Hiking with my toddler at Franklin Canyon Park

Posted by westsidemommy On August 13, 2015 1 Comment

A couple weekends ago, my family and I hiked at one of our favorite places, Franklin Canyon Park, in the Santa Monica Mountains. If you’ve never been to Franklin Canyon Park before, check out my Guide to Franklin Canyon Park on Mommy Nearest.

We hiked here last year for Father’s Day. Last year, my daughter was too young to walk on a trail, so she rode in our Osprey Child Carrier the entire time. This time, we let her hike alongside us and were surprised how long she lasted before she wanted to ride in the carrier.

The Map

The highlighted area is where we hiked. I picked up the hiking map from the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, and the volunteer highlighted a suggested route. I’m glad we took her advice because there were reports of rattlesnake sightings on trail we were initially planning to hike (Berman Trail and Chapparell Trail)!

Blinderman Trail

We started at Blinderman Trail. You can access it from the back of the auditorium near the parking lot. Here is the entrance to the trail.

The Look View of the Canyon

There are some stairs and an incline leading to the Look View of the Canyon. My tiny toddler took to it with determination.

Sycamore Meadow

There is nice shade on the trail around Sycamore Meadow. We took a wrong turn and didn’t make it to the first pond (Wild Pond) that we were supposed to check out on the map. It was still a nice walk through the woods and a great photo-op!

Tired from Walking

After Sycamore meadow, my daughter got tired and wanted to ride in the Osprey Child Carrier. My husband carried her the rest of the way.

FranklinCanyon_hike_Osprey

Franklin Canyon Lake

Franklin Canyon Lake sits in the middle of the park. It’s picturesque and there are a few picnic areas around it. There are plenty of great views of the lake on the trail. This is the view from the south east side of the lake, near the picnic area.

Rowan Trail and Heavenly Pond

Heavenly Pond is beautiful. Here, we saw koi, turtles, ducks, and other fish. You are not supposed to feed the ducks.

Redwood Grove

We took a path along the lake. There were a bunch of trees including this palm tree! A cute reminder that even though it feels like we are away from it all, we are still in L.A.