Amir's Garden

Katharina Tedder
Jan 8
7 min read

Updated: Jan 9

Added Note

I had already planned and started writing this blog before the current fires in Los Angeles started. I was so excited coming home from this beautiful hike. But then life gets busy, and I figured I would finish it later. Which as it turns out was me writing this in the dark with a thankfully charged computer, and even more thankful that the only thing I had to worry about right now was not having power, while in the rest of my city people, nature and wildlife was trying to protect themselves from the fires that are still going as I write this and just breaks my heart. I have lived and traveled in the areas affected by the fires, I know friends who have lost everything in them, our beautiful nature and wildlife...it is beyond heartbreaking. And maybe also why that little voice told me to do this particular hike that day, when I actually had planned to go on a train adventure away from home, but completely last minute decided I really hadn't spent enough time in my own home area. I live right under Griffith Park, and I realized I only know only a small part of it, while I have been traveling all over else instead. I knew too when I did this hike that we had the Santa Ana winds coming and there was a higher risk of fires this time because we have had so little rain. Though every time we hope for the best. To already see the images, we are seeing now while the fires are still ongoing is beyond horrible. To know there are people like Amir Dialameh who created this beautiful garden from the destruction gives me hope for what is happening right now. While sending all my love to those affected by the fires and the amazing fire fighters and first responders, volunteers, friends, neighbors...helping to get this amazing city of ours back on its feet again.

I was on my way to LA zoo holiday lights (which by the way I also highly recommend for a holiday visit! I have a little video up on my YouTube channel that doesn't do it enough justice. Such a lovely event). While driving up I see Amir's garden on the map and remember seeing it as a hiking meet up too, but no idea myself what this garden actually is. So, I went to check it out.

Amir Dialameh

I appreciate any and all nature. But reading the story behind Amir's garden made me appreciate this garden before even having seen it yet. Amir Dialameh began his garden in 1971 after a brush fire burnt out this whole area that he himself enjoyed hiking in. He thought it was sad to see it this way, so he went about to fix it. He wanted to create a space for hikers to be able to leave the stress of daily life behind them and for three decades he worked on this garden clearing tree stumps with shovels and planting trees that he knew over time would provide shade for hikers. In the late 1970 other hikers and volunteers were helping him. When Amir passed away in 2003 he left the city with this 5 acre beautiful gift which is still maintained by volunteers today. And reading all this, I was really excited to see this garden in person.

The secret (to me anyways) trail

I try to prepare at least a little bit before I go out on these adventures. Especially if it involves hiking where I know I could lose cellphone signal and get myself nice and lost. But this was kind of a last-minute decision to go and so I kind of went with the, let's wing it. I had looked at a map beforehand and knew I was familiar with the starting point of the hike which is an area where there are always people enjoying a picnic or some nice gathering. So, I figured I would see how far my GPS would take me and I could always just return to the picnic area and still would have enjoyed a nice little hike.

I had seen directions online mention Mineral Wells picnic area as a starting location, which is not what my map was telling me. I bring this up because if you keep reading you will see how I ended up here anyway. The intrigue of this secret hike 😁 My map told me to start around the old zoo. I did see a hiking trail that seemed to go where my map was telling me to go, but it then also seemed like it was making a turn that my map didn't seem to have, and I was nervous I might lose signal if I went up that way, so I stuck with walking along Griffith Park Drive where I also saw other hikers. There's a little path along the road that is safe to walk on and there really wasn't all that much traffic going up anyway. And what was also nice walking up this way, was seeing the areas where you can just pull off the road and enjoy a picnic at one of the picnic tables. How cool is that, to live in such a big city and to be able to drive up to peace and quiet like that! I myself however kept following my map directions which led me to the golf course where I then had to go up a trail that was really easy to see. So, I am going up this trail expecting to find a turn at any minute, to look at my map telling me I missed it already. Me, where did I miss it??? I didn't see any turns at all! I backtrack, look at where my map is telling me the turn should be and lo and behold, I see steps! I think I found the pathway up to the garden.

Made it

The stairs going up is a pretty decent climb. And I for sure was happy I was wearing shoes with decent traction because the sand can still let you slide if not careful and not all steps are fully secure. But even me who is not in as best of a shape as I would want to be, had no problem going up. Just take a lot of photo breaks 😁 I also met a few people hiking up to give me a bit more of a safe feeling being up here by myself, just in case, you never know. But nothing even remotely close to the hikers you can find in some of the more popular hiking areas. And! the lovely shade that Amir mentioned as something he hoped to create and many of us who hike in this city here, know is such a luxury to find, was one of the first things I noticed. That and the beautiful views of the city below.

My GPS did somewhere close to the top kind of lose track of where I was exactly. But the path going up is really easy to follow and will get you right up to the garden and what looks like the back end of the garden because once I walked past a few benches and picnic tables, I found the sign for the garden and a photo of Amir and his story. Here there was also what looked like a water spot for horses riding by and a water bowl and fountain for our puppy friends. And two new big paths.

Some hikers happened to be walking down from the path that looked like it was winding up and I asked them where that went. They told me that eventually it will get you to a paved road again and from there lead you back down, but it is a bit of a hike. Another way down, if you rather not go back down the steps, which I think would be fine, just take it slow and don't wear high heels 😁 is the one to the Mineral Wells area I had read about, so I decided to go down that way.

Happy Trails

This Mineral Wells path is a very wide path also used for horse riders. The views again are wonderful and with cute resting spots along the way. The path itself is an easy path to follow down with no unexpected turns to possibly get you lost and will get you to the Mineral Wells parking and picnic area and the road down if you want to follow that to get you back to the old zoo area. The hikers I had met up at Amir's garden however had told me about the hiking trail that also takes you to the old zoo, which I guessed was the trail I had first seen on my way up. And indeed, it ended up being that exact trail. With also a lot of shady areas, and! another stairway going back up to Amir's garden, which by the looks of it, should take you up to the entrance of the garden. So, in the end I did a loop going up to the garden from the old zoo towards the gold course and then up to the back of Amir's garden, to then go back down from the front of the garden, to end up at Mineral Wells and then from there back to the zoo. And I believe I did all that in about two hours, and at super chilled pace! Getting to the old zoo area is a very easy commute by car. And there is also bus 296 that stops right across from the old zoo area and goes up and down every hour. Or if you miss that, hiking down to Los Feliz blvd is about 30 minutes easy stroll and is quite a lovely hike in itself too that takes you past the ranger station and visiting and information area and some other lovely picnic areas. And if you hike here around Halloween time, you sneak in some views of the haunted hayride 😁 So, an all-round lovely hike, I highly recommend if in the area.