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    Alta Vicente Reserve

    4.2 (10 reviews)

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    View from Alta Vincente Trail
    Matt R.

    Great views of Point Vincente and Terranea Take the lower trail until you get to the bunker, then take Nike trail back, park at the end of the culdesac next to church

    Joan S.

    As I'm traveling along PV Drive I can see trails above in this area, on the inland side, but never knew how to get to them.....until I looked at Yelp. duh I knew there was a small dog park on the RPV Civic Center grounds, as well as a tennis court, but didn't know the trail heads could be accessed from there. Despite Jasmine E.'s detailed, very helpful review, I didn't find the trail head hidden in the bush. I did find a different one but my bum knee couldn't take me too far down the initial, somewhat steep descent. I must also give a shout-out to Keo N. for his spectacular photos of the plants. And he knows their names! Very impressive. All that being said, I enjoyed wandering around. This place is wildflower central, my cup of tea. And the Point Vicente Lighthouse is visible down below. The entire space is 55 acres, including a habitat restoration area. The trails here are limited & unspectacular, but the views of course are great once you get past the thick brush down into the open area. So yeah, I discovered two things: Alta Vicente Reserve & a snail shell. I'm happy.

    Sunset
    Mary J.

    Beautiful area and views here! But it was hard to figure out where to start and end since there were many trailheads and trails seemed to have not been maintained of finished but either way it's always beautiful in Palos Verdes overlooking the ocean. I used to come here often as a kid, I think I remember it as MarineLand but it was already closed down when I was a child but my family and I would come to walk around before any trials were here. I'll have to come back and study more, I'm sure others know more about it than I do but hope you enjoy the pictures! You won't be disappointed with this place!

    Dried up wild cucumber
    Keo N.

    This trail don't seem to be too promising at first but the views open up as you walk down and up to some bluffs. There were interesting variety of plants if you know what to look for.

    Alta Vicente trail.
    Jasmine L.

    It's been my goal to do reviews for all the reserves in Rancho Palos Verdes, and this is #4. Dog friendly! Parking was easy to find, there is a lot, its the same parking lot for the PV dog park/RPV city hall (which just looks like a bunch of bungalows). Finding the trail head however, took some detective work but was not difficult. There are 2 ways you can start, either Nike trail which is past some picnic tables you can see from the parking lot, to the left of a plaque that says "Point Vicente". Another trail head is the "North Spur Trail" that is hidden in what looks like a giant bush and requires less walking from the parking lot, but you'd miss it if you didn't know its there. Not knowing about the N Spur Trail, my dog and I started with the Nike trail which leads to the Alta Vicente trail. Originally we took a left, but realized it just ends at a street, so we backtracked, took the right Alta Vicente trail path instead, then went to North Spur trail to head back to the parking lot. This whole trip in total was just short of 2 miles (including the backtracking). There are a couple of smaller, minor trails in the reserve but don't seem interesting enough to try. The views of course were gorgeous, but this reserve is awkward in comparison to the others in that its between 2 streets (Palos Verdes Drive and Hawthorne), so you are basically hiking on a hill between the streets. You do get a good view of the lighthouse though. The trails were not too steep (which I liked) but there is not much shade. There is some shade on the N Spur trail. I would come once if you plan on hiking all the RPV reserves, but I would probably not come back because it is not as interesting as Portugese Bend Reserve or Filiorum. Views are not as good as at Three Sisters Reserve but it sure is a hell of a lot easier, not as steep. Again, this reserve was not for me but if you are a beginner hiker, or want some place that won't be too crowded (looking at your Portugese Bend) then you can give this reserve a try.

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    Ask the Community - Alta Vicente Reserve

    Review Highlights - Alta Vicente Reserve

    Trails are gorgeous with tons of spectacular views of the lighthouse, Catalina, and Terranea.

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    Del Cerro Park

    Del Cerro Park

    4.4
    (239 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    Great way to spend an afternoon on a Saturday. Many families here Park is huge. Definitely…read morerecommend coming here.

    I am not a fan of Dr. Who. I have caught a few episodes and I did not succumb to the galactic…read moretravels of the cycling Whos. However, I respect and truly admire that they added a cultural term to modern vocabulary: the Tardis Effect, which basically means that you enter a space and it is more spacious and complex than you can imagine based on what you believe it can hold based on exterior. Another example is Snoopy's Dog house. And as a final example, I offer a person's head. It does not seem like it holds a lot but it holds an ever expansive universe of thoughts, ideas and memories. This park can serve as another example of the Tardis Effect. It is a small park, like legit tiny, but when you look from its multiple view points you see the vastness of the pacific ocean and shore lines, which can induces so much within your head universe. Like one time I went and I imagined that a sea monster would rise from the waters far away. The sea monster was like Godzilla, except purple and its blast were white and froze people to death. Missiles could not quell its fury. I imagined that the solution would have to be mystical like when Perseus defeated the Kraken using Medusa's head. I repeat that the park is small by feet or metric cubes, or what ever unit of measure is used to measure a park's length, but when you enter you will see more than you expected, if you let yourself. I wonder what the opposite of the Tardis Effect is? What is something that is super big but when you step inside is actual small. Hopefully, a whale's belly cause I might end up there one day and wish to survive. If you are not one who embraces imaginative trips, this place offers something more grounded: beautiful views that are plainly gorgeous. When you allow yourself to sit and view, you want to take pictures, you want to have a date, you want to have a meaningful conversation, you want to meditate. It is a small gulp of fresh air that can be released into a big space. Logistically, parking is hard to come by. I am a local so I park on the street nearby and walk. I do not have a parking permit, I find street parking. The walk from the park to the car is not that long and depending on your fitness level it can be exhausting or a breeze. I went today to hike some of its neighboring trails. And the trails were closed. So expect this place to be a treat, if you are the type of person who can take the small of the earth and see the large of the earth.

