Taco Peak

Overview

This remote and rarely visited peak in the middle of Griffith Park got a huge boost in visibility in mid 2015, when a group of artists sent a collection of journalists a mysterious note telling them to meet at sunrise on June 30th, 2015. Those who followed the instructions were greeted with a pop-up teahouse on the north slope of the perhaps unofficially named Taco Peak (media coverage has attributed this tea house to Mount Bell, which actually lies slightly to the northwest) — and in this case, “pop-up” was pretty literal. Overnight, a group of artists hauled in all the materials to erect the structure without any permission from park officials. The structure was built with wood reclaimed from the 2007 Griffith Park wildfire, assembled almost completely without metal, and built atop existing concrete foundations for a former water tower. In the morning, they held a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and encouraged attendees to write prayers or wishes on wooden cards and hang them inside the tea house. Needless to say, once the word got out about this, it spread pretty quickly. We’d already written about Taco Peak as part of our larger Griffith Park Northside Loop, but we figured now the peak deserved its own entry … and, we wanted to see the teahouse in case it gets destroyed soon! This route starts near the Berlin Forest at the Griffith Park Observatory Lot and is a loop hike, returning along Mount Hollywood Drive. Parking here can be a special kind of nightmare, even by Los Angeles standards. If you’re up for a longer hike, consider starting near Fern Dell and coming up via the West Observatory Trail or Western Canyon or starting near the Greek Theater and taking the East Observatory Trail or the longer route to Mount Hollywood along the Hogback Trail. traffic at 2PM on a Wednesday, just in case you’re thinking of driving in If you’re braving the Observatory lot, start early at the Charlie Turner Trailhead, passing through the Berlin Forest and over the tunnel toward Mount Hollywood. Just across the tunnel ov

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