the DASH bus from the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street heading north. Ride the bus until the last stop at the corner of Beachwood Drive and Westshire Drive. Cross the road and continue up North Beachwood Drive on foot. Take a left onto Ledgewood Drive. At the top, stay to the right and continue onto Deronda Drive. Stay on Deronda Drive until you reach the dead-end at the top. You will come up to two gates. Between the two gates, there is a gated door on the right you will walkthrough. There will be two roads. The road on the left will bring you to the overview. The road to the right will be much longer and will bring you to above the sign.
*Something to note. This is a residential area so please be respectful of those that live there. Many of the tour guides, while I was in LA, mentioned the residents have tried to get the sign removed due to all the tourists visiting. (But seeing as the sign has been there 90 years, I am guessing the sign was there before the residents were, so they knew what they were signing up for when they purchased the house. However common sense is visitors should be respectful of private property, parking, and noise).
The Hollywood Sign Viewpoint
The overview is a large dirt patch where you can get an amazing view of the Hollywood Sign.
The view over Los Angeles would have been amazing from this spot as well, however, the smog was atrocious! Due to the smog, you could barely see downtown LA. As I mentioned above, it was not the best time of day to visit due to the sun and heat. The overview is a dirt field that offers zero shade. After the intense hike up there, standing in the beating sun was not the most enjoyable. I recommend bringing extra water!
A few members of our group continued up to the viewing area above the sign. Per our guide, it is an additional 45-minute hike…with zero shade. It would have been a great overview, however, with the smog being so dense and the sun overbearing, the hike would not have been worth it. On a clear day, I think it would be an amazing view!
Griffith Observatory
The smothering smog continued when I decided to visit the Griffith Observatory later that night. I was going to take the bus up to the Observatory to watch the sunset but realized I had gotten the time wrong for the sunset. So instead, I took an Uber to get there on time.
I barely made the sunset because the west entrance to the observatory was closed, so had to go to the east entrance. There was also an event going on at the Greek Theater as well as the Observatory, so the traffic was horrendous! It was bumper to bumper traffic up to the top. It got to the point where I ended the ride early and walked the rest of the way up. Word of advice: always make sure to check the event calendar before visiting.
When I reached the Griffith Observatory, it was mobbed! Unknown to me, one Saturday a month the Observatory hosts a free Public Telescope Star Party, and it happened to be the night I went. The public can view the sun, moon, and stars through the observatory’s telescopes, as well as the telescopes of the Los Angeles Astronomical Societies’ located on the front lawn. The lines were insane to use the telescopes, so I did not even bother. The main purpose for being there was to view the sunset and the nightlights of downtown LA. I was able to view the sunset with only minutes to spare over the mountains. I then waited around to see the lights start to come on in downtown LA. However, because the smog was so bad, I was not able to see downtown.
No way to leave
Due to the events taking place at the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theater, trying to get down from the mountain was impossible. I decided to take the DASH bus back to Hollywood Boulevard, however, the line was so long waiting for the bus, I had to wait an hour and a half to get on the bus! I then decided to just Uber from the base of the mountain to the hostel as it was getting pretty late out.
Visiting the Griffith Observatory was a great experience, but I just wish I had reviewed the events calendar and went on a night it was less busy. It is a beautiful building and I am sure the view would be amazing if there was no smog.
