Welcome to the 4th installment of my dog-centric look at the Los Angeles River.
In Part 1, I covered the Western San Fernando Valley - from the Headwaters to the Sepulveda Basin Dog Park.
In Part 2, I took a thorough sniff of the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area.
In Part 3, I explored the Eastern San Fernando Valley - from Sepulveda Bl. in Sherman Oaks to Universal City.
Today we'll pick up where we left off and make our way toward what I call "The Great Bend"; where the river makes a sharp turn to the South on its way to the ocean.
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We last saw the river as it disappeared into the back lot of Universal Studios. From here it heads almost due East into Burbank and enters the back lot of Warner Brothers Studios, running parallel with Forest Lawn Drive. There is no public access anywhere along this stretch.
The next place where we can walk along the river is definitely off the beaten path. At the East end of the Warner Brothers lot, a security gate marks the the start of a trail used mostly by nearby residents and horse owners. You can reach this spot by parking as close as possible to the intersection of Valleyheart Dr. and California St. in Burbank (Thomas Guide 563 E5)
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| The Warner Brothers lot gate you've probably never seen... |
The path runs along the North side of the river for just over a mile until it dead ends where the 134 Freeway crosses the river. Along the way we'll pass a nice little park and a tunnel that takes us to the next leg of our journey:
BUENA VISTA PARK begins about 1/3 mile East of the Warner Brothers gate. Its a small park that is divided into two sections by Riverside Drive. It has plenty of plush grass, shady trees, picnic tables, benches and trash cans. Unfortunately, there is no water available and no poop bag dispensers.
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| I've been known to drink recycled water... just saying. |
There is an odd looking sculpture to check out and great views of the mountains surrounding the Forest Lawn cemetery. You can also see the Headworks Reservoir construction project, which will eventually have trails on the South side of the river to explore but that won't happen until 2018 at the earliest.
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| "Requiem", created by Erwin Binder in 1988, is dedicated to "Defenders of the Constitution" |
About 1/4 mile past the East end of the park, you'll find a tunnel that goes under the 134 Freeway. Walk through the tunnel and you'll come out near the rear entrance of the Disney Animation building. A new trail starts here and heads East. This trail is used heavily by horses so watch where you step!
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| There are no 'pick up the horse poop' rules, so watch where you put your paws! |
You won't be able to see the river for about 4/10ths of a mile but don't worry, it appears again after you pass the 134 as it crosses over the river. From there, continue on for another 1/4 mile until you reach the intersection of Valleyheart Dr. and Mariposa St.
Now the fun really begins...
At the end of Mariposa St., a bridge used by horses and their people crosses the river. From here we have a couple of options to continue exploring the river. Our first option is to not cross the bridge and take a path that begins on the East side of the bridge, leaving us on the North side of the river; OR we can cross the bridge and turn East to explore the South side.
Either way is a nice trip in itself and you can make it a loop hike by crossing the river or the Riverside Drive Bridge.
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| The horse bridge. |
*** THE NORTH SIDE ROUTE ***
Continue East past the bridge (don't cross it) and you'll be on a sandy trail that goes by the L.A. Equestrian Center. After approximately 6/10ths of a mile, the trail will bend to the North as you run into the junction of the L.A. River and the Burbank Western Channel - a tributary of the L.A. River that begins near Sunland. Almost immediately you'll see another horse bridge that crosses the channel. Cross that bridge to resume your journey Eastward.
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| I'm calling this section the 100 Horse Trail because you'll see at least that many on the weekend. |
Now you're at the West end of the Bette Davis Picnic Area, near the intersection of Western Ave. and Rancho Ave. in Glendale. At this point you've traveled about 1 mile from the Mariposa St. horse bridge.
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| The West end of the Bette Davis Picnic Area |
Stay to your right and follow the trail and you'll quickly come to an opening in the fence that allows access to the river. This is the first place where we can wet our paws since we left the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area all the way back in Sherman Oaks (Read Part 2 of my L.A. River blog). Its time for some serious splashing!
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| Remember to pack a towel or the dog will make a big mess in the car on the way home. |
From this point we have two options for exploring the North side of the river. One is to walk along the river itself; the other is to cut through the Bette Davis Picnic Area, then walk along a bike path:
*** North Route Option 1 - Along the River:
Once you walk down to the river just follow it downstream, walking slightly askew along the concrete embankment. You've now entered the section of the river known as The Glendale Narrows. Enjoy the cool water and watch the many birds that take advantage of this riparian zone in the middle of America's second biggest city.
