Forrestal Reserve★★★★☆Coastal hillsides, landslides ancient and modern, and an abandoned quarry. (Let’s call it a geologically interesting area!) Trails range from nearly flat to infuriatingly steep. Lots of chapparal, not much shade.
George F Canyon★★★★★A quiet hike along a seasonal streambed. Shady for the first part, then opens up. Beware of poison oak. City view at the summit. Birds, rabbits, butterflies.
Malaga Creek★★★★★Malaga Creek carves a canyon through the coastal bluffs down to a narrow pebbly beach. The canyon is too choked with trees to follow in most places, but an informal trail runs around the top of the canyon, climbing down to the creek in a few spots, and a service road winds down to the cove.
Prickly Pear Trail★★★★☆Short loop with some steep sections. Lots of cactus. (Keep your balance!) Nice views of the ocean and Point Vicente Lighthouse.
White Point Nature Preserve★★★★☆Mostly flat, with hills along the inland edge. Views of the ocean and Catalina. Not much shade except for one stand of trees at the foot of the hills, the garden around the visitor center, and the bunkers remaining from a military site decommissioned in the 1970s.
