Best Sunrise Hikes in Los Angeles: Six Dawn Climbs and the Gate Times That Decide Them
For years, the default answer to where to watch the sun come up over Los Angeles was Echo Mountain. That answer no longer works. The Eaton Fire Area Closure has shut Echo Mountain and the trails around it through the end of 2027, and the closure is enforced. So this guide to the best sunrise hikes in LA starts from a practical question: where can you legally be on a trail at first light, and what does the gate, lot or road let you do? We picked six climbs from our own Los Angeles trail guides, from a 3-mile city summit in Griffith Park to an 11-mile push up Mount Baldy, and checked each one against the managing agency's posted hours. Some let you start in the dark. Others don't open until sunrise, which makes them early-light hikes rather than summit sunrises, and we'll tell you which is which. Stats come from our guides, and the opening times come from city and Forest Service pages.
Echo Mountain is closed, and why that changes the LA dawn map
Forest Order 05-01-26-04, the Eaton Fire Area Closure, runs from January 7, 2026 through December 31, 2027. It names the Echo Mountain Trail, all three sections of the Sam Merrill Trail, the Mount Lowe West Trail and the Mount Lowe Trail (East), along with Idlehour and Castle Canyon. Our guides also list Eaton Canyon, Millard Falls, Henninger Flats and Bailey Canyon as closed after the fire. Don't plan a dawn hike on any of them, and don't try to slip past the signs in the dark. The Mt. Wilson Trail out of Sierra Madre is only partly open. The lower section toward Orchard Camp has reopened, but the upper trail and the Toll Road below it are closed through December 31, 2027, so it can't get you to the summit for sunrise. That pushes LA's early risers west to Griffith Park and the Verdugos, and north into the front range and high country of the San Gabriels. Each of those areas runs on a different clock, so work out your start from the gate time first, not from sunrise.
Know which clock your trailhead runs on
There are four patterns on this list. Griffith Park opens at 5 a.m. Burbank's Verdugo trails open at sunrise. The Red Box lot on Angeles Crest Highway posts day-use hours from 6 a.m. National forest trailheads like Stone Canyon and the Mt Baldy Village start have no posted gate at all, but they still require an Adventure Pass or interagency pass where the Forest Service charges a fee. Look up sunrise for your date with the NOAA calculator and plan from whichever clock applies.
Mt Hollywood: the city summit you can reach before sunrise
Mt Hollywood is the one hike on this list where you can legally be climbing in full darkness inside the city. The City of Los Angeles opens Griffith Park daily from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and closes all trails at dusk, so a 5 a.m. start is allowed. From the Griffith Observatory area the route is about 3 miles round trip with roughly 600 feet of gain on a mix of fire road and single-track, with signed junctions. The 1,625-foot summit has a 360-degree view: east toward the San Gabriels as they light up, south over downtown, and northwest to the Hollywood Sign. Our guide notes that Catalina can appear on the horizon after rain or a Santa Ana clears the air. The terrain is open and exposed, which works for you at dawn, before the sun reaches the south-facing slopes. Download an offline map first, because there are many junctions and cell signal can drop near the top. Carry a liter of water even in cool months. Coyotes, mule deer and rattlesnakes all live in the park, so watch your footing and keep dogs leashed.
Parking at dawn and the shuttle that isn't running yet
The Observatory's pay-and-display parking only charges from noon to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. on weekends, so a sunrise arrival doesn't hit the meter window. The DASH Observatory/Los Feliz bus runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., so it won't get you there for dawn. You'll need to drive, get dropped off, or walk up from Los Feliz.
The Verdugos: early light over the San Fernando Valley
The City of Burbank opens the Stough Canyon trails from sunrise to sunset, and warns that they can close at any time for fire, high wind, rain or heat. That makes the Verdugos an early-light hike rather than a summit sunrise. You start as the sky brightens and climb while the valley below is still in shade. Look out for these closures in autumn. Burbank's newsroom posted on July 28, 2026 that the Stough Canyon and Wildwood Canyon trails had reopened to the public, so check again before every trip.
Verdugo Peak via Stough Canyon
From the Stough Canyon Nature Center at the top of Walnut Avenue, our guide's route climbs about 7 miles round trip with 1,700 feet of gain on a steady fire road to the Verdugo summit ridge. There's no permit. The grade is even, which makes it easy to keep moving in low light, and the ridge looks out over downtown, the valley and, after winter storms, snow on the San Gabriels. Bring a layer for the wind on top.
Stough Canyon for a shorter morning
If you want to be back for work, turn around at the upper ridge junction. That's about 4 miles round trip with 1,100 feet of gain, and it has the best views on the lower trail, over Burbank, Griffith Park and downtown. The Nature Center lot is small and free, there are restrooms when the center is open, and street parking on Walnut Avenue takes the overflow.
Front-range climbs: Mt Lukens and Strawberry Peak
These two are in the Angeles National Forest, so the rules differ from city parks. Both give you a big climb with the basin opening up below as the light comes.
