Los Angeles Sports & Outdoors

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: LA is a city where you can surf at the beach in the morning and ski in the snowfields in the afternoon - and you can, as long as you get up early and have a warm wetsuit. Beach-lovers can indulge in coastal hikes, tide-pool gazing, swimming, surfing, diving, fishing and sunbathing. If you need to get space and a bit of greenery, LA's surrounding mountains offer hiking and rock climbing in summer and downhill skiing in winter. Although smoggy LA is not particularly inviting to cyclists, the county has more than 320km (200mi) of bike trails. Shopping, star-spotting and rollercoaster screaming are prime LA activities.

Skate Group

Santa Monica's most eclectic nighttime crowd isn't strolling the 3rd Street Promenade - at least not on the first and third Friday of every month, when a ragtag group of bladers, known simply as Friday Night Skate, meets near the cannon at the start of the pier at 8 p.m. for a roving 10-mile, three-hour party through the city streets. Anyone is welcome to join this noisy crew as it overwhelms traffic and follows its very own pied piper, who skates with a stereo strapped to his back.

Hike

There's no better way to explore Griffith Park's mini Alps than by hooking up with the Sierra Club's happy hikers. The group's week-night get-togethers draw hundreds to the parking lot behind the old carousel Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings for hikes that begin promptly at 7 p.m. Some trekkers do it for the cardio, some for the commune with nature, some for the chance to stroll with fellow urban naturalists. No flashlights or dogs allowed. 213-387-4287.

Surf Spot

Sunset Beach isn't just a cheesy daytime soap - it's also a surprisingly good place to surf. Although the waves lack the machinelike consistency of cliched Southern California point breaks like Malibu and Ventura County Line, Sunset's location under a steep breakwall stretches its time window of ridable surf long past those of bad-vibe-ridden, wind-exposed beach breaks. Plus, it's less crowded. To get there, just follow Sunset Boulevard toward the sunset and park on PCH a clam's throw south of Gladstone's 4 Fish.

Rock CLimb

To the outsider, Stoney Point in Chatsworth looks like a sloppy version of Stonehenge. But for the grizzled rock junkie and greenhorn alike, Stoney Point's wide variety of boulders and faces have made it a virtual pagan shrine. On weekends, a steady stream of worshipers take on climbs that require everything from no experience to no common sense to tackle. Take the 118 west to Topanga Canyon Boulevard and follow signs to Stoney Point.

Mountain Bike Trail

Mulholland Drive isn't just a place to neck or get carjacked (or both). The road's nine-mile dirt section from the 405 to Topanga is a mecca for mountain bikers of all stripes. Novices should stick to the wide, relatively pock-free main road to ensure a strenuous but essentially risk-free workout with spectacular views. Hard-core bikers can venture onto Mulholland's innumerable side trails for challenging single-track riding on steep, rocky paths that can be almost as dangerous as the paved part of Mulholland at midnight.