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Figures wander through a labyrinth of hedges and trees.
(Patrick Hruby / Los Angeles Times)

Don’t get lost in the L.A. maze. Find yourself in these 12 hidden labyrinths

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Chances are you’ve stumbled across a labyrinth sometime in your life. Perhaps it was at a public garden, a nature center or a church. Perhaps you‘ve spotted one tucked in some corner of a canyon or retreat center — an intricate circular path, constructed of stones or laid in concrete, that leads nowhere in particular, except to its own center and back out again.

Labyrinths resemble mazes, but they serve a different purpose. Mazes ask you to problem-solve, to get lost and then find your way out again. Labyrinths offer up only one path — no decision-making necessary.

What they provide instead is a space — sacred space if that’s your thing — to slow down, to walk, to contemplate, to receive.

“It’s a meditation for the restless meditator,” said Katie Bull, a certified labyrinth facilitator who leads group walks at labyrinths around the city.

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Chantel Zimmerman, founder and director of Art and Soul Lab, who also facilitates labyrinth walks in L.A., said they can serve as a gateway to seated meditation. “In meditation it always helps to have an anchor. The anchor can be the breath, a mantra or a candle you are gazing at,” she said. “With labyrinths, the anchor is the path.”

There is no one way to walk a labyrinth, but there are strategies that can make your experience more meaningful. Bull offers up the idea of “the three Rs” on her labyrinth walks: Thinking about what you want to release as you walk toward the center, receiving as you stand at the labyrinth’s heart, and then considering what you want to return with as you make your way out and back into the world.

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It also can be helpful to hold a stone or another symbolic object as you walk. You might leave it in the center, or take it with you after you exit to serve as a reminder of whatever you discovered in the labyrinth that day. Bull also recommends journaling after walking a labyrinth, to help absorb whatever insights you may have gained from your experience.

And if spiritual metaphors do not appeal to you, you might still enjoy labyrinth walking anyway.

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Labyrinths appeal to a wide variety of people, said Lauren Artress, canon emeritus at Grace Cathedral Church in San Francisco, and the woman credited with bringing walkable labyrinths to the United States.

“You can be religious and say, ‘I’m walking with God,’ you can be metaphysical and new age and say, ‘I’m walking with source,’ or you can be scientific and say, ‘I’m walking to be meditative and induce the relaxation response,’” she said.

However you plan to use the labyrinth, here are 12 in the L.A. area that you might enjoy.

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Three women stand in the center of a labyrinth at Forest Lawn in Glendale.
Katie Bull, left, Kathleen Kinmont and Dana Bain walk a labyrinth at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Labyrinth of Forest Lawn Glendale

Glassell Park Labyrinths
One of L.A. County’s most beautiful and grandest labyrinths can be found in the Gardens of Contemplation at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. Open to the public, the labyrinth is perched high in the rolling hills of the cemetery, and offers walkers beautiful 360-degree views of the gentle slopes of the memorial park and the mountains beyond.

It may feel strange to seek peace and center at a cemetery, but labyrinth facilitator Katie Bull sees it a different way. “This is sacred space,” she said. “It is a place where we are surrounded by the ancestors.” This is Bull’s go-to labyrinth in the L.A. area, and she has led many group walks here.

Price: Free
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A view of the Christ the King Church's Labyrinth.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Labyrinth at Christ the King Lutheran Church

Torrance Labyrinths
You can’t miss the labyrinth at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Torrance — it takes up most of the back half of the sanctuary. Installed 25 years ago, it’s gotten a lot of use in the past quarter-century, said Pastor Dale Krumland. Sometimes the congregation will gather for prayer services around it; others will walk it in groups or on their own. Krumland walks it every day.

“There are different spiritual types,” he said. “Some like to sit and be still, some like to kneel. I always found walking to be when I do my best thinking.”

The labyrinth is open to the public, but because of the copious amount of construction going on around the church currently, you will need to make an appointment ahead of time.

Price: Free
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The Runyon Canyon Peace Labyrinth is made of stones and branches.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Peace Labyrinth in Runyon Canyon

Hollywood Hills West Labyrinths
The Peace Labyrinth in Runyon Canyon, also sometimes called “Rock Mandala,” is a simple spiral shape made from stones and twisted branches on a concrete slab dotted with graffiti. To find it, enter Runyon Canyon through the gate on Fuller Avenue and head up the paved trail. Continue as it turns to dirt, and then hang a left when you see the marker that says E2. Follow a narrow trail through a canyon until you see it. A friend described it as having a Lost Boys vibe. To me it feels kind of punk rock. Keep in mind that there is no shade nearby.

Cost: Free
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Stoneview Nature Center Labyrinth is dirt marked with stones.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Tree of Life Labyrinth at Stoneview Nature Center

Culver City Labyrinths
The Tree of Life Labyrinth at Stoneview Nature Center is installed on the far side of the overflow parking lot. Don’t let that deter you. When it’s not being used for parking (which is most of the time), the lot is actually a public art piece and labyrinth designed by artist Kat Skraba. Stoneview Nature Center is a 5-acre site just off the 13-mile Park to Playa Trail that connects Baldwin Hills to the ocean.

Just to the left of the labyrinth you’ll find a meditative garden with artworks, tables and benches and even a few very long logs to lie down, stretch and soak up the natural landscape.

