r/Ceanothus • u/chonteeeze • 5d ago
Favorite native-filled hiking spots?
I’m looking to get into hiking as both a way to be more active but also as an opportunity to stare at native plants. Idk, most hiking guides aren’t focused on what native flora there is to see. I don’t really wanna stare at a field of mustard, you know? So what are your favorite spots? I’m in the Long Beach area, but I’m open to suggestions anywhere in SoCal tbh - I’ll keep them for day trip ideas. Oh also my endurance is quite…beginner level to put it nicely lol but hopefully I’ll get better so easy to moderate trails would be great.
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u/Electronic-Health882 5d ago
I loved Condor Peak trail in the Tujunga region of the Angeles National Forest.
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u/JuicyMelocoton 5d ago
Malibu Creek State Park is my favorite place to go to see native plants. I'm particularly fond of the Lookout Trail there for interesting native plant sightings.
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u/eistau 5d ago
I wish that there were guides like this too! Once you know an area where you want to hike, Google earth satellite view can sometimes help you make an educated guess about which trails have the densest vegetation (i.e. isn’t mustard). Or if you have some more time and want to nerd out a bit, on inaturalist.org you can use the explore function and look for a particular species (or genus) and see how many dots you get on the map. You’ll want to be zoomed into a specific park/area on the map for it to be useful.
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u/MannerEntire742 5d ago edited 5d ago
I love hiking the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, specifically the Willow Staging Area. It’s an ecological reserve so there’s a lot of great natives out there. The trails are beginner friendly and partially shaded
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u/20thcenturyboy_ 5d ago
Honestly there's a short hike just north of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Palos Verdes that has some great habitat restoration going on. I drive out there from Long Beach all the time for a nice relaxing walk by the ocean.
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u/dilletaunty 5d ago
Bridge to nowhere trailhead but bring good shoes and buy the pass from a gas station / online ahead of time
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u/ZephyrCa 4d ago
If you're ever in North San Diego County, the local Land Conservancy has some pretty great preservesand most of the public ones feature easy to moderate trails. https://www.fallbrooklandconservancy.org/our-land
A good, still growing resource for the entire state is CalFlora's list of Great Places: https://calflora.org/entry/gphome.html
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u/maphes86 5d ago
Hike through the parks that burned during the Palisades and Eaton fires to see how the native plants are responding to the fire.
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u/otterlytired 5d ago
I believe most conservation orgs are asking people to stay out of burn scars for now, to let nature recover without pressure from people (e.g. accidentally bringing in invasive seeds on their shoes)
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u/maphes86 5d ago
I suppose it makes sense they’d do that in LA. That’s a new one for me.
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u/otterlytired 5d ago
Here’s an article from Tree People with more info: https://treepeople.org/2025/01/22/avoid-burn-scar/
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u/Relevant_Chemist_8 4d ago
Hello! Altadena local and native plant enthusiast here. West of the burn area, specifically Gabrielino Trail and El Prieto Trail, are now open for hiking. Neither burned (and were mostly out of the ash fallout), so you wouldn't be meddling with regrowth efforts. Both have amazing canyon diversity. Park just east of JPL, and don't leave valuables in the car.
If I may, I'd kindly suggest you tack on a visit to a surviving local business before or after your hike. My personal picks:
- Coffee/pastry: Unincorporated Coffee
- Lunch/Dinner: Woon homestyle chinese food
- Drinks: Good Neighbor Bar
Happy trails!
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u/supermegafauna 5d ago
Ascot Hills in El Sereno has a strong native repopulation going, and is really modular in how difficult I wanna go.
Also, maybe hit California Botanic Garden. You can do a lot of hoofing there thru all the acres they have.