Tripping down a local trail

When we first moved to the Palos Verdes Peninsula fifteen years ago, I took almost daily walks through the surrounding area to get acquainted with it.  As I got more involved with renovating our garden, those long walks fell to the side, although I routinely walk my immediate neighborhood as general exercise.  Earlier this week I decided to make a trek along a nearby trail I probably haven't walked in at least ten years, despite the fact that the upper trailhead is literally just feet from the entrance to our neighborhood.  The loop is approximately two miles long and rated as a "moderate challenge," although my husband reminded me that it was steep in some spots.

The upper entrance doesn't have a trailmarker and doesn't look particularly auspicious

Agave attenuata and Pelargoniums spill down a steep slope to the side of the trail near the entrance.  The homeowners on the other (left) side of the trail have planted a large number of what look like Agave americana alongside their driveway, possibly in the interest of keeping trail visitors off their property.

The trail is maintained by the city.  I remembered it as choked by weeds and dense growth in spots when I traveled it years ago.  However, last year following the fires that plagued Los Angeles County, there'd been a concerted effort to clear area trails to ensure that they'd be passable in an emergency.

The first turn in the path directly aligns it with homes in my neighborhood.  Years ago when I walked this trail, some homes weren't fenced off but that's changed over time.

The home in the background here gained a new owner who almost immediately fenced off the property to prevent access from the trail

This house, directly below the first one, changed hands several years ago and the new owners also constructed a fence

This home, nearer to ours, still isn't fenced.  That lawn is faux turf.

In general, the trail path leads downwards in elevation, although here and there the path is flat and even inclined in sections.  I did slip in some steep spots with loose, dry soil early into my trek.  I didn't fall but I did slow my pace.  A brief description of the trail I found online indicates that there's a change of 469 feet in elevation from the trail's top to its bottom.

Most everything is still very green since the last rain in early January but I have to wonder if the city will be back to cut all that grass when it turns brown

Some portions of the trail were a bit claustrophobic 

This home, at least partially fenced, belongs to our next door neighbor on our north side.  All that green is comprised of Nasturtiums not yet in flower.  Her garden and the garden of our neighbor on the other (south) side of us both stretch along the back of our own garden, insulating us from direct contact with the trail.  

Some large drainage pipes lined sides of the path

As I walked on, I discovered debris and what looks like an AC unit deposited outside fences 

The property behind this fence is one I can see across the canyon from my back garden.  The platform visible just above the fence on the left sits at the top of the property I featured in a mid-September 2025 post on a hardscaping project I watched unfold (i.e., spied on).  As the trail veers to the right beyond this point, I couldn't see anything more of the garden.  However, based on what I can see from my backyard, there isn't evidence of new plants around the homeowners' expanded deck or raised walkway.

At this point on the trail, I lost any real sense of where I was.  There were a lot of tall trees and shrubs, as well as steep slopes on both sides of the path in places, especially to the right of where I stood here.

From a plant perspective, it wasn't the most interesting walk but it offered the occasional surprise and a quite a few native and adapted species.

I think this is an Asclepias physocarpa (aka hairy balls milkweed), mingled with what may be one of our native lemonade berry shrubs (Rhus integrifolia)

This is one of the many native tree-size toyon shrubs (Heteromeles arbutifolia) lining the trail

Some Yuccas I think, both dead and alive.  There was a fair amount of dead debris scattered along the trail.

Yellow daisies of some species I can't identify

One of many Opuntias

The trail's upper reaches were mostly shady but I slowly moved into sunnier stretches. 

This photo is a little fuzzy but I wanted to point our the steep cliff area in the middle of the shot

A giant but very dead Opuntia

Tree-size Euphorbia towering over shrubs lining the trail from a nearby garden as I ventured nearer to homes again

A back garden fenced in from the trail

There were a few homes that had stairways extending to the trail.  This one included a "no trespassing" sign.

This stairway looked almost too inviting

The entire area is dotted with trees and shrubs, including what looked like California pepper trees (Schinus molle). They grow like weeds here.

There were lots of gigantic Bougainvillea in the sunnier areas

A final garden that appeared semi-open to the trail

And a mammoth vine, possibly Vigna caracalla (aka corkscrew or snail vine), spilling over a stout tree or large shrub, possibly a Ligustrum by the look of its flowers

The end in sight!  Or at least my stopping off point to head back home.

The only trailmarker I saw on my entire hike

As this point intersected with a neighborhood I was loosely familiar with and which I knew would eventually drop me out on the main road back to my home, I exited the trail here.

This neighborhood has a lot of interesting homes, many with a Spanish flair.  The road is twisty and a little steep in places but I managed to navigate it reasonably well based on the walks I'd taken there years ago.

 

View from the main road looking down on the neighborhood adjacent to mine with harbor city areas in the distance

All things considered, despite my lousy right knee, it was a pleasant walk.  I didn't see a soul until I left the trail and, other than some distant sounds of garden tools in use, it was very quiet.  I may visit the sunny, grassy area of Friendship Park, just barely visible in the upper right of last photo sometime in February.  I haven't been there in years either.

Have a nice, hopefully news-neutral, weekend.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party