Wanting a little taste of break during the peak of exams? Join Peaks & Professor Carl Collins on a relaxing hike through the Pacific Palisades on the Los Leones Trail! Here’s your chance to touch grass and smell the fresh salty air away from our cramped city bubble. To beat the fellow nature loving crowds, we’ll be leaving campus at 7:30 am to arrive right when the trail opens. Our easy 4 mile hiking adventure should take around 4 hours so please plan accordingly. Excited to see you all there!!

CALLING ALL ENGINEERS!! Come join Peaks and Viterbi Well for this incredible collaboration. Join us Saturday morning for a 4.3 mile hike in the Santa Monica Mountains. We will have the lovely Dan McCurry from the Environmental Engineering department joining us. Take the day to destress, enjoy nature, and have a great conversation about the importance of wellness in engineering!

Join Peaks & Sandra Kazarian for a refreshing hike along Fryman Canyon Trail in Studio City, tucked within the eastern Santa Monica Mountains. We will leave campus at 9:00 am and drive to the Wilacre Park trailhead. The hike is expected to take about an hour and a half, following wide dirt paths with steady but manageable elevation and scenic valley views, making it a perfect weekend reset.

About halfway through, near the TreePeople overlook, we will pause for a short writing retreat. Participants will reflect on the contrast between USC’s fast-paced campus environment and LA’s urban wilderness by writing a brief poem or free-form paragraph inspired by the trail.

Looking for an outdoorsy start to Women’s History Month? Join USC’s Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment on a beautiful, easy hike with Professor Julie Van Dam to the Elysian Park West Loop!

Join Peaks & Professor Michael Petitti on this quick hike through the Santa Monica Mountains! We will leave campus around 9:30 am, then drive to the trailhead in Topanga. After hiking about 45 minutes by the creek (with some crossings), we will arrive at the beautiful waterfall, where we can hang out and enjoy the view before heading back. Perfect way to cool off your weekend!

¿Ya quieres un escape de la escuela? ¡Vente a una caminata de 8 millas en el hermoso Bosque Nacional Angeles! Sí está un poco larga, pero no hay casi subidas, ¡está perfecto para todos! En el camino, cruzaremos arroyos con sombrita hasta que lleguemos a la cascada de la presa.

Need Sunday plans? Join us for a super chill hike with a super chill professor!

3 mile hike full of breathtaking views of Los Angeles!

Midterms got you down? Missing the wind on your face and sand in your toes? Reef Point and Crystal Cove is the perfect getaway for you! On this easy 5.2 mile hike, we will spend most of our time walking along the picturesque beachfront of Crystal Cove State Park.

Come out and chat with the Vice-Dean of Thornton, Sean Holt! Stroll down the ruins of the old Griffith Park Zoo, the original location of the LA Zoo! Come explore the old exhibits and chat with one of the most insightful professors at USC!

Join us for a lovely Saturday in Ojai! We’ll start our morning by meeting up with beloved Peaks veteran Rev. Burklo at the trailhead, then hiking 4 miles through his home trails in the Los Padres National Forest. There will be lots of rolling hills and flowing water! After hiking, we’ll pop down to his house to enjoy a picnic with his DONKEYS before heading back to campus.

Join us for a lovely 4.9 mile hike (1400ft elevation) at the Cedar Glen Camp Trail on Mt. Baldy. If you are down for breathtaking views, flowing streams, and want to dive deeper into gender and sexuality topics with Dr. Blaine, come join us!!

Looking for a nice hike right outside of LA? Or curious to see a Catalina Marisa lily? Maybe even hoping for a way to unwind from a (biology) midterm? Join us on April 12 from 8:00AM to 2:00PM for an exciting 5 mile hike through Turnbull Canyon with the one and only Dr. Rita Barakat! Enjoy some stunning views alongside riveting conversations about biology, life, and everyone in between. 

¿Estresado por los finales? ¿Ya quieres un escape de la escuela? ¡Vente a una caminata de 8 millas en el hermoso Bosque Nacional Angeles! Sí está un poco larga, pero no hay casi subidas, ¡está perfecto para todos! En el camino, cruzaremos arroyos con sombrita hasta que lleguemos a la cascada de la presa.

Celebrate Veterans Day with a Tuesday morning paddleboarding & professors session at Marina del Rey! Join us in basking in the water with 60 minutes of paddleboarding!

NOTE: We will be wearing life vests, but please do not sign up for this trip if you have any doubts about your ability to safely swim and tread water. If you are not completely comfortable in the water, our other phenomenal trips are a better fit for you!

Do you have your own paddleboard(s) you could bring along? Shoot us an email (zeggleto@usc.edu) for a potential discount!

