For roughly five months, the road through upper Franklin Canyon was off limits to everyone. From October 2025, LADWP closed Franklin Canyon Drive between the north and south swing gates to cars and to people on foot so crews could rebuild about 2,200 feet of roadway near the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir. On March 10, 2026, the utility posted that the drive was open to all traffic again.
The reopening matters for more than the drive. Franklin Canyon is one end of a cross-mountain park, and the road repair put its upper section back into that system. This fall is the first time since the closure that the full walk is open, from the duck pond to Mulholland and over to TreePeople's grounds at Coldwater Canyon. TreePeople's events from October 23 to 25 give that walk a destination.
What LADWP Rebuilt, and What It Reconnected
LADWP's project page describes three pieces of work: repairing the road, building a retaining wall, and placing large stones on the slope to control erosion and stabilize the hillside. The Studio City Neighborhood Council's notice adds that the wall sits on the north side of the road to keep runoff off the pavement. LADWP gave the reason for the work as restoring vehicle and pedestrian access "to the rest of the park area," along with emergency access. Neither source says which storm or which year first damaged the road.
The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which runs the park day to day, now posts a short update at the top of its Franklin Canyon page. LADWP's repairs are finished, and the North and South Gates are both open to cars. LADWP says any remaining work will happen during short closures or with flaggers.
The Trail That Ties the Canyons Together
TreePeople describes its 45-acre Coldwater Canyon Park as part of a 900-acre cross-mountain park that also takes in Wilacre, Fryman Canyon, and Franklin Canyon parks. Franklin Canyon is by far the largest piece, at 605 acres of chaparral, grassland, and oak woodland around a three-acre lake and an ADA-accessible duck pond.
MRCA lists three named routes, and the third one connects the parks:
- Discovery Trail. A 0.3-mile round-trip loop through the black walnut woodland on the canyon floor. Rated easy.
- Hastain Trail. A 2.3-mile round trip that climbs a fire road to an overlook of the lower canyon and west Los Angeles. On a clear day you can see the Pacific. It then drops on single track to the lawn at the Ranch Area beside the old Doheny house. Rated moderate to strenuous.
- Berman Trail. One mile to Mulholland Drive, rated moderate to strenuous. MRCA says it lets you hike across the Santa Monica Mountains from Franklin Canyon to Coldwater Canyon Park and Wilacre Park.
The Berman Trail is the link. On the far side of Mulholland, TreePeople's parking grove sits at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Mulholland Drive, marked by a green sign on the east side of the intersection, across from the stoplight. From Franklin Canyon, a one-mile climb puts you at the gate of the busiest event weekend on TreePeople's October calendar.
A Park System Built by Agencies, Then Handed to the Public
The trails connect because the land was put to work long before it was set aside for walking. MRCA traces Franklin Canyon back to 1914, when William Mulholland and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began building a reservoir in the upper canyon to distribute water newly arrived from the Owens Valley. The family of oil baron Edward L. Doheny used the canyon as a summer retreat and grazing land, and built the Spanish-style house in the lower canyon in 1935.
Across Mulholland, Coldwater Canyon Park started as Mountain Patrol Station No. 1 for the Los Angeles Fire Department in the 1920s. Station crews cut many of the trails and fire roads visitors walk today. The tower where hoses were hung to dry still stands next to the nursery yard and parking grove. TreePeople began raising seedlings on the grounds in 1974. In 1977 the fire facility moved up the road, and 45 acres became Coldwater Canyon Park.
Franklin Canyon was slated for development in the 1970s, until conservationist Sooky Goldman and Congressman Howard Berman pushed the Department of Water and Power and the National Park Service to make it a park. The Park Service bought Franklin Canyon Ranch in 1981. Today the Sooky Goldman Nature Center carries her name, and the trail to Mulholland shares his.
The ownership is still split. Coldwater Canyon Park belongs to the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, and TreePeople runs and maintains it almost entirely on public donations. MRCA runs Franklin Canyon. A trail that crosses between them also crosses between two operators, each with its own rules on hours and parking. The schedule for the weekend below depends on that.
Three Days at TreePeople, and How Each One Meets Franklin Canyon
TreePeople's events calendar lists three back-to-back programs at Coldwater Canyon Park. Each one fits differently with the walk from Franklin Canyon.
- Friday, October 23: Moonlight Hike. Presented by TreePeople and Living Earth. Check-in starts around 6:30 p.m., music begins shortly after 7, and hiking groups head out promptly at 8. Tickets are required. This is the one night the Berman Trail doesn't work as a way in. TreePeople notes that Franklin Canyon Park closes at sundown and asks event guests not to park in non-designated spots there. Plan on carpooling or a rideshare to the Mulholland lot, as TreePeople encourages.
- Saturday, October 24: Oaktoberfest Tree Giveaway. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., TreePeople is giving away 200 coast live oak seedlings to people who register in advance. The giveaway is part of its Rooting for LA initiative, which aims to plant 28,000 trees by 2028. The morning hours fit the cross-mountain walk best. You can park in Franklin Canyon, climb the Berman Trail, collect a seedling, and be back at the lake well before the canyon closes. A seedling is easier to carry downhill than up.
- Sunday, October 25: Community Reading of "Do You Speak Tree?" A free outdoor read-aloud at 11 a.m. with author Josh Oaktree, held under the coast live oaks. The book is a nearly wordless graphic novel for young readers, so the audience helps tell the story. Costumes as a favorite animal or tree are welcome. For families with young children, the Discovery Trail's short loop on the Franklin Canyon side pairs well with this one.
For anyone following local planning, TreePeople also hosts other community business. The Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee meets there on Tuesday, October 13 at 7 p.m., at 12601 Mulholland Drive, with Zoom and phone access too. If the October weekend fills up, a second Moonlight Hike is scheduled for Friday, November 20.
The Fine Print Between Two Operators
- Hours. TreePeople's own FAQ gives two answers. One says 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and another says 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in summer and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter. Plan around the shorter winter hours. MRCA's park page doesn't list hours for Franklin Canyon or the Sooky Goldman Nature Center. Its listed number is (310) 858-7272.
- Dogs. Both parks require leashes.
- Bikes. TreePeople allows mountain bikes in Coldwater Canyon Park but prohibits e-bikes.
- Parking overflow. If the TreePeople lot is full, the organization points to limited street parking nearby and to Wilacre Park on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. From Wilacre it's roughly a 35-minute hike up to TreePeople headquarters.
- Amphitheatre access. The S. Mark Taper Foundation Amphitheatre is reached mainly by hillside stairs and mulched trails. TreePeople recommends flat-soled shoes and asks guests who need vehicle access to say so in advance.
- Maps. TreePeople posted an updated Coldwater Canyon Park map in October 2025, the same month the Franklin Canyon closure began.
For BHPO residents, the 90210 address goes with land that has been shaped by Mulholland's water engineers, early fire crews, and the conservationists who turned both into parks. If you'd like to talk about the canyon roads and the history behind the properties along them, Josh Flagg and his team can help. Work With Josh.
