SweetSlinky's Walking in L.A. Maps

  Make your way to Whittier for a walk that's well worth the drive. The small city in Southeast L.A. County has everything you'd want for a day trip. Charming homes, a lovely college campus, a bustling main drag, and good restaurants. The route is a mixture of hills, stairs, and flat stretches. Not easy, but not too strenuous. Post-walk I recommend a meal at Bizarra Capital which Jonathan Gold called "A dreamland mexican-style gastropub" Before you go - The 5.5 mile route starts off challenging with steep hills and stairs. Once past Whittier College it's mostly flat. There is street parking and a restroom at the start. The next restroom isn't until the 3 mile point unless you manage to get into one of the buildings on the college campus.  Cat sightings are common on this route. Keep you eyes open for them. Some may even be friendly. John Greenleaf Whittier, the town's namesake, never came to visit.  Whittier College has a lovely campus complete with some c...

  My expectations for this walk were low. The main goal was to escape the heat of the San Gabriel Valley for the day. My resources for finding points of interest (The Gebhard Winter Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, LA conservancy, Atlas Obsura, etc) were drawing a blank. Luckily, on a previous visit to the area I had learned that Play del Rey is home to L.A. county's smallest bar - The Harbor Room. That was something I could work with. The route turned out to be so enjoyable that we returned to it a few days later with a friend. I got distracted talking and missed a turn leading us to discover two pedestrian walkways that made the walk even better.   Before you go - The 6 mile route is moderately challenging with a few hills here and there.  There is plenty of street parking near the start. There is no public restroom until you get to the beach at around the 2.5 mile point. You could probably get away with using the facilities at Prince O'Whales or The Shack and yo...