trail to bee rock
from the parking lot, you're not exactly next to the bee rock trailhead. walk out of the parking entrance and turn right (west) along the closed-off road. u'll see the bridle trail on your left that veers straight. take that road up the little incline. u'll see a large tree just a few yards up. turn right into the narrow trail in front of the tree (u can't miss it). u'll be going north on that trail. keep walking along that dirt trail as it widens, twists and turns. on your left and right, u'll see abandoned animal cages from the old l.a. zoo (they say). u'll pass a park area with benches and hoops for disc/frisby-golf. keep winding along the trail (it's a brisk walk on flatland). as you wind left, u'll finally come across a tall fence (pictured above). go through the fence to get to the uphill trail leading to bee rock. at the top of the trail is a sign pointing left to bee rock. take that narrow trail up the hill. at your first fork in the road, be sure you go right on the trail. it looks like the left option goes straight, but that's not the trail to take (unless you prefer a more challenging steep climb to the rock). some parts of the trail have supported wooden steps. once u're finally at the top of the trail, turn left to bee rock. it gets a bit windy up there, but u're safe as the whole area is fenced off. please don't litter. there's graffiti on some rocks that leaves u questioning how graffiti artists managed to reach them. oh well.

steep trail up to dante's peak (part of the loop adventure)
you can either turn back on the same trail you came up OR...do the more challenging loop trail that we carved out ourselves <grin, j/k>. rather than going down the same trail, take the steps up to the fire/paved road. can't miss 'em. turn left at the road. walk about a block or two and you'll see a trash can on your right. turn right in that area and walk behind the trees. there u'll find a tiny narrow trail. be sure u're wearing a good pair of hiking shoes with traction. this trail is incredibly steep and in many parts dangerous with loose gravel. u'll find urself crawling to the top. continue with caution. some parts of it also have wooden steps to facilitate the climb. three-quarters of the way up, u'll find a little bench by a tree to rest. u're nearly homefree at that point with just one or two more uphill climbs with still more loose gravel. alas! the top! kiss the ground. (check out how filthy your arms and fingers are!...showered in dirt!) it's a fabulous feeling to make it to the top.

dante's peak/griffith ridge trail/observatory
so now u're at the top. u're actually at a dirt road intersection. going right (northbound) will lead u to the trail towards the hollywood sign. going left upwards (westbound) takes u to dante's peak and going left downwards (southwestbound) takes u to the drinking fountain next to the patch of trees and benches (which is along the griffith park ridge trail). choices, choices. do whatever, but if u want to get back on the loop we did (after we ventured up to dante's peak for a view of the westside), then head back towards the drinking fountain. along the left side of it is the dirt road that leads you towards the griffith ridge trail (southeastbound). run it! it's plenty fun, just watch ur step. u'll get stunning views of the l.a. basin on ur right and valley views on ur left. u'll reach a slim land bridge. cross over it. stop. to ur left is "henry's trail". don't go up there (unless u want to). if u look down on ur left, u'll see the fire road maybe 20 feet below u. we don't recommend that u do this, but we did it...it's rather slippery, but not impossible. u may have to jump a couple feet. look down and u'll see a tiny dirt trail that has a thin waterpipe intersecting it. this is the trail we took down to the fire road. watch ur step as there is loose rock and gravel. prepare to get dirty (again). it's not too bad. now that u're back on the fire road, go right. keep walking maybe less than a block and u'll see a thick waterpipe on your left. that's the trailhead to a small downhill trail that connects you to the bridle equestrian trail which eventually brings you right back where you started...the parking lot! (3 hours later)...oh yeah, when u see the bridle trail, just go left on it. we ran it all the way down. break a sweat. near the bottom, the trail starts to go uphill again. just be sure u turn right on the perpendicular road before it goes uphill. u'll see the road to the parking lot just in front of you.