Best located city in the American west

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by LA21st

You can't be serious. Have you never seen Runyon Canyon? I doubt there's a busier hiking trail in the country. Hell, it's probably one of the busier city parks in the country, period.

while i am fully on team who the hell doesnt know of and hike in los angeles, slow yr roll there.

annual visitors:

runyon: 2M
griffith: 2.2M (2.8M projected by 2030)
central park: 42M
hudson river park: 17M

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

while i am fully on team who the hell doesnt know of and hike in los angeles, slow yr roll there.

annual visitors:

runyon: 2M
griffith: 2.2M (2.8M projected by 2030)
central park: 42M
hudson river park: 17M

Never said it was central park buddy. Runyon and Griffith are FREAKING MOUNTAINS. FFS. What an odd comparison.

Most of Runyon is rugged mountain terrain that is inaccessible and isn't known for tourists. It has two main paths that are accessible, and both heavily traveled on the weekends.

It's not a fair comparison to some regular park that tourists go to as well as locals.

[Quixote]

A scaled satellite view of LA, Santiago, Lima, and Cape Town.

I just don't see as much topographical and ecological diversity in the other three.

LA

Source: Google Maps

Santiago

Source: Google Maps

Lima

Source: Google Maps

Cape Town

Source: Google Maps

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by JManc

@homebucket, where is that?

Russian Ridge OSP, Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP, and Mt Tamalpais SP.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

Honestly, I think that all of the major cities on the West Coast are pretty well-located, based on the criteria mentioned in this thread.

Yeah.

If access to spectacular mountain wilderness is your jam, nothing tops the western cities in the US.

Maybe a more interesting conversation is which western city is the worst located in terms of the OP's criteria.

[Nomayoplease]

Pollute the fórum with misinformation? That's what i experienced....chill out and move along....damn .....i created a thread to discuss " American west" and now i have to deal with egocentric people talking about cities in other countries or talking about the temperature of the water. Go create a thread with the other chad about how perfect L.A is. Give me a break...

Originally Posted by craigs

Look, every city has problems and everyone has his own preferences. Yours took you out of Los Angeles, mine took me out of San Francisco, whatever. People move around. But don't pollute the forum with misinformation--crime in Los Angeles is decreasing, not increasing. And with the exception of Honolulu, perhaps, the US cities nearest to notable, scenic volcanoes like Seattle, Portland, and even small ones like Redding most certainly struggle with issues like homelessness and crime.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Yeah.

If access to spectacular mountain wilderness is your jam, nothing tops the western cities in the US.

Maybe a more interesting conversation is which western city is the worst located in terms of the OP's criteria.

Casper might be the worst

~ Out on the prairie
~ No body of water nearby for summer activities like the beach or boating
~ No big mountains really nearby like in Denver or Sacramento
~ Several hours away from Yellowstone and the most scenic part of the state
~ Closest small city is Cheyenne, more than two hours away, and closest major city is Denver, about 3.5 hours away

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Nomayoplease

Pollute the fórum with misinformation? That's what i experienced....chill out and move along....damn .....i created a thread to discuss " American west" and now i have to deal with egocentric people talking about cities in other countries or talking about the temperature of the water. Go create a thread with the other chad about how perfect L.A is. Give me a break...

There's nothing objectionable about your creating a thread to discuss the American West. Rather, I objected to your posting "With all do [sic] respect i would rather live close to a volcano than a city filled with homeless and increasing crime. When i left L.A and that was before the pandemic i was tired of having my car broken in. Can only imagine now.... oh it isn't that bad...it is for me." Crime is not increasing in Los Angeles, it is decreasing. Or were you referencing some other city in which crime is actually increasing?

I agree with you that the discussion of cities in other countries is off-topic.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Quixote

It is. What other populated metro areas in the world have all of those things within a 60-mile radius of the city center?

I’m asking you to prove me wrong.

And implicit in all this is accessibility and being able to visit/enjoy these places.

I agree and I don't think it's that controversial a claim. I don't know of any other place that packs as much geographic, climatic and ecologic diversity into a region as Southern California. Santiago is probably the closest. Or it would be if it was on the coast instead of 50 miles inland, and if the high desert was within 40-50 miles of the coast (and all in the same country) AND if the Galapagos Islands were located just 20 miles offshore...

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Santiago has a Mediterranean climate and also has true ski ranges within an hour's drive. Santiago and the neighboring regions could very easily be mistaken for coastal California.

Threads like this one make me look more closely at peoples & places throughout the US & world. I'm amazed at how many parts of the international scene have really stepped up to the plate, inc Santiago. Or they punch way above their weight class than assumed. Santiago's climate may be similar to the Mediterranean's or Socal's, its urban form may be as good as or even better than American western cities are, it may be cleaner, have fewer homeless camps & seem less impoverished than LA does. Yet when trying to figure out what makes cities tick, something about all of them, both the tangible & intangible, is different. And for both better and worse.

https://youtu.be/bCaUhVMU7uE?t=837

Incidentally, the world's tallest statue, way larger than the one in NYC is, is located in a small city in India. It was built about 8 yrs ago.

