Segment L – Eagle Rock – Highland Park – Google Map – 2017 Photos – 2018 Photos

Distance: 20.1 miles     44 stairways     1,793 up-steps     Total Climb: 2,640 feet

Cities/Regions: Eagle Rock, Pasadena, Arroyo Seco, Raymond Hill, South Pasadena, San Marino, Olga, Garvanza, Highland Park.

Facebook Event on 25 Mar 2017                      Facebook Event on 20 Jan 2018

Official Finishers:

Dan Gutierrez, Pat and Elizabeth Schirmer, Dave and Kristy Moorman, Jane Fransella on 25 Mar 2017 | Evelyn Sanchez on 1 Apr 2017 | John and Olivia Oshimo on 16 Dec 2017 | Gaelle Gralnek on 20 Jan 2018 | Jeff Rozema, James Peterson, Teresa Cavazos, Kathey Lopez, Alfredo Salgado, Maribel Sanchez, on 14 Apr 2018 | Luis Prado on 5 Jul 2018 | Maria Casillas on 21 Jul 2018 | Marla Stephenson Thornton on 25 Nov 2018 | Who will be next?

Route Features: Segment L is a mostly residential route, first through hilly and stair laden eastern Eagle Rock, then across the Arroyo Seco to South Pasadena, where the stairs are much more sparsely distributed, traversing 28 stairways for the first half of the walk. After lunch in SoPas, the last half of the walk only traverses 8 more stairways, though one of them is the mosaic tiled Hough St stairway. The second half is less hilly and passes through some very upscale areas in San Marino, before working its way back through SoPas and working class Garvanza en route to the end on Figueroa in Highland Park.

Start Location: Colorado Blvd at Mt Helena Ave, which is bus accessible on Colorado, via Metro Bus Line 81 to the Metro Gold Line, or Metro Bus Line 180 to the Metro Red Line.

Finish Location: Figueroa St at Meridian St, which is bus accessible via Metro Bus Line 81 connecting via Figueroa St to the Metro Gold Line.

Transit Connections:
Finish to Start: Take Metro Bus Line 81 north on Figueroa from Meridian St, where the walk finishes, to Mt Helena Ave on Colorado Blvd, where the walk starts.

DTLA to Start: Take the Metro Bus Line 81 north on Figueroa from DTLA where it connects with the Civic Center/Grand Park and Pershing Square Metro Red/Purple Line stations, all the way north the start on Colorado Blvd at Mt Helena Ave. An alternate route is to take the Metro Gold Line, north from Union Station to Heritage Square or Southwest Museum stations and walk south to Figueroa and then take the Metro Bus Line 81 north to the start on Colorado at Mt Helena Ave.

Finish to DTLA: Take Metro Bus Line 81 south on Figueroa to W Ave 26, and walk south under the freeway to the Lincoln/Cypress Metro Gold Line Station, and take the Metro Gold Line, south to Union Station, and connections to The Metro Red/Purple Lines, which in turn lead to the Metro Blue Line and Metro Expo Line at the 7th Metro/Station. An alternate route is to take the Metro Bus Line 81 south, all the way to DTLA where it connects with the Civic Center/Grand Park and Pershing Square Metro Red/Purple Line stations.

Route Description:
Miles 0-5: From the corner of Colorado and Mt Helena, walk one block west to Hartwick St, turn right and climb the slowly steeping hill, to Las Flores, turn right, and then in a block the road bends to the left becoming Mt Helena, which you take north to Frackelton, turn right and it goes left becoming Rockview Terrace, heading northeast.  At the next intersection, with Hill Dr, look to the left and a cross the street, for a stairway entrance:
Cross the street and climb the stairs, then return down the stairs to Hill Dr, and turn left, continuing on Hill for 3 blocks turning left onto Hillmont Ave, then right onto Eagle Vista Dr. Follow Eagle Vista up the hill past Waldo Pl, and Monte Benito, and at the toip of the hill at Lunsford Dr, enter the parking lot of the Eagle Rock Recreation Center. Forward and to your right is a stairway leading down to the baseball diamond, follow the red line:

