Photographs from the Photography on the Run post: Hondo Canyon Out and Back Trail Run
The prominent rock band at the top of Hondo Canyon can be seen from many locations in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains. This view is from Fire Road #30, near dirt Mulholland, about a half-mile from the trailhead at the Top of Reseda.
Google Earth Street View of the turnout for the Backbone/Hondo Canyon Trailhead on Old Topanga Canyon Road. Note the fire hydrant in the turnout. The turnout is about 0.4 mile from Topanga Canyon Blvd., on the southwest side of Old Topanga Canyon Road.
Mustard and lupine low on the Hondo Canyon Trail. This is about a half-mile from the trailhead. May 4, 2025.
Often mixed with mustard and blooming in large patches, Arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentus) is a widespread Spring annual. May 4, 2025.
I surprised to find that CalFlora doesn't list many observations of California buttercup in Los Angeles County. There were several patches of buttercups along the lower part of the Hondo Canyon Trail. May 4, 2025.
As noted by B. A. Prigge & A. C. Gibson in the ANF Description for California buttercup in SMMFlowers.org, it is the only terrestrial species in range having a flower with more than ten bright yellow petals, many stamens, and many pistils
Canyon sunflower is a characteristic species of the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains. It likes cooler locations, with a mix of shade and sun. May 4, 2025.
About 1.25 miles from the trailhead is a overlook atop a prominent rock formation.
Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum var. fasciculatum) beginning to bloom along the Hondo Canyon Trail. It is a relative of red shanks (Adenostoma sparsifolium). Both are members of the Rose Family. May 4, 2025.
It's easy to see how manzanita got its name. The sizeable berries on this bigberry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca) do look like little apples. May 4, 2025.
The flower buds of this woolly bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum) are just about to open. May 4, 2025.
Dew-covered snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis) leaves along the Hondo Canyon Trail. May 4, 2025.
Lush growth -- including a lot of poison oak -- along the Hondo Canyon Trail about 1.7 miles from the trailhead. A tree had fallen across the trail just past this point. May 4, 2025.
A pretty, fern-lined section of the Hondo Canyon Trail. The burn scar on the tree on the left is probably from the November 1993 Old Topanga Fire. May 4, 2025.
California wood fern (Dryopteris arguta) can be found on just about any trail in the Santa Monica Mountains with a little shade. May 4, 2025.
The palmate leaves of a bush lupine droop under the weight of thousands of water droplets. May 4, 2025.
The rock bands at the top of Hondo Canyon from about mile 2.8 on the Hondo Canyon Trail. The trail tops out at Saddle Peak Road and the Fossil Ridge Trail. This is near the skyline, on the far left of the photo. Topanga Lookout is along the skyline, just out of the frame to the right.
Yellow Monkey Flower (Diplacus brevipes) likes the sunny margins of trails. It is usually found in somewhat sparse patches, but can thrive following a wet rain season. May 4, 2025.
The Fossil Ridge Trail was closed but as of May 25 APPEARS to be open. The tape and sign indicating it was closed were removed and some work has been done on the trail. The 0.6 mile trail connects the Hondo Canyon Trail to the Topanga Lookout Trail, near the Lois Ewen Overlook, at the intersection of Stunt Rd, Schueren Rd and Saddle Peak Rd.
A Google Earth image zoomed in on a section of the northern flank of the Palisades Fire in the area of Hondo Canyon, Fossil Ridge, Topanga Lookout, and Saddle Peak.
Large flowered Lotus (Acmispon grandiflorus var. grandiflorus) is a less common relative of deerweed (Acmispon glaber). These were a couple of mles up the Hondo Canyon Trail. May 4, 2025.
Despite the rain year being about 57% of normal at Downtown Los Angeles, there are numerous purple nightshade flowers (and other flowers) along the trails this Spring. May 4, 2025.
There were several showy patches of purple and white Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla var. heterophylla) along the Hondo Canyon Trail. May 4, 2025.
Poison oak is very common along the Hondo Canyon segment of the Backbone Trail!
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