View From the Top: 10 Transcendent LA Vistas

The thrill of rising above the smog and sprawl and teeming humanity is a natural antidote to the stupor of urban drudgery. Luckily for Angelenos, stairs lead up, highways wind into the hills, and dead-end roads head deep into canyons. From up here, the enigmas of the city and its singular history spill out endlessly. You'll find caves, cacti, fields of sage, rustic film locations, celebrity jogging trails, the scene of a public works tragedy, oil wells, a high-altitude living room... Have a look and tell us about your favorite L.A. overlooks, views, and vantage points on Trazzler.

A note about Trazzler's slideshows: we don't do top-tens or best-of lists. Nor are we so morbid or presumptuous as to tell you where you must go before you shuffle off this mortal coil. The world is far too big and fascinating to encapsulate in any kind of definitive list. We simply chose the places that our writers have contributed that make us think, laugh, dream, and, in this case, experience a vicarious vertiginous thrill. --Megan Cytron, Editor of Trazzler

Want to write for us? Enter one of Trazzler's writing contests or check out our freelance writing jobs page.