Go down the steps and turn right and take the path down to the baseball diamond, then turn left and follow the near side of the baseball diamond to the field beyond. At the far end of the field you will see stairway leading up the slope:

Walk across the field to the stairway, climb it, then turn right, and take the left fork, going upward. The path will bend to the left and there are some nice mosaic tiles adjacent to the walkway, on the left side at the 1 mile mark of the route:

Continue on the path and you will find the third stairway in the rec center on your left:

Climb the broad wooden steps of this stairway, and at the top, take the path to your left following the fence past the playground to the Rec Center building. There are restrooms at the building but they seem to be closed most of the time I have visited on weekends. At the building, turn right and head past the playground to another pathway. Turn right and head downhill. To your right is a paved pathway fork, the right fork goes back to the bottom of the stairway you just climbed, and to the left fork is a pathway leading down toward Figueroa St. Follow the left path all the way down to a pair of maintenance buildings and a baseball diamond, then turn left and head toward what looks like a locked car entry gate, and notice that to the left is a hole in the fence for pedestrian access. Go left and exit the park onto Figueroa, turning right and going down the hill on the sidewalk. You will pass under a pair of Colorado Blvd exit ramps from the 134 freeway, and then cross Colorado, and La Loma, and turn right and go down the stairs at the right side of the Habitat Burger:

then turn left and go around the building to your left to climb the opposite stairway:

The steps take you back up to Figueroa, then turn left and then right to cross Figueroa onto La Loma heading east. Pass Neola, the turn right on the near side of Lanark St, and continue south past Shelby Pl with Lanark Shelby Park  to your left, and look for a stairway across the street at the far end of the park:

Cross the street and climb the stairs, continue up the walkway to Rockdale Ave, and go right following Rockdale to Figueroa, then turn right and go down the hill to the near crosswalk on Yosemite Dr. Cross to the opposite side of Figueroa, turn left and walk up the hill past mile 2, and the lower lane of Oak Grove, and then turn right onto the upper lane of Oak Grove, and in continuing past the slight leftward bend in the road you will find a stairway going down and to the right:

Go down the stairs and continue north on Glacier Dr, then take the middle option (an alleyway) of a three-way fork, and continue north on the alleyway past Yosemite Dr and Neola St, and at the end of the alleyway is a dirt trail, and a small set of stairs:

walk up the trail and climb the stairs, turning left at the top onto Saginaw St. Follow Saginaw down the hill and turn left on Wiota, and go right at the fork onto Neola, along the side of Rockdale Elementary School. Neola St dead-ends, however there is a stairway, which was recently painted, and looks fantastic in vibrant colors:

Climb the stairs to your right taking you up to the continuation of Neola St, turn left and take Neola down to Avoca, and turn left again on the near side, continuing south until Avoca Ts into Oak Grove. Cross Oak Grove and turn left, following Oak Grove to Nolden St. Look to your right up Nolden, and you will see a long side-stair (sidewalk of stair steps):

Climb the side stair, and continue up steep Nolden St past Wildwood to the intersection with Buena Vista Terrace to your left. Go right, staying on Nolden, and climb the narrow road up the hill. Around the first bend, just past mile 3, the street changes name to Upperton, continue on Upperton as it bends to the left and go down the steep hill all the way to the end at a T onto Raber St. Cross Raber and go right following Raber past Ave 56 and then taking the right fork, to follow Ave 55 up the hill. In front of you is the side view of a stairway:

Work your way to the entrance on the left and climb the stairs. At the top, on Raber, cross Raber and turn right and go down the hill staying to the left, and using the sidewalk on Raber to head east, past Upperton, to another segment of Nolden St. Turn left and climb Nolden to where it ends at the intersection with Betty Pl. You will see a rock step stairway at the end of Nolden, going up the steep hill to a trail:

Climb the steps then work you way up the steep trail to the top of the hill where Nolden meets Buena Vista Terrace (you were here before), but this time turn right and take Buena Vista Terrace, going up then down to Tipton Terrace, turn right and in a short block, there is a down going old wooden step stairway to your left:
Go down the wooden steps and continue downhill on the sidewalk past 4 houses, and look for a trail leading up and to your left.

