Monrovia Hillside Preserve

If you just want to get to the bench it’s an easy hike. If you are looking for more challenge, you can keep going after reaching the bench and do a loop hike by going counter-clockwise, making the total hiking length about 6-7 miles. There is a Google user named “Joshua Schpok” who uploaded his photo path to Google map, very helpful! just turn on Google Map street view and follow the blue color path for the loop hike, but be careful when you make your way back to the east side of Lower Clamshell TKTL, you will need to go uphill and there are 3-4 sections very sketchy, you have to be extremely cautious, definitely not recommended for kids or elderly. Overall I had a great time and this trail exceeded my expectation. One final thought; the bench is a great place to see sunset, if you want to do this hike just for sunset, make sure to arrive at trailhead at least 30-40 mins before sunset, that’s how long it will take you to hike to the bench from the trailhead. So be sure to check the sunset time in advance. I parked at Ridgeside Dr near the trailhead without any problem, I’ll come back here for sure.

It was unexpected day for us to come here, random discovery looking for a place to walk.

Saw the many pretty pictures, we decided to put on the gps for here.
Took us to Clamshell road toward 2 driveways that split. About to go in but we didn’t because we noticed the house number and entry code gate so we say uh oh, these are driveways to private home.

Made a turn back down the clamshell road and parked on the street since we saw cars parked there. Got off the car to asked if we can park here because the street sign say resident parking only. The nice man said its ok.

So here the tips:
1. Don’t turn into Clamshell rd
2. Park on the street, its ok
3. Hiking trails thru the gate straight ahead
4. Enjoy

Putting this address in your GPS will get
you right next to the trail head:

873 Lower Clamshell TKTL

But park somewhere along Ridgeside Drive before Lower Clamshell. There are signs on Ridgeside that say “Residents Parking only” but it’s not really enforced.

Very approachable hike for someone in ok shape. If you do any cardio this trail will be easy.
Surface is well maintained, and the views are lovely.

From the gated trail head to the “Sunset Bench” look-out is just over 1 mile, and it took me a little under 30 min to get up there at a leisurely pace. About 400 feet of elevation gain.

Happy trails ✌🏻

This is a great spot! There is a waterfall not far from the entrance on the main trail. Tucked away the entrance is in a residential neighborhood. You need to park on the street and walk in, if you use maps it guides you right to the trail. Trails can be steep and a lot is overgrown right now so it can be hard to navigate on some trails because they are completely covered. But, there is still a lot that is clear, so you just have to be adaptable & change direction if the trail is blocked, I have seen deer, lots of birds, snails & tons of wildflowers! We come here often & had a hiker tell us that he just saw a bear, but we never encountered the bear. Cars do drive down trails, I wasn’t expecting this and it scared me the first time because it was coming pretty fast down the hill, but once you know to watch for them (there are signs showing you that the trail is shared with cars) it is manageable, the trails are wide enough that you can stand off to the side when they pass.

We couldn’t see the trailhead from the street. We were told to walk into a street(like driveway) with the sign said “No Outlet, Dead End”. Walked about 3 minutes, then we saw a fence. Passed by the fence, we saw the trails signs.
The views on the trails are spectacular. we could see DTLA buildings on the lookout place-Sunset Bench. According to the local residents that you can park on the street even have signs “For Residence Only”.