Natural islands have formed in the man-made river.

      The watery monument has recently been improved to include a miniature representation of the mighty Los Angeles Aqueduct, the ambitious creation of William Mulholland, the city water engineer who conceived the plan to pipe the precious resource from eastern California’s Owens Valley all the way to dry Los Angeles. The resulting construction—223 miles of canals, tunnels, and conduits—is reconstructed here in miniature. Now, at this location, you can “walk” the entire aqueduct in five minutes, and then stand inside an actual piece of the aqueduct pipeline.

      To begin your walk, start at the Griffith Riverside tennis facility and soccer field parking lot. Walk toward the tennis reservation booth and take the path just to the left of it, walking between the tennis courts, toward the (increasingly loud) roar of the Golden State Freeway (I-5).

      After you’ve passed the tennis courts, turn right onto a path that parallels the freeway. Walk behind the soccer field, pausing to admire the cleverly designed fake “grass” on the field. Then take the concrete ramp that rises up to the left and carries you above the freeway and over the rushing lanes. On the other side, turn right onto the Los Angeles River Bike Path, taking care not to get run over by cyclists.

      Just ahead on the right is one of the city’s newer parklets, Sunnynook River Park, which opened in 2013. The area features pathways and benches set amidst a pleasant and botanically accurate display of local flora. All of the plants installed here are native—even the poison oak, which the park designers actually included in their plant palette. (Perhaps one of the informational plaques can explain why the designers were moved to include this particular weed. Maybe it’s meant to discourage the homeless people from camping here, as they did before this area was landscaped.)

      Once you’ve admired the park, backtrack a bit to find the narrow Sunnynook Pedestrian Bridge crossing over the river. Cross this bridge, taking a moment to admire the river below. For decades, this was a nasty concrete channel with sludge and crud at its bottom. It was a final resting place for plastic bags, shopping carts, and other urban detritus. A tree would sometimes find root here. But then earth movers and other heavy equipment would come in and dredge the channel clean.

      Then a group of locals, who eventually called themselves Friends of the L. A. River, began organizing clean-up days and lobbying the city to allow the river to return to its natural state. That’s why, as you cross the river now, you see trees and bushes and the birds that live in them—herons, egrets, ducks, geese, stilts, and other fowl bobbing and darting about. (Underwater, you could find carp, catfish, tilapia, and even trout, I am told.)

      Once across the river, turn left and begin walking north along its bank—with the river on your left. If the weather is very dry and there’s no chance of rain, you may walk down the slope to the water’s edge and get a closer look at the birds. But beware: the mossy parts are very, very slippery, and you must never leave the high bank if it’s raining or looks likely to rain. In a heavy rainstorm, this channel will swell to nearly the top of the bank, and people do get swept away from time to time.

      Walking north, in time you will see some benches and displays of yoga positions in the shade to your right. The handiwork of the Friends of the L.A. River, this is a good place to have a picnic.

      Soon you will find yourself running out of walkway. Step through the gate on your right that leads onto a wide, green field shaded by huge sycamore trees, and walk to Los Feliz Boulevard. (If you come to the end of the fence and find a locked gate, go back twenty-five feet and walk left until you find the opening in the fence.)

      Walk straight ahead across a grassy patch, then turn right when you hit the sidewalk. Walk a half block to the traffic light, then cross Los Feliz Boulevard and turn left. As you pass the Los Feliz Café—known to locals as “Eats,” because of the big sign—turn into the parking lot. Keep the tiny 9-hole Los Feliz Golf Course on your right, and head for the back of the parking lot. Find a break in the fence, and a paved ramp headed for the river.

      Turn right, and enjoy a long flat walk here on the riverbank. Though it’s somewhat obscured by a flood wall, the water below is teeming with life—birds, fish, and in some places, humans and their encampments. On the right, the golf course will end, and a series of horse barns will begin. Many of the city’s equestrians stable their horses here.

      Rising before you is the L.A. River’s newest bridge, a gleaming steel and wood-beam structure, opened in early 2020. Use this to cross to the western side of the water, then turn left and continue your river walk as you go south.