Los Angeles · RedAwning

Hollywood SignNine 45-foot letters on Mount Lee since 1923 — the most famous billboard ever built, free to view 24/7

The 350-foot Hollywood Sign on Mount Lee — nine 45-foot-tall white letters originally erected in 1923 as a real-estate billboard for the "Hollywoodland" subdivision. Free to view from public trails and overlooks across Griffith Park; closest legal access is the Mount Hollywood Trail and the Wisdom Tree summit, with the postcard view from the Griffith Observatory terrace.

Hours todaySunrise–sunset – undefinedThursday hours
TicketsFreeAdmission
LocationLos Angeles, CaliforniaMount Lee Drive
Official sitehollywoodsign.orgPlan your visit

FreeAdmission
1923Erected
45 ftLetter height
350 ftSign length

The Hollywood Sign was erected in July 1923 as "HOLLYWOODLAND" — a temporary outdoor billboard for a hillside subdivision developed by Harry Chandler and the Crescent Sign Company. Each of the original thirteen letters stood 50 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and was studded with 4,000 light bulbs flashing "HOLLY," then "WOOD," then "LAND" in sequence. Intended to last 18 months, the sign was rescued in 1949 by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who removed the LAND, fixed the letters, and began maintaining what was now a city symbol.

The sign sits on the south slope of Mount Lee at 1,578 feet — nine letters total, each 45 feet high after the 1978 reconstruction funded by Hugh Hefner, Alice Cooper, Andy Williams, and other celebrity patrons at $27,777.77 per letter. The 350-foot full-length view of all nine letters is best from the Griffith Observatory's east terrace (about 1.7 miles away), the Lake Hollywood Reservoir overlook, the Hollywood & Highland Center rooftop, and the official Hollywood Sign Selfie Spot at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland.

Plan an hour for a viewpoint visit — much longer (3–4 hours round-trip) if hiking the Mount Hollywood Trail, the Brush Canyon Trail, or the Cahuenga Peak / Wisdom Tree route. The sign itself is fenced off; do not try to climb the access road from Beachwood — neighborhood streets are heavily monitored and ticketed. Best free-parking strategies: Lake Hollywood Park, the Griffith Observatory lots before 11 AM, or Bronson Canyon for hikers heading up Brush Canyon Trail.

Griffith Observatory east terrace
The most-photographed and most-accessible Hollywood Sign view — about 1.7 miles east-northeast across Bronson Canyon. Free coin-operated binocular stations along the railing, the full-length 350-foot horizontal sign, and the Mulholland Highway snaking between the camera and the letters.
Mount Hollywood Trail
A 3.0-mile round-trip hike from the Charlie Turner trailhead off Griffith Observatory to the 1,625-foot summit of Mount Hollywood — 600 feet of gain, mostly fire-road, ends with a panoramic platform putting the sign in profile to the west. Average 1.5–2 hours.
Brush Canyon Trail (Bronson Canyon)
A 6.5-mile round-trip via the Hollyridge Trail from the Canyon Drive trailhead — the shortest legal route to the top of Mount Lee, ending behind the sign at the maintenance gate. About 1,100 feet of gain through chaparral and the Bronson Caves filming locations. Allow 3–4 hours.
Lake Hollywood Reservoir overlook
A flat 3.5-mile loop around the Mulholland Dam reservoir with the sign reflected in the water from the south shore — minimal shade, no facilities, free parking at Lake Hollywood Park on Canyon Lake Drive. Best photographed on a windless morning before 10 AM.
Cahuenga Peak & the Wisdom Tree
A 3.5-mile round-trip hike up Burbank Peak to the lone surviving 2007-fire pine known as the Wisdom Tree, then along the Aileen Getty Ridge to Cahuenga Peak (1,820 feet) — the highest publicly accessible point in the Hollywood Hills, with the sign 600 feet directly below to the east. About 1,100 feet of gain; allow 2.5 hours.
Innsdale Trail (residential side)
A short 1.4-mile loop from the Hollywoodland Stone Gates on Beachwood Drive — the original 1923 subdivision entrance Harry Chandler built. Trail wraps below the sign on the developed slope, passing the Castillo del Lago house. Strict residential parking enforced; best entered on foot or via Lyft.
Hollywood Sign Trust behind-the-fence tour
The Hollywood Sign Trust runs occasional small-group educational tours behind the fence to the maintenance road below the letters — distributed by lottery several times a year, no walk-up access. Free; sign up at hollywoodsign.org for the email lottery list.
The Selfie Spot at Hollywood & Highland
An official designated photo platform on the rooftop of the Ovation Hollywood complex at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland — frames the sign between the recreated Babylon Court arches. Free, open daily, the closest sign view from the Walk of Fame and Metro B (Red) Line Hollywood/Highland station.

Open hours

The sign itself is fenced off and not directly accessible — viewing is from Griffith Park trails (Mount Hollywood, Mount Lee Drive, Brush Canyon, Innsdale Trail) and Griffith Observatory grounds. Park trails open daily from sunrise to sunset; Mount Hollywood Drive gates close at dusk.

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Note · Late-afternoon light (90 minutes before sunset) gives the best photographs — the letters face south and lose direct sun first.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Trail and overlook accessFreeFree, every day, sunrise to sunset
Griffith Park parkingFreeFree along Mount Hollywood Drive and at trailhead lots
Bronson Canyon trailhead parkingFreeFree street parking on Canyon Drive

There is no admission, no ticket, and no official viewpoint operator — the sign is owned by the City of Los Angeles and protected by the Hollywood Sign Trust. Drone use is prohibited within Griffith Park airspace, and the gated road to the sign itself is closed to the public; the Hollywood Sign Trust runs occasional behind-the-fence tours by lottery only.

Plan your visit

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