A Weekend in Beachwood Canyon & Hollywoodland

Everything you need to know about spending the perfect weekend in Beachwood Canyon, Los Angeles. Whether you’re a neighborhood resident or a visitor planning to possibly move to the neighborhood, I’ve put together an itinerary for the perfect Beachwood Canyon weekend, including where to eat, things to do, where to shop, the best hikes, how to see some wildlife, and much more. Sure, we will venture a bit into the Hollywood Hills, Hollywoodland, and Griffith Park but those neighborhoods are a vital part of what makes the little neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon so great. Plus, don’t forget your hiking boots!

Beachwood Canyon is a cozy and cute neighborhood. I used to live here for many years and even though now I’m in Los Feliz it still holds a special place in my heart and I visit all the time. Beachwood Canyon is home to the stone arches built to celebrate the creation of Hollywoodland. This was one of Hollywood’s first housing schemes. It was intended as a gated community—hence those arches—with tennis courts, swimming pools, and riding stables for its celebrity residents. To advertise the scheme, the consortium built a huge sign reading “Hollywoodland,” framed in thousands of light bulbs. The mountainside calling card became more famous after the “land” part fell off and left behind the “Hollywood” known around the world.

Where will you stay overnight in Beachwood? Good question. There is the Best Western that houses the iconic Cafe 101 Coffee Shop. There’s also the Beachwood Canyon Retreat, a small property of bungalows and cottages just under the Hollywood sign. Both great options. There are other hotels in the area but then you would begin to stray into Hollywood. Hollywood’s great, but let’s save that for another weekend. To get the complete canyon experience I definitely recommend an an Airbnb. You’ll get more out of the neighborhood that way. Let me know where you stay!

Friday Evening 5-7pm

Welcome to the neighborhood! You will fall in love with Beachwood, I promise. This weekend you are going to eat well, and hike more. So why not start the weekend off with a happy hour cocktail at MiniBar? MiniBar is a newish addition to the neighborhood and is located next to Cafe 101 (which we’ll get to later). MiniBar is dark and decadent space with just 30 – 40ish seats. It has a very locals only vibe, yet the imbibers are more than happy to give up their bar stool especially to out-of-towners looking to experience the ‘hood. MiniBar has a very mid-century/Mad Men style look and feel to it. It’s Old Hollywood with a modern twist. Whatever your poison, you will be impressed. They also have a great wine and beer list.

Friday Night 7pm – 9pm

Dinner time. Franklin Village’s old stalwart, the classic, the French, the low lit – La Poubelle Bistro & Bar – manages to be upscale and excellent yet not at all stuffy or pretentious like other Hollywood hotspots. La Poubelle has been around 1969 so they have nothing to prove, they’re here to stay. They also grow many of their own herbs, greens and vegetables on their own rooftop garden, which, if you become a neighborhood fixture long enough, you might invited to see. Start ith the Arugula Fennel Salade, the Ratatouille, and the Les Huitres, more commonly known in LA as oysters. For entrees, you can’t go wrong with the Coq Au Vin and the house-made Spaghetti Bolognese, which just might be the best spaghetti in all of LA.

Friday Night 10pm-12am

Catch a show at the world-famous Upright Citizens Brigade theatre. If you’ve ever driven down Franklin and seen a line around the corner, it’s for this. UCB is home to LA’s best live comedy. Improv, sketch, and stand-up always around $10 bucks or less, so it’s Los Angeles entertainment that won’t break the bank. Check out their calendar here. You may recognize some names and it’s possibly your favorite comedian may be performing.

After UCB, a lot of the players continue the laughs and grab drinks next door at Birds. Birds is a go-to bar and restaurant for locals that specializes in, well, birds. As in chicken. But, Birds also has great drinks, a nice wine selection, and pitchers of beer so it’s a great spot to hang with friends. If you brought your dog on this mini-vacay, the heated patio is pet-friendly and they offer bites of chicken for $2 dollars.

Saturday Morning 8am – 11am

Whether you wake up early or sleep in a bit, 101 Coffee Shop will be there for you when you need a cup of joe. 101 Coffee Shop is a historic landmark. You may have seen it in several Hollywood movies, including Swingers. This diner channels the ’60s, it’s a funky spot, with a stone wall behind the retro brown leather booths and long counter. Get a pot of coffee and protein up with a fresh fruit plate and a breakfast sandwich. You’re going to be walking – and by walking I mean exploring – a lot today.

The Beachwood Stairs and Hollywoodland Stairs are networks of “secret” stairs throughout the neighborhood. And you are about to go on a vigorous hike through Hollywood history, and a tour of Hollywoodland’s storybook architecture. This hike utilizes some of the steepest and most charming staircases in the city, and affords breathtaking views from Downtown to the sea. Visiting the Hollywoodland Staircases is a mandatory experience for any self-respecting LAer. Essentially, you will start on Beachwood Drive, snake all the way up to Beachwood Market & Cafe, where we’ll stop for a bit, and then travel up throughout the Hollywoodland neighborhood, end up on Belden Drive where you will see many incredible homes (and even a castle or two), and end up at either Sunset Ranch or the Hollywood Sign. For more directions and a printable map, go here. One of the BEST things about this urban hike is that it doubles as a stunning tour of Hollywoodland’s early 20th century architecture. You’re sure to see a castle or two.