Continue up the trail to the enxt street, Crestwood Terrace, cross it and there is a stairway:

Climb the dirt steps then continue on to the upper stepping stone steps, then turn left and climb the few concrete steps at the end, at mile 4, then turn right onto Buena Vista Terrace, and at the next rightward bend, take the through road to Eucalyptus Ln, turn right and continue northeast. The road will gradually descend becoming steeper, as you approach a stairway leading down to Figueroa:

Before descending the stairs, look across the street to see the beautiful Tai Chi Stairway mural, on the stairway on the opposite side of Figueroa. Now go down the Eucalyptus stairway and take another good look at the mural!

Now turn right onto Figueroa, and walk to the crosswalk, push the button and carefully make your way across to the other side of Figueroa. Turn left and walk to the Tai Chi Stairs, painted by the artist Roger Dolin:

Admire the art and then climb the stairs, and at the top continue slightly to the left up the hill on Glen Arbor, heading north east. Continue on Glen Arbor around two s-bends then a final rightward bend leading down to busy La Loma Rd. Wait for a gap in traffic and cross to the opposite side of La loma, turn right, and walk up the hill to Sycamore Glen, and turn left, following Sycamore Glen past Laurel Bay (left at the fork) to where it ends, into stairs:

Climb the stairway, to Redwood Dr, and follow it up the hill and in the middle of the bend to the right, you will have reached the 5 mile mark and the end of this section of the walk.

Miles 5-10: Continue on the leftward bend and shortly thereafter, Redwood meets Elmwood Dr, which you will take o the right, and head downward and at the end of an S-bend, prior to reaching Laurel Bay Dr, there will be a stairway entrance to your left:

This is the start of a long 4 stairway set crossing 3 streets in the process, and climbing 277 total up steps and 109 down steps. Climb this first stairway, then at the top, look across the street to see the continuation stairway:

Climb the first set of flights to a walkway, then descend the last set to Tamarac St, and across the street and half a home property width to your left is the entrance to the next down going stairway :

Descend the stairway, and on the bottom flight look across the street to see the continuation stairway diagonally to the left:

Cross the street to the left and climb the last 99 steps of your quad stairway sojurn to reach Cherry Dr. Turn right, and head downhill where the road will bend 90 degrees to the right, reaching Sequoia St to the left and the Sequoia stairway pair to the left:

descend the pair of stairways, being careful to look for traffic in the alleyway in the middle that you will cross. Once at the bottom, on La Loma Rd, turn left and continue down the sidewalk looking across the street for a brick house, followed by a yellow one. There is a stairway entrance in-between them that is often well hidden by trash cans:

Cross the street, following the red arrow path in the photo above, to the stairway entrance, then climb the stairway up to Evergreen Dr, and turn right, and go down the hill. At the bottom, you return to La Loma. Cross the street and turn right onto the sidewalk, and follow it downhill to the entrance to the Sequoia stairway you descended two stairways ago, which is on your left just prior to reaching Juniper Dr:

Climb both stairways and check for cars in the alleyway between them. At the top, turn right on Cherry and continue to Juniper, turn left and go down hill to Cheviotdale, and go left again, and continue on Cheviotdale, passing mile 6 just before it jogs left when it crosses Glen Holly Dr, and continuing on Cheviotdale, you will see Avon Ave to your right, and immediately before, the Avon stairway to your left:
Climb the stairway to Capinero, and go right, proceeding to where it ends into Cheviotdale, then cross the street and turn left. At the bottom of the hill, turn right onto the near side sidewalk on Ave 64, and continue down hill, past Court Terrace, then left on the near side onto La Loma, and continue to Laguna Rd. Turn left onto Laguna, and follow it all the way past mile 7, right before where it intersects with San Rafael, entering from the left. Laguna changes name to San Rafael, and you continue straight ahead, where San Rafael bends to the right, becoming a gorgeous arch (which you can’t see because it’s under you) bridge:

