Skip the tourist spots and show guests the best of the rest of L.A.
YOU CAN STAY ON THE BEATEN PATH, OR AVOID THE HORDES AT THESE ALTERNATIVES
Sis in town and wants to explore Los Angeles like a rookie. Perhaps your brother needs to visit the In-N-Out closest to LAX instead of the far less obnoxious location in your neighborhood. Or your childhood friend wants to take a movie studio tour in 95-degree weather. Maybe your mom — bless her heart — is forcing you to drive across the city during rush hour just to learn firsthand that there’s never any parking at Griffith Observatory in the hour before sunset. All Angelenos have been there before, and though some memories are worth braving the hassles that come with a visit to the most well-known spots in town, we still can strive to make our lives easier. Thankfully, L.A. is massive, which means that there are plenty of ways to enjoy local wonders with thinner crowds and better parking. If a friend is dying to set foot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sure, fine, oblige. We’re not discounting any of these popular spots — many attract hordes of tourists for good reason. But if your visitors are open to following your lead, consider guiding them to one of these 15 alternative (yet completely worthwhile) activities that are slightly less traveled. — Julia Carmel
INSTEAD OF PCH, CRUISE DOWN ANGELES CREST HIGHWAY
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway is as iconic L.A. as “Baywatch,” the Beach Boys and that guy who roller skates while jamming on an electric guitar on the Venice Boardwalk. Taking in the glittering Pacific Ocean and breathtaking bluffs at speed evokes a surf ’s-up type of glamour — until you hit traffic and spy the 12th influencer photo shoot in the span of an hour.
Thankfully, there’s another scenic route through the region’s natural beauty — and it’s equally compatible with a convertible. Starting in the northern L.A. County suburb of La Cañada Flintridge, the two-lane Angeles Crest Highway — a portion of State Route 2 — snakes high up into the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest. In lieu of an ocean breeze, motorists are treated to woodsy vistas and sweeping views of the metropolis below at every hairpin turn.
A major stretch of the highway recently reopened after a months-long closure, making it an opportune time to explore a wealth of freshly accessible vistas. (Some areas are still undergoing repairs from fierce winter storms, so check the latest updates before you head out.)
If you’d like to make a day of the excursion, pull over and scope out one of the many trails etched into the mountains — or turn off at Red Box junction and head up to historic Mt. Wilson Observatory. For a strenuous hike, try Strawberry Peak Trailhead, where you can triumphantly top out at a nearly 6,200-foot summit. When closures don’t block access, you can drive the entire 66-mile length of the highway into Wrightwood, a quaint mountain town that’s worth a pit stop to lap up some ice cream and small-town charm. — Lila Seidman
5849-5883 Angeles Crest Highway, La Cañada Flintridge
INSTEAD OF GRIFFITH PARK, WATCH THE SUNSET AT BALDWIN HILLS SCENIC OVERLOOK
I know, I know — you love Griffith Park! Trust me, so do I. But one of the most popular reasons that people visit Griffith Park is to watch the sun set over the city, which makes those earlyevening hours a hellish time to find parking anywhere within a steep 30-minute walk of the observatory, which has the best views.
Instead, you can drive over to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, where there’s a fairly roomy parking lot at the top of the hill that costs $2 an hour (or $6 for the whole day). From the lot, you can walk about five minutes to a giant concrete platform that sits atop the 282-step Culver City stairs. There you’ll find a sweeping view of Los Angeles that spans
the ocean, downtown L.A., the Hollywood sign and even Griffith Observatory. The overlook also has paths that wind around the top of the hill, so you can snag a bench facing whichever direction you’re enjoying the most. — Julia Carmel
6300 Hetzler Road, Culver City, parks.ca.gov
INSTEAD OF GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY, SEE THE STARS AT MT. WILSON OBSERVATORY
Unbeknownst to many Angelenos, Griffith Observatory is not the only gateway to the cosmos in town.
Mt. Wilson Observatory, perched high on a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, stands as another vintage testament to Los Angeles’ once-dark skies — before the city lights drowned out the starlight. Accessible by way of a winding road off the Angeles Crest Highway, it still feels worlds away from the bustling megapolis below.
Unlike Griffith, the observatory above Pasadena doesn’t offer panoramic views of the Hollywood sign and can’t say James Dean graced the grounds for a film shoot. But the nearly 120-year-old institution holds a scientific claim to fame: A century ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble gazed through the observatory’s Hooker 100-inch telescope and spied celestial phenomena he would use to prove that we’re not alone in the universe. Our galaxy is just one of many in an expanding space.
The prodigious telescope that enabled Hubble’s and other luminaries’ universealtering discoveries marked an engineering feat when it was completed in 1917, becoming the world’s largest telescope until 1949. More than 100 years later, it’s still the observatory’s biggest draw.
On some ticketed nights (sadly sold out for 2023), members of the public can peer through the hulking instrument into our celestial backyard. Every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors are welcome to observe the telescope from a viewing window housed in a white dome on the woodsy campus. Nearby is the rudimentary but charming one-room Astronomical Museum, which provides an overview of the observatory’s beginnings and notable scientific achievements.
If you want to make a day of it, take advantage of one of the many hikes that crisscross the mountain. Pro tip: At 5,715 feet, the observatory is elevated enough to offer a cool respite when temperatures soar below. In winter, it can snow. — L.S.
(626) 440-9016, mtwilson.edu
INSTEAD OF THE ANNENBERG COMMUNITY BEACH HOUSE, MARVEL AT JULIA MORGAN’S HERALD EXAMINER BUILDING
Instead of fighting bumper-tobumper traffic on PCH to glimpse the Julia Morgan-designed
guest house and pool at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, why not head downtown and take in one of her more impressive designs — the Herald Examiner building?