Saturday Afternoon 11am-2pm

In the middle of your secret staircase urban hike, you’ll want to stop at either the Beachwood Market or Beachwood Cafe. Both are are ridiculously cute and have been staples of the hillside community for years. If you go to the market, get a fresh sandwich or two from the deli and stock up on bottled water. At The Cafe, if you’d like to sit down and rest your legs for a bit, I recommend the Meyer Lemon Caesar Salad $9.45 – romaine heart, anchovies, pecorino romano – or the Fez Bowl – quinoa, wild mushrooms, greens, baby carrots, raw  beet salad, shallot yogurt, harissa sauce. The Cafe also offers beer and wine if you’d like a pick-me-up before you continue your journey!

Saturday Afternoon 2pm-7pm

Once you’re back on your hike you’ll have the choice of going toward the Hollywood Sign Lookout and Lake Hollywood or to Sunset Ranch. If you’ve never been horse riding and you’d like a one or two hour tour of the area on horseback, then Sunset Ranch is a must.

What’s amazing about Lake Hollywood is how seemingly so few Angelenos have seen it. I mean, that’s just one of the amazing things about Lake Hollywood. I love the hike around it. It’s an easy, flat, just-over three mile trail takes you around the perimeter of the Hollywood Reservoir for about an hour. This path was closed for several years due to landslides and was recently reopened in April of 2013. A nice stroll with good photo ops, this hike is a nice option for a peaceful stroll or jog with unusual views of the Hollywood Sign and some beautiful 1920s architectural homes. And I mean beautiful.

Saturday Evening 7pm-late

By now, you may be exhausted from your day. No one will judge you if you want to call a Lyft at the end of your hike and head back to your hotel or Airbnb for a quick nap and to enjoy your lodgings, maybe even your hot tub. If you want to order delivery and chill, you’ve earned it. But if you have some energy left, go to Sushi Stop, it’s right next to Birds so you can’t miss it.

Sunday Morning 8am – 10am

Sunday morning coffee is a must at Bourgeois Pig. The Pig has been around for so long it’s become something of an LA Landmark. Longtime hipsters – and I mean the original hipsters from the beats to Ferlinghetti-types – lounge and read the Sunday Times while

It’s hard to believe we haven’t done a single ounce of shopping yet this weekend. Franklin Village has not just but two great bookstores – there’s Counterpoint Records & Books and Daily Planet. The Daily Planet is a great place to grab the newspaper, magazines, and small and unique gifts for those back home. Counterpoint, on the other hand, is a treasure trove of rare gently used book and vinyl. You could spend hours in here discovering a long lost and signed copy of Liv Ullman’s autobiography Changing or a signed, dated, inscribed and doodled Ghost World by author Dan Clowes or a pristine pristine, tape-log postcard in box copy of Fleetwood Mac’s Bare Trees. Book lovers and music lovers alike will fall in love with this place.

Sunday Afternoon 11am-2pm

The shopping will continue at The Oaks Gourmet Market. You will definitely find a bottle of olive oil or a cheese or a wine you’ll want to take home with you. But you’re also preparing your day’s picnic basket. They have a large selection of cheeses, crackers, and other gourmet items. The Oaks also has a menu that is hard to resist when you see what they’re serving from the counter. Delicious breakfast, salads, sandwiches, and pizza. My absolute favorite is their Ultimate BLT. It’s literally the best BLT I’ve ever had. Oaks bacon, heirloom tomato, butter lettuce, avocado, brie, roasted shallot aioli, on toasted sourdough. You are going to love it. Get two to-go and let’s get going on our next adventure to Bronson Canyon.

Ah, the last hike of the weekend! This will be a 3.5 mile trek across Griffith Park. Start at The Oaks, walk up Bronson Avenue, make a left on Canyon Drive and follow that all the way up until you see a sign for the Caves. Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles that has become known as a filming location for many movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Its craggy and remote-looking setting, but easily accessible location, has made it a prime choice for filmmakers, particularly of low-budget films, who want to place scenes in a lonely wilderness. You may recognize it as the Batcave from the 1960s Batman TV series. This little knoll is also a great place to sit down, take a breather, and enjoy your BLT and maybe cool off with a bottle of wine.

Sunday Afternoon 2pm-onwards

The rest of this hike will culminate with a visit to the Griffith Observatory. You’ve seen it from films Rebel Without a Cause and La La Land and, of course, just looking up. Directions: Head back down Canyon Drive, Turn left onto Spring Oak Dr, Turn right onto Park Oak Dr, Turn left onto W Live Oak Dr, Turn right onto Red Oak Dr. I know, this is a lot of Oaks! This will also give you a little tour of the exclusive Los Feliz Oaks community. This chill and breezy neighborhood is great hillside enclave of interesting mostly mid-century modern homes. Eventually you will reach the park. From Fern Dell Place and the Ferndale Nature Museum you will take the Firebreak Trail all the way up to the observatory, which is just about a mile uphill. Once here, sit back, relax, and enjoy the incredible city to the ocean views. You’ve just had the perfect weekend in Beachwood Canyon and Hollywoodland.