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| You're likely to see ducks, geese, egrets, coots, and many other species of birds... |
About 1/4 mile downstream you'll pass under the Riverside Drive Bridge, the first in a series of 14 historic bridges that cross the river between here and Washington Bl. in downtown L.A.
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| Making my way East past the Riverside Drive Bridge. |
Another 1/4 mile of walking takes you under the 5 Freeway near its junction with the 134 Freeway.
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| I'll bet those people stuck in traffic up there have no idea how nice it is down here |
You can continue downstream for about another 1/4 mile until the embankment becomes too steep to walk on and the river takes makes its hard right turn Southward toward the Pacific.
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| Approaching the end of the line as the river turns South. |
*** North Side Option 2 - The Park and the Riverwalk:
From the West end of the Bette Davis Picnic Area, enter the park and enjoy the well kept grass, dozens of shady trees, picnic benches, and a public restroom.
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| A perfect spot for a cookie break. |
The park is divided into two sections by Riverside Drive, so you'll need to cross the road over to the second section in order to continue our journey.
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| Both sides of the Bette Davis Picnic Area have lots of nice grass to roll in. |
Once you've entered the second section, walk to the Southern end of it (near the intersection of Garden St. and Paula Ave.) and enter the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk Park. This beautiful little park is the entrance to a 1/2 mile bike and pedestrian path that follows the river along the top of its concrete embankment. There are picnic benches, poop bag dispensers, and educational signage along the entire path.
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| You can get some exercise and an education at the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk |
The path ends on Flower St. close to where the river makes it's sharp turn to the South. You can return the way you came, however, about 3/4 of the way down the path there is access to the river itself, letting you make a loop hike while always being on the North side of the river.
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| Flower St. entrance gate to the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk |
*** THE SOUTH SIDE ROUTE ***
To visit the South side, cross the horse bridge at the end of Mariposa then turn East. In a few hundred yards you'll be on a paved path that eventually takes you to the Riverside Dr. Bridge, just over a mile away. Along the way you'll pass Tunnel 6 which goes under the 134 Freeway and into Griffith Park.
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| Griffith Park is too big to cover in this blog, but I'll be posting one all about Griffith Park very soon. |
Shortly after you pass Tunnel 6, the fence separating you from the river opens up and you'll have access to the water just as you enter The Glendale Narrows.
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| Ahhh, back to the river and all the wonderfully smelly things within it. |
Once you reach the Riverside Drive bridge you have two options on how you can proceed. One is continuing alongside the river; the other is to take the very popular Glendale Narrows Bike and Pedestrian path:
*** South Side Option 1 - Along the River
Similar to the North side, from here its another 1/4 mile to the 5 Freeway near its junction with the 134 Freeway.
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| To continue along the river we have to walk under the bridge. |
Another 1/3 of a mile of walking takes you the bend in the river, where the embankment gets too steep to continue. This is where the river ends its West to East journey and its the perfect place for us to turn around.
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| The wall at the "Great Bend" and the freeway interchange mark the end of the line. |
*** South Side Option 2 - The Bike Path
Cross under the Riverside Drive bridge and walk up the embankment to the entrance of what's known as the Glendale Narrows/Elysian Vally Bike Path, which runs close to 7 1/2 miles from here to Egret Park on Riverside Dr.
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| Bike path entrance from the Riverside Dr. Bridge |
You'll pass under the 5 Freeway on your way toward the river's turn to the South, all the while having access to the river through the gaps in the fence. When you reach the "Great Bend", the fence will no longer allow access to the river due to the steep embankment I mentioned earlier.
As with the other possible routes to this point, this is where we end today's trip. We'll pick up our journey from this point in my next blog about the river.
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| The fence begins to restrict access to the river here - our starting point for Part 5 of my LA River exploration. |
Well, that's it for our 4-part, West to East journey along the LA River.
Subscribe to my blog and join me as I explore the North to South section and many other fun places for dogs and their pack to enjoy in our great city.
See you on the river!
Chloe Canine-Angeleno
Resources used to write this blog:
Down By The Los Angeles River by Joe Linton
The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth by Blake Gumprecht
KCET
All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross
Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.
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