Franklin Canyon Park

"Nature find in the middle of LA"

The ranger in the Sooky Goldman Nature Center provided us with a map and directions on how to circumnavigate the park via the trail system. He sent us on trails to give us views of the lake, walk nearby the lake, walk across the dam, go by the duck pond and end up back at the nature center.

On their website, they list three distinct habitats: grassland, chaparral and oak woodlands. We walked through all three!  We saw turtles and different waterfowl.  It was also fun to grab the map of movie locations and check those out on our walk.

There are the usual dangers of entering a wilderness area: rattlesnakes, ticks, and bee stings.  We didn't have any encounters, but we did see a girl with a bee sting.

The nature center was a definite highlight and the ranger shared a wealth of knowledge. I'd love to go back and bring a picnic.  The kids would have been just as happy walking to the duck pond and then dining in redwoods.