Find a Hiking Buddy in Los Angeles
Want to hike but don't have anyone to go with? See people in LA making hiking plans — Runyon, Griffith, Temescal, the Hollywood Hills — or post your own trail and time and find someone who wants to join.
Why a hiking partner matters here
LA trails reward company
Early starts, exposed fire roads and 90-degree afternoons — hiking with someone is both better and safer.
The hard part of hiking in Los Angeles is never the trail. It's the 5:40am alarm, the drive to the trailhead and the honest chance you talk yourself out of both. A hiking buddy fixes that, because a plan with someone else attached doesn't get cancelled at dawn.
Party Intel gives you a place to arrange that without joining a Facebook group or committing to a weekly club. People post the trail, the day and the pace; you ask to join the ones that match how you actually hike.
Live on Party Intel
Hiking plans live on Party Intel
Pulled from the Find People board. Trail, time and pace are usually in the post.
No hikes on the board this minute — post the trail and time you want and people nearby will see it. Sunrise plans get the fastest responses.
Trails people post most
Where LA hikes actually happen
Rough guide to the trailheads that show up on the board, and who they suit.
Runyon Canyon
Short, steep, crowded and social. The default weekday-morning hike for anyone in Hollywood or West Hollywood, done in under an hour.
Griffith Park
The most flexible option in the city — Observatory loops, Mount Hollywood, Fern Dell. Easy to scale from two miles to ten and easy to reach from the Eastside.
Temescal Canyon
Westside favorite. Shaded canyon, waterfall early in the season, a ridge with ocean views. Parking is the only friction.
Los Liones
Quieter Pacific Palisades entry to the Parker Mesa overlook. Longer, steadier and far less crowded than Runyon on a weekend.
Hollywood Hills
Wonder View, Burbank Peak, Cahuenga — steeper and more exposed. Start early and bring more water than you think you need.
Weekend distance days
Sandstone Peak, Eaton Canyon and Mount Wilson show up for people who want four hours or more. These are the plans most worth having a partner for.
How Party Intel works
From trailhead post to actual hike
Pick an activity
Choose hiking and scan the board, or post the trail and start time you have in mind.
Find people
Match on pace and distance, not just proximity — the post tells you what you're signing up for.
Make the plan
Agree on the trailhead and time, swap numbers in case of parking chaos, and hike.
Safety
Verification, and trail basics worth repeating
Requests to join a hike include a live selfie taken in the app, and the person who posted the hike approves each one. That keeps recycled photos and fake accounts off the trailhead.
Beyond the app: meet at the trailhead rather than carpooling with someone new, tell a friend which trail you're on, carry more water than the distance suggests, and turn back when it gets hot. LA heat does more damage on these trails than terrain ever does.
Hiking buddies in LA — questions people ask
- How can I find someone to hike with in Los Angeles?
- Post the trail and time you want to hike on the Party Intel Find People board, or join a hike somebody else has already planned. Most LA hiking posts name the trailhead, the start time and the pace, so you know before you commit whether it's a sunrise Runyon lap or a five-hour ridge day.
- Can I find hiking buddies near me?
- Plans list a neighborhood or trailhead, so you can pick hikes that don't cost you an hour on the freeway. Westside hikers tend to gravitate to Temescal and Los Liones, Eastside hikers to Griffith Park and Elysian, and the Hollywood Hills sit in the middle for both.
- Can I post which trail I want to hike?
- Yes — that's the most useful kind of post. Name the trail, the start time, the rough distance and the pace you're planning, and you'll attract people whose fitness matches yours instead of a mismatched group at the trailhead.
- What if I'm a beginner hiker?
- Say so in the post or the request. Plenty of LA hikes on the board are two easy miles with a coffee afterwards. Runyon Canyon and the Griffith Observatory loops are the usual beginner routes; save Mount Wilson toll road and Sandstone Peak until you've built up.
- Are group hikes safer than hiking alone?
- Generally yes — for heat, dehydration, dropped phone signal and ankles on loose fire road. LA trails get dangerously hot from late morning through summer, which is why most plans here start at or before sunrise.
- How does Party Intel verification work?
- When you ask to join a hike, the app takes a live selfie — no camera-roll uploads. The person who posted the hike sees that selfie and approves or declines your request before any messaging happens.
Find your people in LA
Hiking is one of many. These pages cover the rest.
Ready to find someone to hike with?
Post your trail and time, or join a hike that's already on the board.
Training as well as hiking? Find a gym buddy in Los Angeles.