If you want dramatic mountain views, this is the place to find them. Even the roads going through this 10,000-acre park are treacherous. You can follow Malibu Creek to … the ocean for an easier hike, or you can take on Udell Gorge or the Goat Buttes if you're in the mood for a challenge. The 5-mile hike along Crags Road will redeem even the most debauched weekend. [link]

This hike takes you along an isolated section of the beach, then up to the peak of the point, where you can look out over the ocean and the Channel Islands. If you keep … going, you can follow the beach through Dume Cove and over to Paradise Cove, where there's a cute little restaurant with several kinds of mojito on the menu. Oh, or you can look for whales, if you're into that. [link]

This 130-acre park is great for spotting celebrities, so if you've ever wondered what Adam Brody looks like when he jogs, now's your chance to find out. Runyon Canyon was … the planned site of the failed Outpost development, and if you hike up the east side of the park you can see pieces of the old Outpost sign (a red neon monstrosity that makes the Hollywood sign look tasteful) lying forgotten in the chaparral. On a clear day--meteorologists estimate that there are now 1.2 per year--you can see all the way to the ocean. [link]

Just above the Will Rogers beach at Sunset and Temescal Canyon Road, the most popular trail in this park is especially notable for being wooded, a rarity in Los … Angeles. If you can make it past the waterfall, you'll find most of your fellow hikers have given up, and for a few precious moments you'll be able to pretend you're far from civilization. Coming back down there are great views of the Palisades and the ocean; the trail is a four-mile loop, so if you find yourself heading downhill, don't worry about turning around. Just enjoy the scenery. [link]

Easily accessible from Los Feliz Boulevard and recently famously aflame, Griffith Park is one of the biggest city parks in the country. You might even be able to persuade … yourself you're not in LA for stretches of ten to twenty seconds at a time, until a fifty-year-old woman with a better body than yours jogs by in short shorts. (When she laps you for the third time you'll know it's time to go home.) From some of the parks' peaks you can see downtown, Hollywood, and the valley all at the same time. The park is also home to Griffith Observatory, known for being not nearly as interesting as you think it's going to be the first time you go. [link]

If you've ever wanted to get a picture of the Hollywood sign from a less standard angle, this is just about the only way to do it. To start this hike, drive to the end of … Beachwood and park at the Sunset Ranch. Take the Hollyridge trail (it's clearly marked) and when it splits after about half a mile, follow it west. You'll eventually wind up on an access road that will drop you just above the famous sign. It's a good enough workout to almost justify the In n Out you'll gorge yourself on later. [link]