Today I thought I’d share some photos from one of our hikes last month — The Portuguese Bend Trail on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
We got up early one Sunday morning with the neighbors and brought the pups with us for a hike before settling down to watch hockey playoffs and eat Baked Mac N Cheese all afternoon long 😉
This is one of my favorite hikes in the Southbay area because it’s so different depending on what time of year you go. Last year when we went in early March, it was full of bright wildflowers and overgrown trails..it didn’t even feel like LA! This time around, in April, the wildflowers weren’t there, but instead there was this crazy marine layer of fog that overtook the coast and trails. It was really neat…it felt like we were hiking up in the clouds…
the trail last March^^
the trail this April^^
The trail itself is approximately 4.5 miles, but you can make it longer or shorter depending on which loops you choose to do or not to do — which is another reason why I love it so much…you can take a different route every time you go! It’s actually an inverted hike — meaning you begin the trail by hiking down the mountain, and you end by hiking back up. There’s a little park at the head of the trail — Del Cerro Park — with a few parking spaces, but otherwise there’s plenty of street parking off of Crenshaw. Make sure you bring lots of water (especially if you have pups with you!) because there isn’t much shade cover throughout the hike. There is one porta-potty about a quarter of a mile into the trail.
Whichever loops you do decide to take, you’ll be rewarded with plenty of ocean views and geological scenery…we sure are lucky to have reserves like this set aside in otherwise a pretty sprawling city. It’s so important to keep our wildlife in tact where we can!
Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos!
xo!
LAUREN LIVES 