Page 85 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to California

VENICE BEACH AND SKATE PARK, right;
Rodeo Drive under a shining sun, Beverly Hills,
California, opposite.
The Great Outdoors
Despite its car culture rap, LA County offers
lots of outdoor activities. Rent a bike along
the Santa Monica Pier and ride down the
path that parallels the ocean, through
Venice and on to Marina del Rey before
doubling back. Pack a picnic lunch and
hike Echo Mountain in Altadena or the
Arroyo Seco trail system in the San Gabriel
Mountains. Sign up for rock-climbing
instruction, or take a surfing or stand-up
paddle boarding lesson from one of the
many surfing centers in Santa Monica.
Explore the county’s varied beaches,
from the famous to the little known, but
bring a sweater if you go early or plan to stay
late. In the summer, moist marine air is
pulled inland and forms a misty cover until
it burns off by the afternoon, and tempera-
tures drop with the sunset. Start in Malibu
and show your stuff at the legendary
Surfrider Beach at Malibu Lagoon State
Beach. Explore tide pools and caves at Leo
Carrillo State Park. Malibu’s Point Dume
State Beach is featured in movies such as
the Iron Man series (2008-2013) and it also
appeared in the final scene of the original
Planet of the Apes (1968), however, it is cur-
rently closed due to storm damage. Look for
California gray whales during their migra-
tions from December to mid April. Next,
wind your way down through Topanga
Beach and stop over for a volleyball game at
Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.
Then hop over to Venice and the Strand on
Manhattan Beach to people-watch.
DRIVE TOUR
MULHOLLAND DRIVE
offers spectacular views of the
HOLLYWOOD BOWL,
the LA BASIN and
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY.
It’s about 24 miles from the
405 freeway to Highway 101 with overlooks all along the way. Or, drive in a
loop from HOLLYWOOD. Starting at the DOLBY THEATRE, home of the
Academy Awards, go west on HOLLYWOOD BLVD. in Los Angeles till it
ends. Turn right on LAUREL CANYON BLVD. and at the top, turn left on
Mulholland Drive. Stop at the NANCY HOOVER POHL OVERLOOK and
enjoy a great view of the “Valley.” Return to Mulholland Drive, going
eastbound, past Laurel Canyon Road until you see the HOLLYWOOD BOWL
OVERLOOK on your right. Park and walk up to see the panoramic views of
downtown LA, the Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood
Bowl Amphitheater. Continue east until you reach the bottom of Mulholland
Drive. Turn right on Woodrow Wilson and make an immediate right onto
CAHUENGA BLVD., heading south back to Hollywood.
Family Fun
Check out fossils of saber-toothed cats and
mammoths that roamed the LA Basin
during the Ice Age at the Rancho La Brea Tar
Pits. If the kids are tired of trying to spot
stars on Hollywood Boulevard, take them to
Griffith Observatory. Featured in many
movies including Rebel Without a Cause
(1955), the observatory is set on the
southern slope of Mount Hollywood in
Griffith Park, with a view of the Hollywood
sign and greater LA below. View exhibits
and events on Tuesday through Sunday at
the Samuel Oschin Planetarium and
Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, and
attend free public star parties monthly at
the Observatory from 2 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
Budding astronomers and their families are
encouraged to try out different telescopes
and talk to amateur astronomers about the
sun, moon and planets.
Visit the California Science Center that
houses the Endeavour, which traveled 123
million miles, the final ship to be built in
NASA’s Space Shuttle program. View space
capsules from the Mercury, Gemini and
Apollo-Soyuz missions. Special exhibits
include “Mission 26: The Big Endeavour,”
which features photographs highlighting
some of the spectacular scenes witnessed
during space shuttle Endeavour’s flight over
California and the 12-mile, 68-hour journey
to its new home at the science center. Enjoy
the many touch-friendly exhibits such as
the Space Shuttle Endeavour Simulator Ride
which takes passengers on a mission to fix
the Hubble Telescope—Endeavour's actual
first mission.
2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 83