Cross the street and walk on the right side bridge sidewalk. At the far end of the bridge, turn right onto the path that follows Arroyo Blvd, passing the trail entrance to your right, then go right at the fork onto San Pascual, staying on the dirt trail following the road. Down the hill, before you reach the first structure on the right, there is a pathway entrance with wooden bollards in a sharp right right turn:
Turn right to enter the pathway and go down to the main Arroyo Seco path, and turn right. To your left is a pedestrian bridge, and to your right is a stairway leading up the slope:

Go up the stairway and it switches back twice, taking you near the corner of San Rafael and Arroyo Blvd, facing north:
Continue forward, crossing San Rafael (see red line on photo), and staying on the river side of Arroyo Blvd on the dirt trail paralleling the asphalt. After a bend to the right, you reach Madeline Dr, turn right onto Madeline, and stay on the right side sidewalk. Continue on Madeline to Orange Grove, crossing the street. Now turn left on Orange Grove and continue north crossing Arlington, then turn right on the sidewalk heading east and pass mile 8, and just past a driveway leading to apartments, is a set of 3 rock steps to your left, leading into the beautiful Arlington Garden:
The walk through the garden is a bit tricky, but the aim is to take the middle stairway down to the lower parts of the garden to the spiral:

Then exit onto South Pasadena Ave, so see the Google map for details. Go south on South Pasadena, crossing Glenarm, then turn left crossing South Pasadena to reach Avoca St. Go right on Avoca, then at the intersection with State and Grace Terrace, make the hard left onto Grace Terrace, and climb the hill to Brocadero, and look across the street and to your right for a stairway entrance:

Climb the stairs and go left on Grace Terrace, and loop around to your right to the bottom, and turn right onto Grace Walk. Climb the short street that bends to the right and on the left are a side-stair:
And at the end of the side-stair, where the road ends is a stair-street:

Climb the stair-street and make a left at the top going downhill on Grace terrace, staying left at the fork, and where Grace Terrace Meets Brocadero, make a hard left and go down the short section of Grace Terrace that you climbed earlier, down to Avoca at mile 9, but this time turn left and go south on the near side of Avoca. When it crosses Columbia, the street jogs left and changes name to Oaklawn, which you will take south then it bends to the left and crosses the Gold Line tracks on an historic bridge, leading to Fair Oaks:

At the far end of the bridge veer right and head south on Fair Oaks Ave, taking it south over the I-110 freeway, and Hope St, to Mission Blvd. This is the lunch stop, and you can find places to eat along Fair Oaks and Mission. After lunch, cross Fair Oaks on the North side of Mission and continue east on Mission past Garfield Park to Stratford Ave, which is the 10 mile mark and the end of this section of the walk.

Miles 10-15: Continue east on Mission for 6/10 of a mile until it ends at El Molino, where you will cross El Molino, turn left, and then almost immediately turn right onto Doresta Rd. and take it two blocks to Old Mill Rd, and turn right onto the near side sidewalk. Follow Old Mill Rd eastward about 4/10ths of a mile, also passing mile 11, to Mill Ln, and turn left, following Mill Ln uphill on the right side with the sidewalk, to the intersection with Virginia, then veer right onto Virginia, you will see Lacy Park tennis courts to your right, and to the left, across the street and across from the boundary between the last two tennis courts is the entrance to a stairway:

Cross the street and climb the stairs, and at the top is a bench and a water spigot across the street, in case you need to refill your water carriers. Next, go back down the stairway you just climbed and cross Virginia, and turn left heading east and enter Lacy Park down and to your right, via a short paved walkway, then at the bottom, veer rigfht and cros the grass to the main walkway (shaped like a teardrop). Veer right onto the main walkway and as you bend to the left and pass the tennis courts, there is a perpendicular pathway to the right which heads into the San Marino Tennis Center, and leads westward, and out of the park onto St Albans Rd. Cross St Albans and turn left, taking it down to Monterey Rd, turn left, pass mile 12, then proceed to the downhill part of Old Mill Rd (that goes left), cross it and take the sidewalk south to Chelsea Rd, go right and follow Chelsea all the way to Huntington Dr, turn right and take a long walk to the southwest. After 6/10ths of a mile you will pass mile 13 on the route, and shortly thereafter you’ll cross Atlantic and Garfield that make a triangle with Huntington. There is a Ralph’s Market south on Atlantic if you need any supplies. Continue on Huntington as it bends to head due west, past mile 14, you will cross Fair Oaks, and then start a bend to the left at Fremont, where there is a Starbucks, which you can use for your “3/4” break. Beyond this point there aren’t any services, save for A Trader Joe’s at mile 16.5. Continuing on Huntington around the bend and past Ramona, 2/3ds of the way to Beech, there is a stairway to your right that may have its gate open:

