Plants & Animals

The habitat zones include –Oak-Walnut WoodlandsWhere: North and east-facing slopes; above the Merry-Go-Round; along Crystal Springs Rd.; around the Trails Café in Fern Dell. With the trees providing shade for a variety of wildlife in summer and fall, here’s what to look for:

‍Oak- Sycamore Woodlands

Where: Lower Canyons and draws, Brush Canyon, Fern Canyon, Royce Canyon, and the drainages around the Hollywood Reservoir. The distinctive tree-lined canyons support riparian woodlands where seasonal water flows, or more likely trickles. The complex understory of bushes and trees harbors

–Mixed Chaparral

Where: Especially robust on gentle, north-facing slopes throughout the park, this is the dominant plant community throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. Established by man-made fire at least ten thousand years ago, it regenerates quickly after fire, and co-exists with other habitats, including non-native pines and silk oak.

‍What lives there:

Coastal Sage Scrub

Where: Northeastern corner of the park, near the L.A.Zoo, and along an arc from Vermont Canyon west across West Canyon, Brush Canyon, and Cahuenga Pass, including Hollywood Reservoir.

‍Look for:

Riparian/L.A. River

Where: The lower canyons and draws throughout the park support seasonal streams that drain into the Los Angeles River. The six-mile stretch of the river with an elbow bend forms the northeastern boundary of the park. The Griffith Riverside tennis facility, at Los Feliz and Riverside Dr., provides parking and access to the river. It is especially lively along here because, unlike most of the levee-lined river channel in metro L.A., the bottom in this section could not be cemented over, and remains soft and semi-natural. This gravel-and-mud bottom hosts macro-invertebrates, such as crayfish, that live in both clean water and in storm water runoff, as well as insects and amphibians. Common carp can reach 20 inches, and migratory birds including geese and flycatchers make regular stopovers here.