On The 18th I headed out to Griffith Park once again.
This time in search of the infamous Bat Cave!
I had done quite a bit of research before heading out and had prepared for a relatively long, somewhat rough hike into Bronson Canyon.
Much to my shock it was beyond cake getting there, even in the blazing sun & heat of a Los Angeles Summer Afternoon.

This was my second attempt at this particular little adventure.
The day before I had ventured out as well, only to find the trail cordoned off by police cars for the entire day.
In my mind I immediately pictured bloody corpses strewn about the trail & into the cave, as some mass murder or even a mass suicide had taken place.
As my logical mind persisted & finally took over I came to realize the less exciting but more realistic scenario of it being used as a filming location.

I’m not going to lie, it was a bit anti-climactic once I arrived but it was a beautiful day for a hike & it ended up taking me closer to the Hollywood Sign that I’d previously been.
So although my expectations were not met by the caves it was still an amazing experience on a beautiful day in my favorite park.

Enjoy my visions…

XXX

XXX

Bronson Canyon

Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Its craggy and remote-looking setting, but easily accessible location, has made it a prime choice for filmmakers, particularly of low-budget films, who want to place scenes in a lonely wilderness.

Location and History

Bronson Canyon is located in the southwest section of Griffith Park and is thus easily accessible from Hollywood. From Franklin Avenue, go north on Canyon Drive until the road ends for vehicular traffic at the parking lot for “Camp Hollywoodland.” At the right (east) side of the road is a small concrete bridge painted red. Cross the bridge and walk around the vehicle barrier, and follow the unpaved road, keeping left, for the short walk into Bronson Canyon.

In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry, originally named Brush Canyon, for excavation of crushed rock used in the construction of city streets. The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves became known as the Bronson Caves after a nearby street, giving the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon. (The same street indirectly provided the stage name for actor Charles Bronson, who chose the name of the Bronson Gate at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios, which in turn derived its name from Bronson Street.)

Scenes of the main cave entrance are normally filmed in a manner that shows the entrance at an angle. This is because the cave is actually a very short tunnel through the hill, with the rear opening easily visible in a direct shot. The most well known appearance of the tunnel entrance is likely as the entrance to the Batcave in the Batman television series of the 1960s.

Partial list of motion pictures filmed in Bronson Canyon
The West Portal

(This list includes films with one or more scenes filmed in Bronson Canyon, including many serials filmed on location.)

* Lightning Bryce (1919)
* Riders of the Purple Sage (1925)
* The Lightning Warrior (1931)
* Hurricane Express (1932)
* I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
* The Three Musketeers (1933)
* The Vampire Bat (1933)
* Mystery Mountain (1934)
* The Phantom Empire (1935)
* Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936)
* Zorro Rides Again (1937)
* Dick Tracy Returns (1938)
* Hawk of the Wilderness (1938)
* The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939)
* The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
* Call of the Canyon (1942)
* Leather Burners (1943)
* Pirates of Monterey (1947)
* Silver River (1948)
* Atom Man vs. Superman (1949)
* Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
* Flame of Araby (1951)
* Carson City (1952)
* Robot Monster (1953)
* Killers from Space (1954)
* The Day the World Ended (1955)
* Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
* The Searchers (1956)[1]
* Night of the Blood Beast (1957)
* The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)
* Earth vs. the Spider (1958)
* Teenage Caveman (1958)
* The Jayhawkers! (1959)
* Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)
* The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960)
* Eegah (1962)
* Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962)
* Ride the High Country (1962)
* The Gun Hawk (1963)
* They Saved Hitler’s Brain (Madmen of Mandoras) (1963)
* The Human Duplicators (1965)
* Flaming Frontier (1968)
* Head (1968)
* The Mighty Gorga (1969)
* Equinox (1970)
* Octaman (1971)
* Lost Horizon (1973)
* Mrs. Sundance (1974)
* Flesh Gordon (1974)
* The Choirboys (1977)
* Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979)
* The Return (1980)
* The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
* The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
* The Evil That Men Do (1984)
* Thrashin’ (1986)
* The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989)
* Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
* The Roller Blade Seven (1991)
* Army of Darkness (1993)
* Guns of El Chupacabra (1997)
* The End of Violence (1997)
* The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
* The Scorpion King (2002)
* Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2003)
* Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
* Cabin Fever (2003)
* Vampire Blvd. (2004)
* Diabolical Tales (2007)
* D-War (2007)

TV series filmed in Bronson Canyon

* Alias Smith and Jones (The Man Who Murdered Himself)
* Batman
* Gunsmoke
* The Lone Ranger
* Rawhide
* Bonanza
* The Virginian
* The Monkees
* Little House on the Prairie
* Have Gun, Will Travel
* Bat Masterson
* The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
* Star Trek: The Original Series
* Star Trek: The Next Generation
* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
* Star Trek: Voyager
* Star Trek: Enterprise
* Twin Peaks
* Wonder Woman
* The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
* Salute Your Shorts (The Cursed Skull)
* Combat!
* Beauty and the Geek
* V
* The Outer Limits (1960s)
* The A Team

~ Wikipedia

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX