**Stay:** [Airbnb — DTLA](../bookings/stays/airbnb-la-dtla.md) · ✅ extra night confirmed Sep 15 — booking now runs Sep 26–30 · check-in from 4:00 PM PDT · 1100 W Temple St
These options do not repeat the group's Malibu, El Matador, Point Dume, Santa Monica or Venice day. Schedules use the [Brand Plaza Hotel](../bookings/stays/brand-plaza-hotel-glendale.md) as the starting-point baseline and target an early LAX return at **4:30–5:00 PM**, although Budget is booked through 18:45 PDT. Drive times below are routing baselines—allow additional time for Saturday traffic.
Best balance of ocean, hiking and manageable driving. Approximately 112 miles total from Brand Plaza via Crystal Cove to LAX; about 2 hours 55 minutes of baseline driving.
- **Recommended if hiking is the priority:** Moro Canyon → East Cut Across → Moro Ridge → BFI loop · 4.9 miles / 7.9 km · about 2 hours · 1,053 ft / 321 m cumulative gain and loss. The steep climb reaches a ridge with Pacific views before descending to the canyon
- **Easy alternative:** Moro Canyon out-and-back · 3 miles / 4.8 km · about 1 hour · broad coastal-sage canyon with oak and sycamore near seasonal Moro Creek
- This is a dry, open canyon—not a narrow slot canyon like Annie's Canyon. Carry water and stay on marked trails
**Laguna Beach afterward:**
- Start at Crescent Bay Point Park for the headland view
- Walk the coastal path through Heisler Park toward Main Beach
- Have lunch downtown; if time remains, continue to Treasure Island Park for another bluff walk
- Tide pools are worthwhile only when the tide is low and the rocks are safe. The predicted low on 2026-09-26 is **3:39 PM PDT**, later than the conservative airport schedule
- **9:00–11:30 AM** Point Vicente Interpretive Center and the open coastal paths
- **11:30 AM–1:00 PM** Scenic Palos Verdes Drive and lunch near Redondo Beach
- **2:00–3:00 PM** Return the car; meet the group early
Avoid Abalone Cove Beach, Sacred Cove Beach and their access trails; the city lists them as closed because of land movement. Recheck trail alerts before departure.
### Option C — Vasquez Rocks · geology and desert scenery
- **8:15–11:30 AM** [Vasquez Rocks Natural Area](https://parks.lacounty.gov/vasquez-rocks-natural-area-and-nature-center/): rock formations, viewpoints and a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail
- **12:00 PM** Lunch in Agua Dulce
- **1:00 PM** Leave for LAX
- **2:30–3:30 PM** Return the car
This route is exposed and can be hot; carry water and start early.
LK finished Vasquez Rocks around **10:20 AM** and had already checked out with her luggage in the rental car. She chose to drive toward Point Dume instead of Point Vicente.
Official advisories checked at **10:57 AM** say the Point Dume lower parking lot is unavailable because Westward Beach Road is closed, and the Point Dume/Westward entrance at Birdview Avenue is closed during active construction hours from **5:00 AM–3:00 PM**. Use **Zuma Beach's open main parking lots** as the practical fallback and obey posted controls; do not attempt to cross closure barriers.
- Approximately **1 hour 25 minutes** baseline from Vasquez Rocks to Zuma Beach before live traffic
- Keep valuables with LK and all bags concealed before arrival; luggage in a parked rental remains a theft risk even in the paid lot
- Make this a short beach/view stop rather than leaving the vehicle for a long hike or restaurant meal
- Leave the coast by about **3:30 PM** for the Budget return at LAX; baseline Zuma → Budget is about **50 minutes**, but Saturday traffic can add substantially
- **8:00–9:15 AM** [Annie's Canyon Trail](https://naturecollective.org/location/annies-canyon-trail/) — 1.4–2 miles, 40–60 minutes, narrow slot canyon with stairs and short scrambles
- **9:45 AM–12:00 PM** [Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve](https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=657) — coastal overlooks and a short trail; gates open at 7:15 AM and all trails were open when checked
- **12:00–1:00 PM** Lunch in Del Mar
- **1:00 PM** Leave for LAX
- **4:00–5:00 PM** Return the car, allowing a substantial traffic buffer
Choose this only if the drive itself is acceptable and both places matter to LK.
| Brand Plaza Hotel — LK | 339 1/2 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203 | [search](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=339+N+Brand+Blvd+Glendale+CA+91203) |