Originally Posted by Nomayoplease

i have to deal with egocentric people talking about cities in other countries or talking about the temperature of the water.

Trying to understand what any city is like...or not like....is harder to do in a vacuum. It's also provincial to assume that judging the way a city in the Western US is located....for good or bad, or as the best or worse....needs to based on factors that ignore the rest of the country & world.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Casper might be the worst

~ Out on the prairie
~ No body of water nearby for summer activities like the beach or boating
~ No big mountains really nearby like in Denver or Sacramento
~ Several hours away from Yellowstone and the most scenic part of the state
~ Closest small city is Cheyenne, more than two hours away, and closest major city is Denver, about 3.5 hours away

Yeah, Casper is pretty bad. So is Elko, NV.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

A lot. Between the Santa Monica Mountains, the Verdugos, San Gabriel's, San Bernardino and Hollywood hills, there must be 10,000s of thousands hiking, biking, camping and recreating on any given day

Yes but this is literally in the middle of an area with 12-15 million people, so you would expect it to be swarmed. You can easily go a half hour without seeing anybody else, and without tree cover, you can see long distances almost constantly, and can actually see people hiking/biking on other ridges. Runyon Canyon is a nice short hike, and if I lived nearby I'm sure that I would do it routinely, but it doesn't seem like there are many other hot spots.

The big negatives in these areas are that since there isn't tree cover, you're exposed to the sun constantly, and so burn or get dehydrated if you want to do a really long hike or ride. By contrast, in the East, you can do all-day, 10+ hour endurance events since there is often tree cover for much of any activity.

Also, what is striking about hikes around Los Angeles is the lack of animals or birds. In the East, stuff is rustling around all of the time, even in the winter.

I have rented bikes out there and the one time in particular the guys asked me where I was from and said Ohio and they kind of assumed that I was going to die and they were never going to see their $5,000 mountain bike again. I remember the guy warning me "hey, we measure climbs out here in miles", and I told him I do thousands of feet of climbing on in a ride pretty commonly. They looked at me blankly since they just plain don't have any conception of anywhere that isn't "cool", and obviously they think that Ohio is just flat corn fields and that there can't possibly be any good rides to be had.

When I showed back up unscathed a few hours later the guys thought I was making up where I had gone and that I had successfully navigated the mean streets of Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica to return the bike. All of those guys drive their bikes to parking lots next to the hills but I just rode right out of the store, which they thought was completely bizarre.




This is the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson that I rented. It's an awesome bike and I've wanted one ever since.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Quixote

None of this is relevant to my original post.

Santiago is also not a coastal metro, as it's 50-60 miles removed from the ocean and in between it is vast mountainous terrain that would be as equally sparsely populated if it were located in California; it would not look like the hills above Sunset Blvd. Its closest US equivalent is, as I mentioned earlier, the Tillamook and Caltsop State Forests to the west of Portland, OR. And then there's that island where you went to see Penguins once that you must not be able to locate on a map to jog your memory of what it's called, probably because it doesn't even exist.

I've actually lost track of your point since you've added so many caveats. Anyway, speaking as someone who has been to both Santiago and Los Angeles, I'm not sure exactly what geography feature is unique to Los Angeles and not accessible to the people of Santiago.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Yes but this is literally in the middle of an area with 12-15 million people, so you would expect it to be swarmed. You can easily go a half hour without seeing anybody else, and without tree cover, you can see long distances almost constantly, and can actually see people hiking/biking on other ridges. Runyon Canyon is a nice short hike, and if I lived nearby I'm sure that I would do it routinely, but it doesn't seem like there are many other hot spots.

The big negatives in these areas are that since there isn't tree cover, you're exposed to the sun constantly, and so burn or get dehydrated if you want to do a really long hike or ride. By contrast, in the East, you can do all-day, 10+ hour endurance events since there is often tree cover for much of any activity.

Also, what is striking about hikes around Los Angeles is the lack of animals or birds. In the East, stuff is rustling around all of the time, even in the winter.

I have rented bikes out there and the one time in particular the guys asked me where I was from and said Ohio and they kind of assumed that I was going to die and they were never going to see their $5,000 mountain bike again. I remember the guy warning me "hey, we measure climbs out here in miles", and I told him I do thousands of feet of climbing on in a ride pretty commonly. They looked at me blankly since they just plain don't have any conception of anywhere that isn't "cool", and obviously they think that Ohio is just flat corn fields and that there can't possibly be any good rides to be had.

When I showed back up unscathed a few hours later the guys thought I was making up where I had gone and that I had successfully navigated the mean streets of Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica to return the bike. All of those guys drive their bikes to parking lots next to the hills but I just rode right out of the store, which they thought was completely bizarre.




This is the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson that I rented. It's an awesome bike and I've wanted one ever since.

The Santa Monica Mountains and Verdugos are hills. You want mountains you go to angeles national forest. You can be at 10,000 feet in an alpine forest within 45 min and dealing with incredibly steep and difficult terrain as well as deep snow packs into June. There are many 10, 15, 20 mile plus trails. I hike these mountains all the time.

