 Quick Area Guide
Santa Monica Happenings
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380 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Telephone: +1 310 260 8744
Pacific Park is a family amusement park on Santa Monica Pier. There are 12 rides, 18 games and an oceanfront food plaza. It is also available for private events, group outings, and birthday parties.
1418 Descanso Dr
La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Telephone: +1 818 952 4401
Camellias--evergreen flowering shrubs from China and Japan--were the passion of amateur gardener E. Manchester Boddy, who began planting them here in 1941. Today his 160-acre Descanso Gardens contain more than 100,000 camellias in more than 600 varieties, blooming under a canopy of California oak trees. The shrubs now share the limelight with a 9-acre International Rosarium, home to hundreds of varieties. This is a really magical place, with paths and streams that wind through the towering forest, bordering a lake, bird sanctuary, Japanese Garden & Tea House, and Boddy House art museum. Each season features different plants: daffodils, azaleas, tulips, and lilacs in the spring; chrysanthemums in the fall; and so on. Monthly art exhibits are held in the garden's hospitality house.
301 N. Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007
Telephone: +1 626 821 3222
This horticultural and botanical center was formerly the estate of silver magnate "Lucky" Baldwin--the man responsible for bringing horse racing to Southern California--who lived until 1909 on these lushly planted 127 acres overlooking Santa Anita racetrack. You might recognize Baldwin's red-and-white Queen Anne cottage from the opening sequence of Fantasy Island. The gardens are also a favorite location for movie filming and local weddings. In addition to spectacular flora, the Arboretum boasts a bevy of resident peafowl who seem unafraid of humans--one of the best treats here is being up close when the peacocks, attempting to impress passing hens, unfold their brilliant rainbow plumage.
23600 Roscoe Blvd.
West Hills, CA 91304
Telephone: +1 818 346 7449
Famous for lush citrus groves and beautiful rose garden, this 25-acre park is the site of the historic Orcutt residence built in 1920.
1501 Will Rogers State Park Rd
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-3941
Phone: +1 310 454 8212
Will Rogers State Historic Park was once Will Rogers' private ranch and grounds. Willed to the state of California in 1944, the 168-acre estate is now both a park and a historic site, supervised by the Department of Parks and Recreation. Visitors may explore the grounds, the former stables, and the 31-room house filled with the original furnishings, including a porch swing in the living room and many Native American rugs and baskets.
Griffith Park Ranger Visitor Center
4730 Crystal Springs Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Telephone: +1 323 913 4688
One of the nation's largest urban parks. Attractions include the LA Zoo, golf courses, Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Greek Theatre, Travel Town, Griffith Observatory, pony and train rides, more than 53 miles of bridle and hiking trails. Made world-famous in the film Rebel without a Cause, Griffith Observatory's bronze domes have been Hollywood Hills landmarks since 1935. The main dome houses a planetarium, where narrated projection shows reveal the stars and planets that are hidden from the naked eye by the city's lights and smog. Other shows take you on excursions into space to search for extraterrestrial life, or examine the causes of earthquakes and moonquakes. The adjacent Hall of Science holds exhibits on galaxies, meteorites, and other cosmic objects, including a telescope trained on the sun, a Foucault pendulum, and earth and moon globes 6 feet in diameter.
285 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007
Telephone: +1 626 574 7223
The premier Thoroughbred racing venue in North America features live racing from October through April. Enjoy gaming, fine dining, outdoor events and concerts.
Las Virgenes and Malibu Canyon Rd
Malibu, CA 91302
Telephone: +1 818 880 0367
If you're visiting the park and suddenly feel a sense of déjà vu, there's a reason: This lush 8,200-acre slopeland has been used for the settings of both "Planet of the Apes" and "M*A*S*H," among other notable movies and TV shows. Just 25 miles from downtown L.A., the park is set in the rugged Santa Monica mountains, with more than 4,000 acres of fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and bird watching. Fifteen miles of streamside trails wind through the oak and sycamore woodlands, mostly following the 25-mile Malibu Creek that runs from Boney Mountain to Malibu Lagoon. Wildflowers are in bloom nearly all year and several areas are prime locations for coyote and deer spotting.
9000 W Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90265
Telephone: +1 818 880 0350
Located between the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu shoreline, Point Mugu State Park boasts more than 70 miles of hiking trails. The La Jolla Valley trail traverses it all--from rugged chaparral strewn with prickly pear and yucca to lush, fern-filled canyons with streams, small waterfalls and stands of oaks. The hike eventually gives way to beautiful rolling grasslands busy with scurrying roadrunners. La Jolla Valley is one of the few places left in Southern California that has resisted the foreign grasses imported by the Spanish for pasture. Look for wild chocolate lilies in them. The chaparral in springtime is a heady potpourri of sages, wild lavender, manzanita, wild currant, yellow broom and bushy astors spilling pinks, purples, yellows and whites all over the moderate-to-difficult trail.
471 S Roxbury Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone: +1 310 550 4761
The words "municipal park" don't usually conjure up images of verdant grassy knolls, well-manicured flower beds resplendent with poppies, and croquet matches played in cricket whites, but tack on a Beverly Hills address and it all makes sense. This green gem is nestled at the base of Beverly Hills and Century City high-rise apartment buildings, whose well-to-do dwellers make good use of its location.
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