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Discover the many fun activities available at Griffith Park Los Angleles! Updated January 18, 2008 Related info--- HOME :: Latest News :: Griffith Park in Los Angeles :: Griffith Park Observatory :: Griffith Park FAQs :: Griffith Park Christmas Activities :: Balboa Park in San Diego Griffith Park Los Angeles---One beautiful park...many different activities to enjoy!
But...maybe you love hiking, instead. For YOU, Griffith Park offers miles of trails through Southern California's chaparral-covered mountains. But if golf is your sport...no problem! There's more than one golf course to keep you occupied. Same for tennis lovers---a number of courts. And soccer lovers, too---wide open fields. And horseback riders have their trails... The list of sporting opportunities could go on longer still! Animal-lovers will enjoy visiting the Los Angeles Zoo. And astronomy lovers will head first for the famous Griffith Park Observatory. And history buffs can't wait to take in the exhibits and shows at the Autry National Center's museums. What a park! In the photo slide show to your left, you see pictures I took of Griffith Park's many attractions...all mish-mashed together so you can appreciate just how truly VARIED they are! You'll see pictures of the Greek Theater and Griffith Park Observatory. If you look longer, up will come pics of the Los Angeles Zoo and its animals. And pictures of the Autry Western Center. And photos of Griffith Parks trees, lawns and hiking trails. (You may also notice the picture of a brass plaque affixed to a large rock; what's that? The plaque announces the George Harrison Tree, which you'll find at the base of the Mount Hollywood hiking trail.) On this page, you'll read about all of these attractions, and get details on how you may plan your fun-filled outing to Griffith Park in Los Angeles! Let's start witht the world famous Griffith Park Observatory!
On this page we'll list the Griffith Park attractions... and talk a bit about each of them. First, we'll talk about this famous park's Griffith Park Observatory.
Chances are good that you've heard about (and have seen pictures of) the Griffith Park Observatory. This world-famous landmark and scientific institution has been around since 1935, and was brought into the public eye many years ago by the James Dean classic film, "Rebel without a Cause." (The Griffith Park Observatory was an important filming site for this movie.) In the photo to your left, you can see the Griffith Park Observatory perched high on a hilltop within Griffith Park, overlooking the Los Angeles and Hollywood, California cityscape.
For one thing, the Griffith Park Observatory's exhibit area doubled in size! Plus, exciting changes took place in the Griffith Park Observatory's Planetarium, as well. The planetarium re-opened with an all-new state-of-the-art star projector...for giving truly STELLAR planetarium shows. (Groan...sorry, I couldn't resist the pun!) This is a full-sky, laser projection system that you'll certainly not want to miss. There's a lot more information you will need to know concerning the reopening of the Griffith Park Observatory. There have been many changes! So very many changes, in fact, that the details wouldn't fit onto one page. If you'd like to read up on the "new" observatory's details, please use the following link to view the Griffith Park Observatory page of this website.
Griffith Park Los Angeles -- Home of the Los Angeles Zoo
While the San Diego Zoo is Southern California's most famous and most comprehensive zoo, you will undoubtedly enjoy a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo within Griffith Park Los Angeles, as well. The Los Angeles Zoo is a "full service" zoo that compares nicely with most major metropolitan zoos in the USA. If located in any other city, the Los Angeles Zoo would get the attention it deserves...but, as fate would have it, the Los Angeles Zoo is located within hours of one of the world's tip-top zoos.Compared with the San Diego Zoo, you'll enjoy the Los Angeles Zoo's less expensive entry fee at the Los Angeles Zoo, making a trip for larger families well within the "affordable" range. Entrance fees for the Los Angeles Zoo are $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Parking is free; The Los Angeles Zoo has a huge parking lot out in front of its entrance. Los Angeles Zoo hours of operation: The Griffith Park Zoo opens at 10 am daily, and closes at 5 pm daily. The ticket booth closes at 4 pm, however...so come early enough to get in! If you're planning to visit the Los Angeles Zoo (or, if you just like to read about animals), you follow the next link to see the
Los Angeles Zoo page of this website.