If the gate is open, climb the stairway, go left on Pine, right on Meridian, and continue to Maple, where you will join the main route. If the gate is locked, continue on Huntington to Maple, turn right and follow Maple to Meridian. From here, cross Maple Meridian, and to your left is a stairway between houses, which bends out of sight to the right, then climbs high up to the street above, Bonita St:

At the top, turn right, and continue downhill to Gilette Crescent, turh right, then left onto Meridian, and continue on the sidewalk northward past Oak St, to mile 15 just before Meridian Place. You have reached the end of this third section of the route.

Miles 15-20: Continue north on Meridian, through a shallow S-bend and at the end of it you will turn left onto Rollin St, and follow it uphill after it bends left. At the end of the street is the entrance to an unusual stairway that is the continuation of Flores De Oro:

Walk up the path which switchbacks and at each switchback corner is a small stairway, climb all of them, and the stairway exits at the top onto walkway leading to Flores De Oro, where you will turn right and head up the hill. At the top, turn right onto Via Del Rey, and continue all the way down to Monterey Rd, turn left pass mile 16, and then right onto Orange Grove Ave, crossing Monterey at the signal, and head up Orange Grove to Throop Alley, a cut through to Adelaine St, turn right, and cross El Centro and continue north to busier Mission St. Turn right, heading west, and walk to the far side of Grand Ave, cross Mission to the north side, and continue west to Forest Ave. Go right on Forest and at the end of the street, the sidewalk becomes a walk-street taking you north to Magnolia St, which you will cross and go left to Arroyo Blvd.  Look to your left on Arroyo for a trail that goes downhill on the opposite (river) side of the street:

Go down the diagonal trail to the main trail to reach the under-crossing of the I-110 fwy:

Cross under the freeway emerging into Arroyo Park. Turn 45 degrees to your left and head across the park grass toward the street to your left, at the point where it makes a kink to the left. When you reach Stoney Dr, follow it nearly straight ahead to the next intersection with San Pascual Ave, and turn left on the near side, passing mile 17, and follow the park boundary to your left, until you reach Comet St, to your right. Cross San Pascual to continue on the near side sidewalk on Comet, and follow it to the left bend where the name changes to Ave 67, and continue on Ave 67 to Hough, then turn right. Straight ahead of you at the end of the sidewalk is a beautiful mosaic stairway:

Climb the student art adorned stairway, and at the top, there is a walkway leading past a gorgeous mural (which may be tagged):

Continue on the walkway to where Ave 66 meets Meridian, and cross Ave 66 and continue west on Meridian, Cross Ave 65, then right heading north to Elder, then a hard left taking you to Ave 64.  Cross Ave 64, and turn right and follow Ave 64 up past Church St reaching mile 18 of the walk. Look to your right to see the visually engaging Church of the Angels, and just past it to your left is the entrance to a stairway:

Climb the stairs, and look back at the Church:
Then turnaround and finish climbing, and continue straight ahead (west) on Rosswood Terrace, and cross Cresthaven, then turn right heading south, and take it to Church St, then go left, and continue west to Marie. Turn left on the near side of Marie, then right onto the far side sidewalk on Roy, then right again on the near side of Eastview, then left on the far side sidewalk of Springdale, and follow it to an alley just prior to Figueroa. If you miss the alley, just turn right on Figueroa. Turn right on the alley, then left on St Albans, the nright on Figueroa, and take Figueroa north to the far side of divided La Prada St, and carefully cross busy Figueroa onto La Prada. Take the far right sidewalk up the hill and pass mile 19 before the paved road ends in a loop to the left bu is joined by a dirt road from the right. At the end of the sidewalk is a wooden stairway:

Climb the wooden stairway, similar to the one you descended on Tipton, early in the walk, then notice more wood steps leading upward across the dirt road (see photo above). Climb those steps, being careful because some of them are not so stable, and at the top turn right on the dirt road and follow it down in a switchabck bend to the right taking you back to paved La Prada. Continue to the far side of La Prada (opposite the one you climbed), and descend down to Figueroa, and turn right. Head south on Figueroa, passing both Springvale streets, and cross onto the far side of the 2nd Springvale to the opposite side of Figueroa, and continue south on Figueroa, cross Roy and turn left up the far side sidewalk, cross Kirby, then go right and follow Kirby to Myosotis St to your left, and the Myosotis stairway to your left:

Climb the stairway and continue on Saylin Ln, on the right side sidewalk, then turn right at Marie, and take it to Vidette St, then turn right again, and notice that Vidette has no sidewalk. Continue down the hill past the first house to the left, and notice that there is a long chain-link fence to the left. Follow it, and when it ends, you will find the entrance to a down stairway with along walkway after the stair-steps:

Walk down the steps then walkway all the way down to Meridian St. Turn right onto Meridian and follow it past the park, and mile 20, west to Figueroa St. Stop on the corner at mile 20.1.

Congratulations, you have completed Segment L of the LA Loop!

Stairway Data Table

Seg#	SS#	SW#	In-300	Zip	Stairway Name	Up	Down
L01	380		B41	90041	Arbor Dell Rd	78
L02		128	B32	90041	Eagle Rock Rec Center #1		29
L03		129	B33	90041	Eagle Rock Rec Center #2	36
L04		130	B34	90041	Eagle Rock Rec Center #3	34
L05		131	N/A	90041	Habitat Burger N		8
L06		132	N/A	90041	Habitat Burger S	7
L07	381		B35	90041	Minden Pl	10
L08	382		B36	90041	Glacier Dr S (Oak Grove Med)		20
L09	383		B37	90041	Saginaw St SE	12
L10	384		B38	90041	Neola St	47
L11	385		B35	90041	N Nolden St Side-Stair	81
L12	386		B34	90042	N Avenue 55	21
L13		133	N/A	90042	S Nolden St	9
L14	387		B33	90041	Tipton Way		15
L15	388		N/A	90041	Crestwood/Buena Vista	30
L16	389		B32	90041	Eucalyptus Ln		39
L17	390		B31	90041	Tai Chi Stairs	64
L18	391		B30	91105	Sycamore Glen	60
L19	392		B29	91105	Elmwood Dr/Redwood Dr	98
L20	393		B28	91105	Redwood Dr/Tamarac Dr	80	19
L21	394		B27	91105	Glenullen Dr/Tamarac Dr		90
L22	395		B26	91105	Glenullen Dr/Cherry Dr	99
L23	396		B23	91105	La Loma Rd/Evergreen Dr	45
L24	397		B24	91105	Lower Sequoia Dr	54	54
L25	398		B25	91105	Upper Sequoia Dr	45	45
L26	399		B22	91105	Avon Ave	44
L27		134	N/A	91105	Arroyo Seco (San Raphael)	69	3
L28		135	N/A	91105	Arlington Garden	3	11
L29	400		A4	91105	Brocadero Pl/Grace Terrace	37
L30	401		A5	91105	Grace Walk	63
L31	402		A6	91108	Park Pl	86
L32	403		A7	91030	Maple St	131
L33	404		A8	91030	Flores de Oro	31
L34	405		B20	91030	Hough St	126
L35	406		B21	90042	Rosswood Terrace	50
L36	407		N/A	90042	La Prada	30
L37	408		B20	90042	Myosotis St	114
L38	409		B21	90042	Vista Pl		21
L39*			N/A	91030	Huntington/Pine	13
L40*			A3	91105	Colorado Bridge South	38
L41*			A2	91103	Arroyo Seco Park		57
L42*			A1	91011	Flintridge	107
					Total Stair Steps —>	1707	354
					Total Stair-Streets —>	30
					Tot Non Stair-Street Stairs >	8