Runyon Canyon, L.A.'s iconic hiking destination, will be closed to hikers for nearly the entirety of spring, city officials announced today.

The commissioners of the Department of Recreation and Parks voted late this morning to close the venue to hikers in order to repair a leaky, nearly 100-year-old water pipe, said Estevan Montemayor, director of communications for area city Councilman David Ryu.

The closure is scheduled to last from April 1 — no fooling — to July 31. City officials are calling this the Runyon Canyon Water System Improvement Project.

“The Runyon Canyon Park yoga field will remain open throughout the construction project,” Ryu's office said in a statement. “However, the hiking trails and all other areas will be closed to the public.”

The 1-mile-long, 6-inch pipe under a gravel trail delivers water to residents and to firefighters in case of emergency, Montemayor told us. It has seen as many as 20 leaks recently, he said.

City officials wanted to prevent the kind of damage Hollywood Hills residents witnessed when another old pipe gave way and triggered a mud slide in December, Montemayor said.

“It's a public safety concern,” he said. “There's no doubt it needs to be repaired.”

Officials wanted to get the project done before summer hiking season. 

“The quickest way to do this is to close the park for four months and allow work crews to repair the leaks and get the park back open to the public by summer,” Montemayor said.

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