Price: Free
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The labyrinth at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Labyrinth Bonaventure at Mary & Joseph Retreat Center

Rancho Palos Verdes Labyrinths
You’ll find the Labyrinth Bonaventure just off the parking lot of the Mary & Joseph Retreat Center in the hills of Rancho Palos Verdes. The labyrinth was named for Sister Johanna Leahy (Mother Mary Bonaventure), who envisioned it as a nurturing, contemplative space where visitors are invited to have an encounter with God. Completed in 2015, it is flanked by a stone fountain with running water and several long benches where groups might gather. A small table nearby offers a finger labyrinth — a model of the full-sized labyrinth on the ground but “walkable” with an index finger. The labyrinth is open to the public, no reservation required.

Price: Free
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The Disney Hall Blue Ribbon Garden Labyrinth, with purple-flowering trees on either side.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Spiral at the Blue Ribbon Garden above the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Pasadena Labyrinths
Is it a stretch to call the elliptical spiral in the garden above Walt Disney Concert Hall a labyrinth? Maybe. But it does offer just one path to the center and back out, and you can walk it. So, at the very least, it is labyrinth-like. You’ll find it just steps from the staircase at 2nd Street and Grand Avenue that takes you up to the rooftop garden. The pattern may be simple, but you can still use it as a tool to release, receive and return. When you’ve finished walking the labyrinth, enjoy the rest of this hidden garden, which offers beautiful landscaping, plenty of places to sit and reflect, and views of downtown L.A. and beyond.

Price: Free
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People walk along a tree-lined trail in Descanso Gardens.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

The Rose Garden Labyrinth at Descanso Gardens

La Cañada Flintridge Labyrinths
Descanso Gardens’ recently installed labyrinth is one of the most accessible on this list. Its winding path is wide enough for a wheelchair or a stroller, and a placard at its entrance offers a QR code that links to three meditations you can use on your walk. The gardens are a popular destination for parents with small children, so be prepared to share the space with exuberant young people who may run across your path. Four curved benches at the labyrinth’s center offer a welcoming spot for seated contemplation and a view of the rose garden.

Price: $15 adults, $11 seniors (65 and older) and students with ID, $5 children (5–12 years old), free for children 4 years and younger
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A view of the Loyola Marymount University Labyrinth.
(Deborah Netburn/Los Angeles Times)

The Labyrinth in the Garden of Slow Time at Loyola Marymount University

Westchester Labyrinths
Perched on the bluffs of the Catholic university’s West L.A. campus, the Labyrinth in the Garden of Slow Time was designed by English professor Paul Harris and built in 2016. Standing in its center you can see across the L.A. Basin to the Pacific Ocean, the Hollywood sign and even the white solar telescopes of Mt. Wilson.

Harris often brings his students to the labyrinth to contemplate the different timescales on display — geologic, historic, recent. “I call it a slow time machine,” he said.

You don’t have to be affiliated with the university to use the labyrinth. To get there, park in the university’s Drollinger Parking Plaza, cross the street, and then hang a left after you pass the circular William H. Hannon Library.

Price: Free
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A  man walks a labyrinth at the Pace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens in West Adams.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Meditation Garden

Jefferson Park Labyrinths
Perhaps L.A.’s most beloved and well-known labyrinth is located behind a villa in West Adams where Busby Berkeley once lived. The religious organization Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness acquired the property in 1974 and continues to use it as its headquarters and learning center, opening the lush, landscaped grounds to visitors on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. You’ll need to make a reservation online before you go. When you arrive, a docent will give you a little tour of the gardens and a quick introduction to walking the labyrinth.

Price: $6
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A view of the Prince of Peace Labyrinth.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Labyrinth at Prince of Peace Church

Woodland Hills Labyrinths
You’ll find this medieval-style labyrinth on a quiet street in Woodland Hills, just beyond the church’s verdant green lawn. Two fliers in a box near the entrance provide tips and resources for your walk, including a quote from Psalm 85:8, “Listen, O people, in the silent Chapel of your heart; and the Beloved will speak of peace to you.”

The labyrinth is open to the public and has gotten a fair amount of use since it was installed in 2006. “We’ve had mothers’ groups use it, school groups have come, people in the neighborhood, people in the church,” said Father Rand Reasoner. “Some of them I’m sure are Christians and some of them I’m sure are not — and that I think is the beauty of this tool.”

Price: Free
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The St. Francis of Assisi Church Labyrinth is surrounded by large trees that offer shade.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

St. Francis Episcopal Church Labyrinth

Simi Valley Labyrinths
Located in southeast Ventura County, just a few miles down the road from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, St. Francis Episcopal Church in Simi Valley may feel like a long distance to go to walk a labyrinth. Then you arrive. Pull into the driveway, go past the Samaritan Center on your right and park in front of the church. The labyrinth is just to the right of the chapel, arranged around a broad tree that casts a pleasant shadow over the circular path.

At the center of the labyrinth you’ll find a small bench and 10 tree stumps arranged like stools — the perfect spot for collective contemplation or private meditation. While you’re there, explore the rest of the church’s beautiful property, particularly the enclosed rose garden with a fountain in the center.

Price: Free
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A little boy stands in a stone labyrinth.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Labyrinth at Arlington Garden

Pasadena Labyrinths
The winding paths that take you into and around Pasadena’s Arlington Garden make the 3-acre property feel like one big, glorious labyrinth, but follow the trails to the back half of the site and you’ll find a proper labyrinth perfectly shaded by an old, gnarled tree. The pattern is laid out in pale colored stones, and if you walk on a warm day you might find yourself accompanied by bees, hummingbirds and a handful of lizards. When you reach the center, you’ll gaze out over one of the most beautiful low-water landscapes around.

Price: Free
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