Wisdom Tree

The Climb

The trail wastes no time. From the moment you pass the yellow gate on Wonder View Drive and hit the dirt, the path shoots straight up Burbank Peak. Your heart rate spikes within minutes. The single-track trail is rocky and loose in places, carved into a mountainside with no switchbacks to ease the grade. You gain 740 feet in roughly three-quarters of a mile, which means your calves and lungs get a workout.

There’s almost no shade. On sunny days, the exposed hillside heats up fast. Bring water. The terrain is classic chaparral, with low shrubs clinging to the slopes. If you look closely at the vegetation, you’ll see evidence of the 2007 fire that burned through here. Charred remnants poke through the recovering brush, a reminder of what this landscape endured.

About halfway up, you can turn around and see Lake Hollywood Reservoir below, the Hollywood Hills spreading out behind you. The higher you climb, the more the San Fernando Valley opens up to the north. Universal Studios becomes recognizable. The buildings of Burbank stretch out below.

At the Tree

The tree itself is unassuming. It’s not massive or ancient. It’s just a pine tree standing alone on a rocky ridge. What makes it remarkable is context. Everything around it burned in 2007. This one tree lived.

At its base, you’ll find metal ammo boxes stuffed with notebooks. People have been leaving messages here since Mark Rowlands placed the first notebook after the fire. The boxes overflow with handwritten notes. Some are prayers. Some are wishes. Some are just people signing their names and the date. Others pour out personal struggles, hopes for the future, gratitude for making it to the top.

Reading through these messages gives you a sense of how many people have stood exactly where you’re standing, looking out at the same view, feeling whatever they needed to feel that day. The tree has become a kind of unofficial memorial, a place people visit when they need to mark a moment or leave something behind.

The Views

The views from Burbank Peak are legitimately spectacular. You’re at 1,690 feet with nothing blocking your sightlines. To the north, the entire San Fernando Valley spreads out. You can spot the blue Ikea building in Burbank, the Warner Brothers Studios lot, and on clear days, the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. To the south, Hollywood and downtown LA fill the basin, with the Pacific visible in the distance.

The Hollywood Sign sits to the east, surprisingly close. From here, you can see how the letters perch on Mount Lee. If you have energy left and want to extend your hike, the trail continues along the ridge toward Cahuenga Peak and eventually connects to trails behind the sign. That adds significant mileage and difficulty, with steep, rocky scrambles between the peaks.

What to Know

This is not an easy stroll. The trail is relentlessly steep. People underestimate it because it’s short. Don’t be one of them. Wear real hiking shoes with good grip. The descent is harder than the climb because the loose, rocky surface wants to slide under your feet.

The trail gets crowded, especially on weekends and at sunset. Parking fills up fast on Lake Hollywood Drive. Don’t try to park on Wonder View Drive. It’s residential and you’ll get towed or ticketed. Park legally on Lake Hollywood Drive and walk up to the trailhead.

Dogs are allowed but must be leashed. There are no bathrooms at the trailhead or anywhere on the trail. The nearest facilities are at the Lake Hollywood Trail parking area, about a quarter mile down Lake Hollywood Drive.

Parking is prohibited after 9 PM, so if you’re hiking for sunset, factor in time to get back to your car. Bring a headlamp or fully charged phone if you’re cutting it close.

The tree has survived this long partly because visitors have respected it. Don’t carve into it, break branches, or peel bark. Don’t tie things to it or climb on it. The volunteers who maintain the trail registers haul out trash regularly. Leave no trace; pack out anything & everything you bring in.