A mountain range at the back of the neighborhood.

La Tuna Canyon Park is 1,100 acres of Verdugo foothill trail, waterfall, and ridgeline — reached, for most residents, by walking a few blocks from the front door. The park is one reason people move to the canyon and one reason they stay.

La Tuna Canyon Park

The park is managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), a joint-powers California state agency that holds and maintains many of the open-space parcels in and around the Santa Monica, Santa Susana, and Verdugo Mountains. At 1,100 acres, it is the canyon's largest single piece of protected open space, and the defining natural feature of the neighborhood.

The 2.2-mile La Tuna Canyon Trail

The main trail begins at the 8000 block trailhead and climbs 975 feet over 2.2 miles through oak- and sycamore-lined canyons to a ridgetop bench overlooking the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles. It is the best-known hike in the Verdugo Mountains and one of the most popular trail runs in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

The grade is moderate — not trivial, but manageable for anyone in reasonable walking shape. Sycamores shade the lower canyon; the middle third climbs a ridge spine with exposed sun; the upper third tops out at a small saddle where a well-placed bench looks back across everything you just climbed. On clear mornings the view extends from Catalina to the snow-line on Mount San Antonio.

The trail climbs through oak and sycamore-lined canyons up to the ridgetop. Majestic views of the San Gabriel Mountains, the San Fernando Valley, and downtown Los Angeles.

The Grotto

A secondary trail from the 8000-block parking area leads about a half-mile further up La Tuna Canyon Road to a spot called The Grotto — a deeply incised side canyon with steep walls, large overhanging trees, and a small seasonal waterfall that drops into a rock pool. It's the quietest corner of the park, shaded and unexpectedly cool in summer, and it's where residents take visitors who have heard the canyon is "just a hike" and don't yet understand why.

Verdugo Fire Road (Backbone Road)

At the top of the La Tuna Canyon Trail, the single-track joins the Verdugo Fire Road — also called Backbone Road — which runs east-west along the ridgeline for approximately thirteen miles, traversing nearly the full length of the Verdugo Mountains. From the junction at the top of La Tuna's climb, experienced hikers can continue east toward Mount Thom and Tujunga Peak, or west toward Burbank's Stough Canyon and the Wildwood Canyon trailhead system. The full Verdugo ridge traverse is about 13 miles of sustained ridge-running with one of the widest uninterrupted views anywhere in the basin.

Other canyon-accessible open space

Hansen Dam Recreation Area sits at the mouth of the Tujunga Wash, roughly three miles west of the La Tuna Canyon Park trailhead. The 1,300-acre flood-control basin behind Hansen Dam includes equestrian trails, fishing ponds, ball fields, two golf courses, and the Hansen Dam Aquatic Center. The basin reverts to its flood-control function during major storms; otherwise it operates as the eastern Valley's largest public recreation complex. See the Hansen Dam chapter for the history.

The Theodore Payne Foundation, at 10459 Tuxford Street, maintains hiking trails through its 22 acres of native-plant canyon landscape — open during nursery business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Usage and etiquette

The trail serves hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and horseback riders simultaneously. Standard multi-use trail etiquette applies: bikes yield to everything else, everyone yields to horses, and slower uphill has right of way over faster downhill. La Tuna Canyon Park is dog-friendly on leash; rattlesnakes, ticks, and poison oak all live here, so keep dogs close on single-track. In summer, hike early — the ridge bakes after mid-morning. After heavy winter rain, check for trail closures due to erosion or debris.