Do consider going to Idyllwild if all you want is to escape from the city, go to a low-key place and hike. Its almost 2 hours drive east from Los Angeles. We stayed here for the weekend and this one was our closing hike.
It’s a 5 mile out and back or 2.5 mile one way. Both the ends are trail-heads and we ended up parking a car at either end (yes how lame!). It has a relatively higher foot traffic and is easy. Picturesque, but my pictures dont do justice. I need a better camera than my phone.
More information: http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/ernie-maxwell-trail
Girl Hiker 