4.25.2011

The Green Girl's Easter Signal Hill Trail Run

The Green Girl waited until the evening to go for her Easter Day run on Sunday.

I decided to get some hill work in so I headed over to Signal Hill.

The hill spans a two mile radius and is 365 feet above the city of Long Beach which surrounds it on all sides.

Besides the panoramic views and beautiful sunsets, my favorite part of Signal Hill is the trail system.


Walkways & Trails of Signal Hill


The hillside was spotted with vibrant spring blossoms.

The Panorama Trail wraps around the undeveloped north side of the hill and leads to Hilltop Park.

I paused here to watch the sun set. A number of photographers had their tripods set up.

I decided to follow the trails on the south side as I headed back home.

I couldn't stop staring at the streaks of colors across the clouds in the sky. Evenings will always be my favorite time of day to run.

At one time, Signal Hill was covered with a hundred oil derricks and known as 'Porcupine Hill' because of the prickly appearance of all the rigs.

As I ran by one of the dark green grasshopper-style derricks, I wondered how much oil is still being pumped.


Oil derrick light at McDonald's in Signal Hill
When I went past an abandoned with its horse head removed, I wondered if that section had dried up.

Since Signal Hill is known as an 'oil town', the McDonald's at the foot of the hill even features an oil derrick light.

On my way home, I thought about how Signal Hill is a residential dichotomy with its picturesque trails and giant oil derricks.

15 comments:

  1. Beautiful! How nice you have such beautiful trails to run.

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  2. That is such a great place to run, thanks for sharing! I think you really enjoyed this run.

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  3. So great when they repurpose old industrial land, especially for trails.

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  4. You're right--what a contrast! You have such amazing places to run. I really need to move there!

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  5. beautiful! :) I can only imagine how awesome the sunset looks from up there! :)

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  6. BEAUTIFUL! Almost makes running hills worth it-almost =)

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  7. Ok, I seriously want to come hang out with you and run with you! Great pics!! :)

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  8. WOW! What a beautiful place to run, you're really blessed to live where you do - don't take it for granted! Thanks for the pics!

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  9. Gorgeous pictures, I'm glad you had such a nice run!

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  10. Again I find myself struck with running location envy. Very cool.

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  11. Wow, that is absolutely an amazing view! I'm so jealous. I heard there are a lot of beautiful parks and trails near my new place but I haven't found them yet. Great job on the hills!!

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  12. Love all the new blooms, those you found are so pretty!!

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  13. You certainly find the best places to run! I was no longer jealous when I was running on Monday, because I was in Monterey running by the ocean!! I thought of how you get pretty runs like that all the time!

    P.S. Thank you for your amazing comments on my blog. You are always inspiring me to be better!

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  14. ok
    don't tell anyone.

    but

    only when I read YOUR blog and see YOUR photos do I think maybe I am missing something by running INdoors.

    AMAZING.
    AMAZING.
    place to run.

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  15. WOW how awesome! What a great place to run! So pretty - I want to check it out. :)

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