On the morning of Saturday, August 22, a WEHOonline writer heading up Runyon Canyon found the doors of the new restroom at the Fuller Avenue entrance unlocked. The drinking fountains worked, and plenty of people were already using it. The building had looked nearly finished since March. No ribbon-cutting turned up in the reporting, and the writer said outright that nobody knew which day the doors were first opened.
That quiet opening fits the year. For the first time since January 2025, the park on the western edge of Outpost Estates is fully back in service. But the recovery happened one piece at a time, and some of the city's own pages haven't caught up. The trail, the restroom and the garden next door each finished on the ground before any official page said so.
Six Months Between Finished and Open
The restroom is the clearest case. The Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners approved it in December 2024 with a budget of $961,125. That figure covered site preparation, utility connections, permits and accessibility work as well as the prefabricated building. After that, the timeline ran slowly:
- February 12, 2026. The Fuller Avenue gate closed from about 6:30 a.m. to noon so a crane could deliver the building. Visitors were sent to the Vista and Mulholland entrances, and temporary no-parking rules went up on Fuller and parts of Hillside.
- February 13. The two-stall building was lowered into place.
- March and April. WEHOonline described it as nearly finished in both months.
- August 5. FOX 11 found it fenced off and locked. The city told the station construction was complete and final approvals were holding up the opening.
- By August 22. It was open and in use.
What finally opened is basic and well made. There are two accessible all-gender stalls, drinking fountains on the outside wall, a yellow-block exterior and concrete walkways that WEHOonline said fit naturally into the surroundings. The paper's verdict was that a passerby who didn't know the backstory might think the building had always been there.
The backstory explains both the price and the wait. Runyon draws roughly 2 million visitors a year and had never had a permanent restroom. Paul Moore, vice president of Friends of Runyon Canyon, told WEHOonline that restrooms had been among the park's most requested improvements for more than a decade. Some residents near the Fuller entrance questioned the cost and the location so close to their homes and apartment windows. They raised concerns about smells, cleanliness, security and long-term upkeep, and WEHOonline called those concerns legitimate. Council District 4 now describes the restroom as open to the public. It says the facility was required under Recreation and Parks standards for park service levels and was approved after outreach to local stakeholders.
The West Ridge Came Back Months Earlier
The trail reopened six months before the restroom. KTLA put the Sunset Fire at 60 acres of the Hollywood Hills in January 2025, while the Los Angeles Times, citing the Los Angeles Fire Department, reported about 48 acres, and the West Ridge Trail stayed closed for more than a year so the habitat could recover. According to Council District 4, the West Trail was closed for all of 2025 so plants could re-establish. KTLA reported the reopening in a story posted Monday, February 23, 2026, and said the trail was packed with hikers that Sunday. The same story said the Fuller Avenue restroom was expected to open soon. "Soon" turned out to mean six months.
So since late February the western side of the park has been walkable again, while the restroom at its foot sat finished behind a fence. That split, with the park itself ahead of its paperwork, also shows up in the city's own records.
Where the City's Pages Still Describe Last Year
Three official sources describe Runyon right now, and they disagree. The Council District 4 parks page, updated September 16, 2026, is the most current. The Recreation and Parks park page and its emergency closure bulletin carry no visible date, and parts of both describe a park that no longer exists.
| Question | Rec & Parks pages say | Newer reporting and CD4 say |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a restroom? | The Runyon page says there are no restroom facilities | Open since at least August 22, 2026 |
| Is the West Trail open? | The closure bulletin still lists it as closed | Reopened in February 2026 |
| Is Wattles Garden Park open? | Listed "closed until further notice," while the park listing shows dawn-to-dusk hours | Restoration largely complete as of early 2026, with no reopening announced |
| July holiday early closure | July 4, 5 and 6 | July 3, 4 and 5 |
The July mix-up no longer matters, since the holiday closures have passed. It still shows how the pages work. Council District 4 announced a 5 p.m. closure for Friday, July 3 through Sunday, July 5, while the Recreation and Parks page listed July 4 through 6. Before a holiday weekend, the council office's newsletter has been the more specific source.
Next Door at Wattles, the Gap Hasn't Closed Yet
Wattles Garden Park, on Curson Avenue next to Runyon, is where the gap between finished work and official status is still open. The Sunset Fire and the mudslides that followed hit it hard. Council District 4 says restoration was largely complete at the start of 2026. The work it lists includes:
- Regrading and clearing mudflow debris in the Japanese and American garden sections
- New chain-link retention basins and walls, paid for by an emergency grant from the LA County Regional Park and Open Space District
- Restoration of the Japanese entrance gate by Recreation and Parks construction staff
- Hillside stabilization, plus a tree emergency contract funded by CD4 to remove dead trunks
Recreation and Parks lists $350,000 in Measure A RESTORE funding for related work, including rebuilding the wooden gates and arch gateway, repairing fire-damaged irrigation and landscaping, and erosion control. Some items are still pending. The council office says it is working with Recreation and Parks to find funding for interior security fencing and an expanded camera system, to restore the trellis that once covered the walkway up to the Japanese garden, and to complete a planting plan for that garden.
No source reviewed for this post confirms whether any part of the Wattles gardens is open to visitors as of late September 2026. No reopening date or event has been announced either. The Recreation and Parks bulletin still lists the park as closed, but that same bulletin also lists Runyon's West Trail as closed. The Wattles Mansion page says the mansion is currently closed for special events and remains available for filming. Its Tuesday and Wednesday hours, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., are office hours only. Wattles Farm, the organic community garden run by a nonprofit in partnership with Recreation and Parks, works separately. Its plots are for members who live within five miles, take part in community cleanups and wait for an opening.
Given the pattern at Runyon this year, the way to find out whether Wattles is open is to check the gate on Curson.
What Hasn't Changed at Runyon's Gates
The day-to-day rules are the same as before. The park is open sunrise to sunset. Visitors are asked to stay on designated trails, and dogs may be off-leash only in designated areas. Friends of Runyon Canyon places the off-leash area near the lower gates of the western trail. It also notes that the park has no parking lot and that drivers parking on the street should read the posted restrictions carefully.
Those restrictions go back to March 2024. That was when the City Council approved limits on residential streets west and north of the park, with permits for residents. At the time, the Los Angeles Times reported that the block-by-block rules and the timing of new signs had not been set. No later change to parking policy turned up for 2026, so the signs on each block are still the rule that counts.
The open question about the restroom is upkeep, the same concern raised before it was built. WEHOonline found it clean and bright soon after it opened. The paper also asked what it will look like in six months and whether the city will keep it clean, safe and reliably open. Measured from that August 22 visit, the six-month mark falls in late February 2027, about a year after the West Ridge reopened.
If you own near Runyon's Fuller, Vista or Mulholland gates, how close you are to an entrance, and how the park around it is changing, is part of what your home is worth. Neal Baddin follows those details block by block across the Outpost side of the hills. Request Your Instant Home Valuation for a current read on your property.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
