Whittier Narrows named best educational hike

The secret's out: the LA Weekly just named the Whittier Narrows Natural Area best educational hike.

The Natural Area appears in the Weekly's current "Best of LA" issue.

Todd Kraining writes that "deep inside the sanctuary, the solitude of the desert can be a liberating experience." But he also says that, "With all the paw prints pressed into the sand around you, you have the feeling of never quite being alone."

Krainin also mentions the transmission towers, power lines and billboards that mark the Natural Area as being part of an urban landscape. Yet, he writes, "this is a quiet, relaxing place, completely free of charge. That much, at least, is the way nature’s supposed to be."

Photo: Preschoolers from the Nueva Maravilla Child Development Center in Los Angeles on a visit to the Whittier Narrows Natural Area on April 1, 2009. (Photo by Lou Orr)