15 Best Hikes in Los Angeles, From Malibu to Mount Baldy | Condé Nast Traveler

"The eight mile out-and-back Brown Mountain Dam Waterfall hike is moderately strenuous, but the trek through the foothills of San Gabriel gives as much as it takes. Scamper past the tranquil Paul Little Memorial and Gould Mesa Trail Camp, the nexus of which is a great place to rest and refuel, and start on the Gabrielino Trail near the Arroyo Seco. Shortly thereafter, the trail will spit you out at Brown Mountain Dam, where the cascading falls plunge into a calm pool filled with (slippery) mossy concrete below the dam. Because of the trail's rollercoaster-esque ups and downs and sporadic rocky outcroppings, the hike is suitable for hikers who are looking for moderate distance and mixed terrain; it's good to pencil in at least three hours for it." - Maxwell Williams