Los Angeles is also one of the worlds bio diversity hot spots. Bears, mountain lions, bobcats, deer, Big horn sheep and all kinds of rodents, snakes, squirrels, etc. There are birds from all over the place here as well.

Not sure where you used to bike and hike, but it seems like you didnt get around much in terms of the options in the general area.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

The big negatives in these areas are that since there isn't tree cover, you're exposed to the sun constantly, and so burn or get dehydrated if you want to do a really long hike or ride. By contrast, in the East, you can do all-day, 10+ hour endurance events since there is often tree cover for much of any activity.

This is why I actually prefer the cooler climate of Norcal, especially if you have an active outdoor lifestyle. Most people in general prefer the warmer weather of Socal for general everyday life, but if you're hiking or mountain biking, LA and SD are just too hot and the trails don't have enough shade. The beaches might be better down there, but not the hikes/bikes. The PNW also has good weather for outdoor activities in the summer.

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

This is the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson that I rented. It's an awesome bike and I've wanted one ever since.

The Bronson is an awesome bike, named after the street where Santa Cruz Bicycles was first founded in a small garage. I've been riding a Marin hardtail but one day hope to upgrade to a Santa Cruz full suspension. Other well known brands like Specialized, Fox, Giro, Ibis, etc were started/based here and conduct their R&D and testing in the forests up and down the Santa Cruz Mountains.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Yes but this is literally in the middle of an area with 12-15 million people, so you would expect it to be swarmed. You can easily go a half hour without seeing anybody else, and without tree cover, you can see long distances almost constantly, and can actually see people hiking/biking on other ridges. Runyon Canyon is a nice short hike, and if I lived nearby I'm sure that I would do it routinely, but it doesn't seem like there are many other hot spots.

The big negatives in these areas are that since there isn't tree cover, you're exposed to the sun constantly, and so burn or get dehydrated if you want to do a really long hike or ride. By contrast, in the East, you can do all-day, 10+ hour endurance events since there is often tree cover for much of any activity.

Also, what is striking about hikes around Los Angeles is the lack of animals or birds. In the East, stuff is rustling around all of the time, even in the winter.

I have rented bikes out there and the one time in particular the guys asked me where I was from and said Ohio and they kind of assumed that I was going to die and they were never going to see their $5,000 mountain bike again. I remember the guy warning me "hey, we measure climbs out here in miles", and I told him I do thousands of feet of climbing on in a ride pretty commonly. They looked at me blankly since they just plain don't have any conception of anywhere that isn't "cool", and obviously they think that Ohio is just flat corn fields and that there can't possibly be any good rides to be had.

When I showed back up unscathed a few hours later the guys thought I was making up where I had gone and that I had successfully navigated the mean streets of Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica to return the bike. All of those guys drive their bikes to parking lots next to the hills but I just rode right out of the store, which they thought was completely bizarre.




This is the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson that I rented. It's an awesome bike and I've wanted one ever since.

No idea what you're talking about. What popular LA city trail do you go without seeing a person for 30 minutes exactly????? The quieter trails are in the burbs, partly because nobody knows about them or lack parking.

Griffith, Fryman, Los Liones, Veterans, Temescal are all super busy. And compared to hiking trails back east? Not even a comparison. At all.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by homebucket

This is why I actually prefer the cooler climate of Norcal, especially if you have an active outdoor lifestyle. Most people in general prefer the warmer weather of Socal for general everyday life, but if you're hiking or mountain biking, LA and SD are just too hot and the trails don't have enough shade. The beaches might be better down there, but not the hikes/bikes. The PNW also has good weather for outdoor activities in the summer.

This is just about perfect weather for hiking and biking, with the right amount of shade and exposure. Yeah it could get a bit hot in July and August, but I don't mind the occasional heat wave. It's a dry heat

• Video Link

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Also, what is striking about hikes around Los Angeles is the lack of animals or birds. In the East, stuff is rustling around all of the time, even in the winter.

It's mostly just deer in these parts, and the occasional bobcat. If you spot a mountain lion, it's probably not gonna end up well for you.

Here's a bobcat I spotted jogging next to me on a trail near Muir Woods.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I've actually lost track of your point since you've added so many caveats. Anyway, speaking as someone who has been to both Santiago and Los Angeles, I'm not sure exactly what geography feature is unique to Los Angeles and not accessible to the people of Santiago.

I don't believe you can get an ocean, desert, city and snow-capped mountain view at the same time in Santiago. Proximity is part of the argument, as per the OP - what's available in the immediate metro area and what's easily accessible regionally. The desert is not easily accessible from Santiago - it's an hours-long drive up a narrow two-lane mountain road, across an international border.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by homebucket

The Bronson is an awesome bike, named after the street where Santa Cruz Bicycles was first founded in a small garage.

Yeah there is no comparison between a high-end carbon bike like the Bronson and a mid-level ($1,500~) aluminum one like mine. My bike feels like a box truck by comparison.