This park covers an average of 160 acres and is located in Los Angeles, California. The road heading to the park has prohibited its use by public motor vehicles as it runs through the park. The park contains quite a number of hiking trails having its highest point at 1320 feet. This point is called the ‘Indian Rock’ because of its closeness to residentials of Hollywood hence regular detections of celebrities.

History

This park was bought by Los Angeles City from its private owners in 1984. It was initially being used as a campsite or even a hunting ground for wild beasts. During the years, ownership of the property kept changing and in 1919, landed in the hands of Runyon. Runyon`s marriage failed and he ended up moving to Hollywood where he met Ellen Hunt. They fell in love and got married.

Ellen influenced Runyon into liking animals as she was a successful horsewoman and Runyon ended up using the land for riding and hunting. After naming the canyon, road and Carman drive after him, Runyon sold the land to John McCormack who later sold it to Huntington Hartford. Hartford faced a lot of opposition as he tried to renovate and bring changes to the place and ended up gifting it to the city of Los Angeles as public property in 1964 but was turned down.

In 2007, the Trust for Public Land spent $8.75 million to buy 14.9 acres of the property. They publicized the park and prohibited any construction that would cause obstructions on the land.

Walks and Trails

The park has five entrances all of which lead to different destinations in the Runyon Canyon. While going for a hike on the Canyon, there are three available routes namely; Runyon Canyon Road which is advised if you want an easy hike, the Star trail for the relatively medium hike experience, and the Hero trail that is mostly used by hikers looking to challenge themselves as it is the hardest.

Rock Mandala

This is a public artwork that is located in the park. It was created by the partnership between residents and Robert Wilson. It is mostly used for exercise and meditation purposes.

Management and access

During the construction of the park, facilities like parking areas were overlooked and this has caused a rise in complaints about overcrowding and lack of parking space for the residents visiting the area. This led to the closure of Vista Street Gate to the Canyon in order to curb the situation.

As much as the Canyon is public, dog owners in need to use the dog park are required to pay a small fee to maintain the Canyon. If you want to visit car museums, then you must check out Petersen Automotive Museum.