Located on the corner of Broadway and 11th streets, the building was boarded up and in disrepair after the newspaper shut down in 1989. Today, it is used as a learning center for Arizona State University following an extensive remodel. Sadly, you can’t just walk inside and tour the interiors and stunning lobby, but you can still enjoy the Mission Revival building from the street, with its impressive Moorish, Spanish, and Italian touches and cupolas covered in yellow and blue tile. The public can arrange tours by contacting ASU’s Elizabeth Tam at ewtam@asu.edu.
(Publisher William Randolph Hearst commissioned Morgan, California’s first licensed female architect, to design the headquarters for his Los Angeles Examiner newspaper in 1913 and was so pleased with her work that he hired her to design her most famous project, Hearst Castle, five years later).
This stretch of Broadway is great for an architectural walking tour, and you’ll find plenty of shopping (Urban Outfitters, West Elm, PacSun, Paul Smith), chic boutique hotels (Hoxton, Proper, Ace) and restaurants (Caldo Verde, Zinque, LOAM, Tacos Mexico) along the way. Travel three blocks north to Eighth and Broadway — past the Spanish Gothic Ace Hotel and theater and the Art Deco Eastern Columbia Building and you’ll find the Baroque Revival style Tower Theatre Apple Store, which, like the Herald Examiner, was once abandoned and now has been reborn. Go inside the former movie palace, even if you’re not interested in purchasing something from the store. It is filled with opulent details that are well worth your time, including a grand lobby inspired by Charles Garnier’s Paris Opera House, ornate crystal chandeliers, a restored stained-glass window in a fleurde-lis pattern and, perhaps most arresting, ceiling murals depicting clouds in skies of blue.
Many metered parking spaces and multiple parking lots are nearby if you want to park and walk. But be careful when you read the signs at independent lots because they can be misleading about prices. — Lisa Boone
146 W. 11th St., Los Angeles, laconservancy.org/learn /historic-places/herald -examiner-building
INSTEAD OF THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL,
CATCH A SHOW AT THE WILL GEER THEATRICUM BOTANICUM
There’s only one Hollywood Bowl. But if you’re after a more intimate summertime outdoor arts venue that resonates deeply with Southern California nature, culture and politics, Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is the place.
The open-air theater is tucked into Topanga Canyon, the stage and seats laid out in a forest, with a big screen above to catch acorns and make shade.
Though Will Geer is best known nationally for playing the grandfather in “The Waltons” from 1972 until his death in 1978, his acting career spanned four decades. Along the way he made his mark as a labor organizer and dissident (blacklisted in the 1950s) and a longtime friend of Woody Guthrie (191267).
In the early 1950s, Geer and his wife, Herta Ware, bought the Topanga property. Geer, who had a botany degree from the University of Chicago, planted extensive gardens and invited other blacklisted writers and performers to entertain each other. Guthrie briefly lived in a shack that theatergoers pass on the way to their seats.
“They did Shakespeare in the dirt,” said Theatricum office manager Gina Shansey. “For free. It was a pass-the-hat type situation.”
The Theatricum mainstage, now much upgraded but still rustic, seats 299 people. The theater company, born formally in the 1970s, runs a summer season that usually includes multiple works by Shakespeare plus at least one other work and closes with a night of songs and stories about Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger (in alternating years). It’s largely a family operation, led by producing artistic director Ellen Geer (Will’s daughter), and associate artistic director Willow Geer (Ellen’s daughter).
The season usually runs early June to early October and Theatricum also stages improv comedy and occasional concerts (in summer), a one-night winter holiday event and educational programming. Adult admission to the plays is usually $30 to $40.
Seating is on wooden benches; be sure to grab one of the cushions that staffers offer as audiences enter. It’s also wise to bring mosquito repellent. Guests are invited to bring picnics to share on the 14-acre grounds, which include many chairs, tables and fountains; an outlet selling snacks and drinks (the Hamlet Hut); a bust of Will Geer; and, beneath the earth, his and Herta’s ashes. Most visitors park in the theater’s dirt lot for $10 or along Topanga Canyon Boulevard. — Christopher Reynolds
1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-2322, theatricum.com
INSTEAD OF PINK’S,
GRAB A HOT DOG AT TAIL O’ THE PUP
Skip the line at Pink’s and fill up on L.A. history (and hot dogs) at Tail o’ the Pup, a delightful, 18-foot hot-dog-shaped stand on Santa Monica Boulevard that was originally founded in 1946. Restored by the 1933 Group and reopened last year, the menu features old-school items like a split and grilled pup with grilled onions and house mustard on a toasted bun as well as a Chicago-style dog with all the fixings, plus updates that cater to broader diets, including a vegan dog and gluten-free buns.
You’ll also find a kid-friendly “puppy” dog that comes in a puppy-shaped bun, a doggy menu, corn dogs, cheeseburgers, French fries, onion rings, milkshakes, soft serve and plenty of hot dog add-ons, including chili. You’ll pick up your selections from the counter inside, but I suggest enjoying them in the classic diner-inspired environment with a row of yellow bar stools overlooking street traffic and a second-story covered patio. — Danielle Dorsey
8512 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (424) 527-0131, tail othepup.com
INSTEAD OF THE VENICE CANALS, PADDLE AROUND THE NAPLES CANALS
The Venice Canals in Venice Beach aren’t exactly a tourist trap, and in fact, they can be quite lovely. But options to tour or canoe in the canals can be