Discovering Griffith Park. Casey Schreiner
If you look large and aggressive, they’ll back away. Stand up, open your jacket, and make a lot of noise.
•Create distance: While maintaining eye contact and making noise, slowly back away to give the lion space and an opportunity to escape. Remember not to turn your back, as that may trigger the lion’s hunting instinct.
Rattlesnakes
There are several species of snake that live in Griffith Park, and venomous Southern Pacific rattlesnakes are among them. As with the other animals here, rattlesnakes generally don’t want to see you as much as you don’t want to see them, but sometimes an accidental encounter can turn dangerous.
You can avoid getting a snakebite by:
•Wearing the right clothes: Don’t hike in flip-flops or open-toed shoes, and if you can, wear high boots and loose, long pants (which will also help protect you from the next critter I describe).
•Staying on the trail: Avoid tall, grassy areas where snakes may lounge during the day.
•Using trekking poles: Poles create extra vibrations on the ground that let snakes know something big is coming their way.
If you do happen to come across a snake on the trail, back away to give it room. Many snakes sense vibrations on the ground, so stomping around a bit may encourage it to move along without incident.
If you get bitten, stay calm, remove rings, watches, or any other items that may restrict swelling, and immobilize the bite area if you can. Contact the rangers at 323-644-6661 or call 911.
Ticks
On the more popular trails in Griffith Park, the wide paths and frequent foot traffic mean you’re not especially likely to encounter ticks—but they are here. If you find yourself deeper in the backcountry or hiking through an overgrown area, it’s worth your time to stop for a quick tick check afterward, especially in the warmer summer and fall months.
The best way to avoid a tick bite is to make it more difficult for them to get to you. Wear long sleeves and pants and light-colored clothing and tuck your pants into your socks if you don’t mind getting a citation from the fashion police. If you do get bitten by a tick, it’s gross but relatively easy to remove it with a pair of tweezers or a tick-removal tool. If you don’t have one of those available, you can wait until you get home or go to a walk-in clinic instead—even if the tick is carrying pathogens, most of the ones they transmit generally won’t enter your bloodstream until the tick has been attached for at least twenty-four hours.
Do not attempt to remove the tick by pulling on it with your fingers, putting rubbing alcohol on it, setting it on fire, or doing anything else.
Poison Oak
Often spotted in shadier areas and along canyon floors and arroyos, poison oak is common and widespread throughout Griffith Park as both a climbing vine and a short shrub. That old rhyming rule “leaves of three, let it be” stands true here. Every part of this plant—including the leafless branches—contains an oil (urushiol) that can cause itchy rashes on the skin. Symptoms last one to two weeks and can be treated with topical lotions, aloe vera, and antihistamines. Note that the oil can stick around on dogs, horses, or even clothing items, so if you think you came across some on your trip, it’s probably worth giving everything a good, thorough wash.
A bane of hikers everywhere, poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) is present throughout Griffith Park.
When the marine layer sits atop the L.A. basin, expect (and enjoy!) cool, gray mornings.
CLIMATE AND SEASONS
Newcomers and transplants are often confused and disappointed when they arrive and don’t get their distinct spring-summer-fall-winter rotations. The reality is, Los Angeles does have very clear seasons, but they’re more subtle than in other parts of the country. Spend some time here, though, and you’ll learn to read the changes in the weather and landscape, too.
Although L.A.’s image is often one of perpetual, perfect blue skies, visitors in the “June Gloom” season (which can also manifest itself as “May Gray,” “No-Sky July,” or “Fogust”) will be met by a low, dense marine layer of clouds off the Pacific Ocean that blankets much of the L.A. basin each morning through midafternoon. While those clouds may disappoint summer tourists, they provide welcome relief from brutal temperatures and can allow for tough midday hikes you wouldn’t be able to do later in the season.
10 FUN FACTS
ABOUT GRIFFITH PARK
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At over 4300 acres, Griffith Park is four times the size of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and five times the size of New York’s Central Park. |
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Griffith J. Griffith and his wife Mary Agnes Christina (Tina) Mesmer donated 3015 acres of Rancho Los Feliz to the City of Los Angeles as a Christmas gift on December 16, 1896. When the land was donated, the park was a mile north of the city limits of Los Angeles. |
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The original Hollywood Sign was built on Mount Lee in 1923, and read “Hollywoodland” to advertise a nearby housing development. It was expected to last only 18 months. |
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The Griffith Observatory opened in 1935 and is the most visited public observatory in the world. It is estimated that more people have looked through its Zeiss 12-inch refracting telescope than any other telescope in history. |
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The oldest building in the park, the Park Film Office, is the only surviving building from Rancho Los Feliz. Its exterior adobe walls date from 1853. |
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Griffith Park is said to have inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland. The innovative animator often spent time with his children at the circa-1926 merry-go-round. |
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Long a land of many uses, the park has been home |