The climb to the mountain top is steep and strenuous. Blocky rock steps are at times so massive that you may be forced to scramble up them. Some sections of trail are extremely narrow and feature steep drop-offs down the mountainside. Other sections of trail provide beautiful dirt to hike on, dipping into deep forest, and then breaking out into scrub oak with beautiful views of the city below.

All things considered, Mount Wilson isn’t an extremely dangerous trail by any stretch of the imagination. The most challenging aspect of conquering the climb is the distance and the elevation gain. If you seek to climb all the way to the summit and hike back down, you must be just as prepared as you would for a remote peak hike in the Sierras, even though you begin in suburbia.

That said, there are ways to shorten this hike, as a paved road runs all the way to the summit, where the Mount Wilson Observatory is located. You could easily set up a shuttle so you only have to do the hike one-way—either uphill or downhill, depending on your preference.

However you choose to tackle Mount Wilson, you’re in for a rare Los Angeles hiking gem!