Mt Lukens via Stone Canyon
This is the hardest dawn climb on the list after Baldy: about 9 miles round trip with 3,400 feet of gain on exposed fire road, with the steepest pitches in the last mile. You reach the trailhead from La Canada Flintridge via Big Tujunga Canyon Road, where there's only a small pullout. Our guide says to start before sunrise in warmer months, because there's almost no shade on the upper half and it gets dangerously hot by 9 a.m. It records no Adventure Pass requirement at this trailhead but tells you to check the Forest Service site, as rules can change. Set a firm turnaround time and use poles for the descent.
Strawberry Peak from Red Box
The Forest Service lists day-use hours at Red Box from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and parking needs an Adventure Pass ($5 a day or $30 a year) or an America the Beautiful pass. That rules out a summit sunrise for most people, but the 7-mile, 1,600-foot route makes an excellent early-light ridge walk. The ridge route includes class 2 scrambling, and our guide calls Strawberry the most underestimated summit in the front range. Ice on the rock in winter turns it into a technical problem. Check Angeles Crest Highway status before you leave home.
High country: Mount Baldy and the Angeles Crest closure
The highest dawn hike in LA County is Mount Baldy. Our guide's route from Mt Baldy Village through the Baldy Bowl and over the Devil's Backbone is about 11 miles round trip with roughly 3,900 feet of gain, and it's a full-day commitment. Few people time the summit for sunrise. A more realistic plan is a headlamp start that has you in the bowl or on the Backbone as the first light hits the ridge, with the summit later in the morning. Parking fills by 7 a.m. on busy weekends, and you need an Adventure Pass or interagency pass. Our guide picks October and early November as the best months for clear, cool air. Pack warm layers, because the summit can be 20 to 30 degrees colder than the valley. From winter into spring, the Backbone under ice is mountaineering terrain that needs crampons, an ice axe and experience, and Mt Baldy Road can close after early snow. There's another reason Baldy is on this list. Caltrans currently shows Angeles Crest Highway closed for emergency repairs from 3.3 miles east of Newcomb's Ranch through Islip Saddle to Vincent Gulch, which cuts off the usual approaches to Mount Islip and Mt Baden-Powell.
Why we left Islip and Baden-Powell off for now
Both are superb dawn summits, and both are covered in our guides. But Islip Saddle sits right at the closure line, and the Vincent Gap approach to Baden-Powell is next to it. Until Caltrans lifts the SR-2 closure, check its road-information page before planning either. Snow usually closes the highway from late November anyway.
Autumn dawns: Santa Anas, red flags and who you hike with
Autumn brings LA's clearest mornings. Our Mt Hollywood guide notes that Catalina can show up after a Santa Ana scours the air. But the same wind raises fire danger, and that changes which trails are open. Burbank closes its Verdugo trails for fire and wind without much warning. When we checked, the Forest Service had raised fire danger in the Angeles National Forest to Very High. Before a dark start, check the city or forest page that morning, not the night before. Start times matter more at dawn than at any other hour. A partner who shows up 20 minutes late can cost you the best light, and a pace mismatch on a dark fire road means someone either rushes or waits in the cold. Agree on your meeting time, turnaround point and pace before the alarm goes off. On longer climbs like Lukens and Baldy, consider hiking in a group rather than as a pair, since cell coverage in the San Gabriels is patchy and help can be a long way off. Tell someone outside the group where you've parked and when you expect to be back.
Pre-dawn kit for LA trails
A headlamp with fresh batteries and a backup light is essential, since Mt Hollywood's junctions and Strawberry's scramble are hard to read in the dark. Bring a wind layer for the Verdugo ridge and Baldy's summit, plus gloves from November on. Carry more water than the distance suggests on Lukens. Keep your Adventure Pass on the dashboard before you reach a forest trailhead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Echo Mountain open for sunrise hikes?
No. Echo Mountain Trail, the Sam Merrill Trail and the Mount Lowe trails are named in Forest Order 05-01-26-04, the Eaton Fire Area Closure, which runs through December 31, 2027. Entry is prohibited. For an early start close to the city, Mt Hollywood in Griffith Park opens at 5 a.m.
Which LA trails let you start before sunrise?
Griffith Park opens at 5 a.m., so Mt Hollywood works as a true sunrise summit. Forest trailheads like Stone Canyon for Mt Lukens and Mt Baldy Village for Baldy have no posted gate, but they need a pass where fees apply. Red Box opens at 6 a.m., and Burbank's Verdugo trails open at sunrise.
What's the easiest sunrise hike in LA?
Mt Hollywood is the most approachable: about 3 miles round trip with 600 feet of gain on signed fire road and single-track, and the park opens at 5 a.m. Stough Canyon's 4-mile turnaround is a good choice in the Verdugos, though those trails open at sunrise, so you'll be climbing in early light.