Los Angeles’ most popular trail has descended into a violent hellhole where women are attacked and fear for their safety, locals say.
Hikers are furious as City Hall weighs plans for a paltry $25,000 security plan for the hill despite blowing $1 million on two restrooms.
On Tuesday officials are set to vote on the proposals put forward by mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman, whose district includes the park, to hire two guards from 7pm to 1am.
One regular hiker, Shira Astroff, told the Post: “Danger doesn’t run on a schedule. You get a smart arsonist, they go at 2 a.m. when no one’s there.”
Astrof has spent years sounding the alarm at the park, documenting brush fires sparked by suspected arsonists and a growing list of violent encounters.
In July, hikers at Runyon Canyon tackled and detained a suspected arsonist after spotting him igniting brush along the trail.
Flames climbed a palm tree and tore across roughly a quarter-acre of bone-dry hillside before more than 50 firefighters rushed in to contain the blaze.
The suspect was held by hikers for over an hour before police arrived. And it wasn’t an isolated scare.
In January 2025, the Sunset Fire ripped through the same hillside, scorching 60 acres and triggering evacuations.
In the first part of that year, there were at least seven fires inside Runyon Canyon alone.
Runyon Canyon, once a neighborhood escape, now pulls in an estimated two million visitors a year, according to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
Astrof says she’s been sounding the alarm for years, and getting silence in return.
She told The Post she repeatedly reached out to Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office long before she says she was attacked, but never heard back.
The Post also reached out to Raman’s office for comment and did not receive a response. “I’m not clueless. I’m aware of my surroundings,” Astrof said.
“If I can’t go to Runyon while it’s still light out, that’s absurd.” In one incident, she said, a man began throwing rocks at hikers, and the response didn’t come quickly.
“Police took hours,” she said. “I don’t blame them, they’re understaffed. But that doesn’t change what’s happening out there.”
Then there’s the spending that’s raising eyebrows.
While City Hall scrapes together $25,000 for part-time security, it has already poured roughly $1 million into a permanent bathroom installation at Runyon Canyon, a project meant to handle crowds, not crime.
For Astrof, the contrast is hard to ignore.
“A million dollars for a bathroom, and this is what we get for safety?” she said. “It’s a joke.” She argues the city is investing in convenience while leaving basic protection as an afterthought.
“People aren’t worried about where to go to the bathroom,” she said. “They’re worried about whether they’re going to be safe getting back to their car.”