Runyon Canyon

On our list of the best activities in Los Angeles.

An east-side descent from this canyon's summit passes the remains of the Outpost Sign, a 30-foot neon sign built in 1927 to advertise a hillside housing development and switched off for good during World War II blackouts. Further down, the trail cuts through old tennis courts and building foundations left from its days as private estate land, before the city opened it as a park in 1984. Three entrances lead in: Fuller and Vista at the bottom, Mulholland at the top, with dogs running off-leash past the upper gate. On a clear winter day the ridge trail reaches views out to the Pacific.