Runyon Canyon 2026 in Hollywood Hills: What's Really Open

If you walked up Fuller Avenue on a Saturday morning this August, you'd have seen the usual scene: a line of cars hunting for permit-free curb space, a dozen dogs trotting off-leash toward the switchbacks, someone's trainer counting reps near the gate. You'd also have walked past a fenced, apparently finished public restroom that nobody can use, and if you climbed high enough to reach the West Trail, you'd have found no tape, no barrier, and no sign that anything is wrong with it at all. Check the city's own park page today, though, and it still tells you the West Trail is closed.

The West Trail and Fuller Avenue restroom have different reported statuses at Runyon Canyon. The trail is physically open, while the city page still lists it as closed; the restroom appears finished, but the city says it remains in the final stages of approval.

West Trail Reopening and Current Status

The West Trail's closure goes back to the Sunset Fire, which ignited in Runyon Canyon on January 8, 2025. Accounts of how much ground it covered vary. Some reporting puts the burn at roughly 43 acres inside the park; other coverage describes 60 acres scorched across the broader Hollywood Hills. Either way, the fire triggered evacuation orders for tens of thousands of nearby residents and closed the entire park for habitat recovery.

Most of Runyon reopened by the end of February 2025. The West Trail did not. For more than a year, hikers coming up from Fuller or over from Wattles Garden had to detour around it while the hillside regrew.

Then, in mid-February 2026, the fence came down. KTLA reported the reopening after visiting on a Sunday when the newly accessible trail was packed with hikers. A local outlet covering the story a few days earlier reported that the Los Angeles Parks website still listed the West Trail as closed even though the physical barrier was gone and people were walking it.

Reports in the months that followed continued to describe the mismatch. AllTrails flagged the West Trail as only "partially inaccessible" as of March 2026. A hiking guide updated in late May of this year was still telling first-timers to check the city page before driving over, just in case. And a route report logged from a Friday evening hike this summer put it plainly: the trail is physically open, nothing is wrong with it, and the hiker filing the report couldn't explain why the city's own site still marked it closed.

As of the last week of August, the same city page still read: West Trail closed until further notice due to recent fire, all other areas open.

Restroom Construction and Approval Status

The Fuller Avenue restroom project presents a different status.

Runyon went 40 years without a permanent restroom, according to Scott Weil of the neighborhood group Runyon Canyon Guardians, who has tracked the project closely. Portable toilets were the only option for a park that draws roughly 2 million visitors a year. The city approved a fix in December 2024: a two-stall prefabricated facility with two drinking fountains, budgeted at $961,125.48. Public records on the project break that figure down to about $260,152 in park fees and $700,972 pulled from deferred maintenance funds.

A crane delivered the structure to the Fuller Avenue gate on February 13, 2026, after crews spent the morning maneuvering it into place. Construction was projected to wrap in about 15 weeks, which would have put completion somewhere around April or May. The city later said summer.

As of the last week of August, the stalls, sinks, sidewalks, and lighting all appeared finished. The fence was still up.

"They're about four months behind schedule, and I'm here every day and never see people working on it," regular visitor Shirah Scott Astrof told FOX 11 in August.

A city project-page update posted on August 6, 2026, said construction was complete and the project was in the final stages of the city's approval process before opening. The update gave no new date.

Councilmember Nithya Raman's office, whose district includes Runyon Canyon, has said the project came from years of community requests and went through significant public outreach before its December 2024 approval. Paul Moore, vice president of the advocacy group Friends of Runyon Canyon, has made a similar point over multiple surveys: public restrooms have consistently ranked as the number one or number two most requested amenity in the park for more than a decade. The demand was never really in question. The restroom had not yet opened.

Trail and Restroom Status

As of the last week of August, the West Trail was physically open, while the city page still listed it as closed.

The restroom appeared finished, but the city said it remained in the final stages of approval before opening.

Those updates are worth keeping in mind when choosing an entrance or route.

Where To Actually Go Right Now

None of this changes the basics that make Runyon a daily habit for people nearby. There are still three main ways in: the Fuller Avenue gate and the Vista Street gate at the bottom, both relying on street parking only, and the Mulholland Drive gate at the north end, which has a small lot and tends to be the easier bet on busy mornings. A fourth, quieter option connects in from the top of Wattles Garden if you'd rather start with a walk through the shrine and gardens before climbing.

Ninety of the park's 160 acres are open for off-leash dogs, and the fire road up the center remains the easiest route if you want the view without the steeper scrambles on the East or West Ridge trails. If a working restroom matters to your route, plan around the porta-potties near the Vista and Mulholland gates for now rather than counting on Fuller.

Runyon isn't going anywhere, and neither is the crowd that shows up for it. Visitors can watch for a restroom opening date and an updated West Trail status on the city page.

If you're weighing a move to this corner of the Hollywood Hills and want a read on the neighborhood that goes beyond a listing sheet, Tammy Jerome has spent decades tracking how this part of Los Angeles actually lives day to day. Let's connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.