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    Del Cerro Park
    Del Cerro Park
    Posted Signs  06-13 -2026

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    Posted Signs 06-13 -2026
    Vista Del Norte Reserve

    Vista Del Norte Reserve

    3.7
    (3 reviews)
    2.8 mi

    The good: The beginning of this trail didn't seem too…read morepromising, but it got better as we got to the top and entered Sol Y Mar Villas area where there were benches, a community garden, partly cement trail and a view of the ocean/beach, downtown LA and San Pedro. We were the only people on the trail. It is a small one mile or so trail that combines with Indian Peak Trail and has a 55+ living community in between. The bad: The ground was wet even though it hasn't rained in a long time so there was a good amount of mud. It's mostly all in the sun and not too shady. There were a lot of small gnats. Part of the trail led to a cement wall with graffiti with a parking lot on the other side. The interesting: I parked across the street by the movie theater, but there is a small parking lot at the bottom of the trail at the entrance that does not say private parking.

    This reserve has reviews on another site, where the address is given as Rolling Hills Estates at…read moreCrenshaw & Indian Peak Road.....however the entrance is at the intersection of Norris Center Drive at Indian Peak...and...the reserve is listed on the Rancho Palos Verdes website. https://www.rpvca.gov/1159/Vista-Del-Norte-Reserve So if you go here, I don't know how you'd enter at Crenshaw. I'm adding the listing with the RPV Indian Peak/Norris Center Dr. address but it might be auto adjusted. All that said, Vista Del Norte translates to "view of the north". And that's what it says on the sign: "panoramic views of the City of Los Angeles to the north". Too bad I didn't get to see those views yesterday, Sunday! As I was heading up a trail, a young couple coming down warned me of slippery conditions & showed me mud on their shoes as proof. Said they almost fell. There'd been heavy morning fog earlier & the trails are packed mud....so be forewarned. I took the other trail at their suggestion & went just halfway to the top. This is not a big serious hike, but more of an uphill walk on a narrow trail. The loop is probably less than a mile thru the 14-acre space. Right now the terrain is thick with dried brush, but I'm guessing the hillside will be covered with invasive yet beautiful yellow mustard in spring...at which time I'll be back..with my walking stick. I'm told there are benches at the top where you can sit a spell & enjoy views of the LA Basin. Healthier than hiking around TJ Maxx in the plaza across the street & far easier on the wallet for sure. Heed the posted rules: no bicycles, no horses. But....goats...yep. In May 2019, goats were used to clear brush, under supervision of course. I must have watched them for an hour from the street below, so adorable & entertaining. This eco-friendly method of brush clearance is used throughout the area, much to the delight of both goat herds & onlookers. Reserve hours are 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset. Parking: Two free street spaces in front of the reserve entrance sign on Indian Peak Road. Or park in the adjacent, small Norris Pavillion (next to the fire station) lot if nothing's going on there. Or use the free parking structure across the street in Promenade on the Peninsula shopping center. Or, as I did, park in the huge empty (for now) lot where OSH used to be, now vacant. There's very little traffic in this area & no metered parking anywhere (gotta love it & I do) so parking is never an issue. Bring your camera & wear appropriate shoes. I'd advise sunscreen cuz it's an open area. Vista Del Norte Reserve: welcome to Yelp.

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    Vista Del Norte Reserve
    Vista Del Norte Reserve
    I'll photograph anything

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    I'll photograph anything
    Enjoy The Mountain

    Enjoy The Mountain

    4.1
    (104 reviews)
    23.9 mi

    Such a great time and a fantastic experience. My girlfriend bought this experience for me for Xmas…read moreand it was amazing. Great fun and totally exciting. Our guide was Rob who did a fantastic job. From showing us the ropes on operation and safety (super easy), guiding us on the trails and finding fun and challenging terrain, he was flawless. Also, her was super personable and really funny. I totally recommend this experience and can't wait to go back for more!

    We were a bit hesitant to move forward with this tour since there's a lot of mixed reviews about…read moreit, but we were so glad that we did it!! The instructions to get there can look a bit complicated bc there's just so much info? but literally you can just find the meetup spot on Google Maps now if you look up 'Rowher Flat OHV'. Maybe bc it wasn't on there before, but the page gives you very detailed instructions, even a video to guide you how to get there. Past Santa Clarita and into the mountains! You'll eventually go off roading and fair warning, it is quite bumpy. Low profile vehicles aren't recommended, and you'll see why lol. I also brought my tesla model 3 here while everyone else I passed by was in a bigger SUV vehicle car. I wanted to be careful and drive slower on the road haha and luckily the road was not busy at all! After making it up to the meetup spot, it's definitely a very quiet and peaceful area. It's nice to experience away from the busy city life. We were on time to our tour, but we wanted to make it out earlier since there was some time needed for prep. Our tour guide, Sagi (?), was super chill and a cool guy! I had no ATV experience whatsoever but I am so thankful for having him to guide us haha. During the ATV ride, we did request a "beginner/easy" path, but the route he took us was actually pretty challenging lol but very fun! It was basically like an obstacle course, but good mix of flat, bumps, inclines/declines, roundabouts, and I feel like we got to experience it all within an hour! Weather was also perfect during the time we went as well, just wore long sleeves and a vest. An hour was more than enough for this experience. The tour guide even will make stops for you to take photos! Overall, experience was great and definitely would do this again to explore another area! Prepare for all your clothes to be dusty.

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    Picture taken by our guide, Jackson, during the beginning of the ride
    Picture taken by our guide, Jackson, during the beginning of the ride
    Another picture our guide took prior to riding

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    Another picture our guide took prior to riding

    Alta Vicente Reserve - hiking - Updated August 2026

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