Join us on Sunday, November 9 for a relaxing 4-mile out-and-back hike with Dr. Eden Goldman! Expect a fun morning hike with great views and some super interesting conversations about mindfulness, yoga, and everything in between!

Join Peaks and the Global Supply Chain Club as we pay a visit to Madam Hollywood Sign. Come touch grass, appreciate the wonderful city we live in, and question what exactly is supply chain?

Do you identify as neurodivergent*? Want to hangout in the Expo Park Rose Garden with a Psychology professor who studies neurodiversity? Join Dr. Sneha Mathur and trip lead Lily Morse for an hour-long discussion and hangout in the Expo Park Rose Garden! Dr. Sneha will be bringing some crayons and coloring pages :)

This event is FREE and is just a 2-minute walk from campus. Look out for an email from Lily on the exact meetup point.

*Neurodivergent means that your brain works differently from what society has defined as the “typical” brain! Anyone who identifies with that statement is more than welcome to join; you don’t need any sort of formal diagnosis.

Itching to get off of campus after midterms? Want to make the most of the chilly fall weather? COME HIKE WITH US! This 7.7 mile long loop will feature some stunning views of the Santa Monica Mountains (maybe even the beautiful California coast if the weather permits) and some rock scrambling on the way in to the trail. Elevation will get up to around 2,000 ft. above sea level, so come well rested and ready to think outside! We’ll meet EARLY in the village to get to the trailhead around 8; the hike will take around 4-5 hours and we should be back to campus by mid-afternoon!

Nestled deep in the San Gabriel Mountains is one of Southern California’s bucket list hikes. Constructed in the 1930’s the “Bridge to Nowhere” is aptly named because the road it was meant to connect never finished construction. Instead, to get to this famed bridge, we will be departing USC at 8 am sharp, parking at the trailhead, and embarking on a 10-mile round-trip hike. Despite traversing through a canyon and thus featuring minimal elevation gain, the hike is technically difficult, featuring many stream crossings. Expect to move much slower than you would on a normal hike. A serene lunch stop should power us through our exciting adventure, even if we are hiking to nowhere!

To cure any post-halloween, haunted vibes, come reconnect with nature at Descanso Gardens. Nestled in the La-Canada Flintridge hills, the gardens are a manmade, perfectly manicured oasis featuring over 150 acres of native and exotic plants and flowers. With a late start and super chill route, this will be more of a fun stroll than a hike. If you like plants, peaks, people, or just pretty things, come join us on this fun, unique walk!

If you need a nature-filled boost in the morning to get ready for Halloween night two - this trip is for you! After a (most likely) long night out, we are going to be hiking 7 miles up to Strawberry Peak to see some wonderful views and reset before returning to the USC craze.

If you’re looking to start your Saturday morning off with a relaxing stroll around a large(ish) body of water then join us for a 3.3 mile, 150-foot elevation gain hike around the Hollywood Reservoir with professors Maria Mercedes Fages Agudo and Leah Kemp from the Spanish Department (no Spanish knowledge necessary to have a good time)! Enjoy greenery after the recent rains and a great view of the Hollywood sign!

Come watch the sunrise at one of the most breathtaking ocean overlook spots in all of Los Angeles, led by a local expert!

This self-made loop trail by Professor Akhavan will guide us through peaceful wooded paths before revealing the stunning“Queen’s necklace.” From there, we will wind down through charming residential streets, past a popular wedding spot, and make our way to Palos Verdes Beach and appreciate one of the only waterfalls that pours directly into the ocean in Southern California.

Along the way, we will hear (and hopefully spot!) peacocks, hawks, falcons, seagulls, and even a few friendly chickens.

Come join Peaks and UTSA for the grand finale of Undocumented Trojan Student Week (USAW)!
Take a break from midterms and hit the trail with us - where ocean views, historic ruins, and good vibes come together. Whether you are part of UTSA or not, come join us for the adventure, scenery, and stress-free vibes.

Come with Peaks to Mandeville Canyon! Get ready for Halloween with this hike in Santa Monica with views of the greater LA area and the beautiful coastline! Professor Avi Glick from SCA joins us for a hike full of good vibes and great vistas!

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU LOVE THE OCEAN 🙋 JOIN US FOR A FUN DAY OF SNORKELING AND KAYAKING IN CATALINAAAAA!!!

Join us on our second annual Peaks x Price faculty hike with Professors Elizabeth Falletta and Kate Nelischer, and Price Advisor Russ Sommer! Don't miss this amazing opportunity to learn from three Price faculty while exploring Cherry Canyon!