Directions to the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffeth Park: You may take the Crystal Springs Drive entrance to Griffith Park from Los Feliz Blvd, then follow Crystal Springs Dr. (past the train and pony rides) until you get to the giant (Free!) Loss Angeles Zoo parking lot. Or, you may take an exit from Interstate 5 that leads directly into Griffith Park; the proper exit is marked with a sign on I-5. To get a clearer mental picture of where you'll be headed, you may use the following link to view a
Yahoo map of the Los Angeles Zoo area of Griffith Park.
Griffith Park Los Angeles -- Fun with horses!
At Griffith Park Los Angeles, you'll have 2 different activities involving horses from which to choose. The first one of these---the Griffith Park Pony Rides---is lots of fun for the little ones. Kids get to ride ponies around a medium-sized, oval pony trail. The Griffith Park Pony Rides are adjacent to the Griffith Park Miniature Train ride (see next section) at 4400 Crystal Springs Drive, LA, Calif 90027.For a more adventuresome experience, older kids and adults may rent horses from the Griffith Park Equestrian Center and freely ride through the many horse trails of Griffith Park. The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation does not rent visitors the horses directly; but private rental stables are available nearby. For example, the L.A. Equestrian Center is a private horse rental company just outside the Burbank entrance to Griffith Park. The L.A. Equestrian Center address is 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA. The L. A. Equestrian Center phone number is 818/840-8401. If this activity interests you, then you'll want to use the following link to look over the L.A. Equestrian Center official website:
Griffith Park Equestrian Center and horse rental information.
***Bar S Stables, telephone number 818/242-8443 ***J.P. Stables, phone number 818/843-9890 ***Sunset Stables, phone number 323/464-9612 Griffith Park Los Angeles -- Ride the Train and Carousel
Who can resist riding a colorful, miniature park train? The Griffith Park Los Angeles park train makes a nice loop around a section of the park. It makes a mile-long loop around the pony rides, the park's meadow, and a "Western Old Town." For the price of only $2 per ticket, the Griffith Park Train can make a fun addition to your day at the park.The Griffith Park Train Rides are open every day of the year except Christmas Day. The Griffith Park Train Ride hours of operation are 10 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, and 10am to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Special hours are in effect during the Christmas Season, when the Griffith Park miniature train holds its annual nightly "Train Ride to Santa." (Though this event is hosted by the Griffith Park Miniature Train, it's held at the Travel Town museum on the north side of Griffith Park.) To see photos taken at the Train Ride to Santa event at Travel Town, you may head to the Griffith Park Christmas Activities page of this website. You may use the following link to see the Griffith Park Miniature Train official website. The Griffith Park Train Ride address is: 4400 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. 
Another treat for the kids is the Griffith Park Merry Go Round. This piece of eye candy opens every day during the summer, and on weekends during the winter.The Griffith Park Merry Go Round is an antique, built in 1926...and in its current location at Griffith Park since 1937! There are 68 hand-carved and beautifully painted horses on the Griffeth Park Carousel...and all of them go up and down. Organ music plays during the ride; there's a selection of 1500 marches and waltzes that rotate through the musical roster. The Griffith Park Carousel phone number is: 323/665-3051. if you dial this telephone number, you will reach a pre-recorded message about the merry-go-round prices, hours and location. You will also be offered the opportunity to leave a message asking a specific question about the Griffith Park Carousel. Directions to the Griffith Park Carousel: Get on Crystal Springs Drive, which runs past the Griffith Park Miniature Train, Griffith Park Pony Rides, and the Griffith Park Ranger Station. The Merry-go-round is off of Crystal Springs Drive on a small side street in the park; follow the well-marked signs. Near the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, you'll find a playground that accommodates wheelchairs. This playground, called "Shane's Inspiration," is fun for ALL children, and makes an especially fun setting for wheelchair-bound kids to play with their not-in-wheelchair friends. (Look at the bottom of this page to see a photo of the "Shane's Inspiration" accessible play structure.) Directions to Shane's Inspiration at Griffith Park: From Crystal Springs Drive, follow the signs to the Merry Go Round. From the Griffith Park MerryGoRound, keep heading down the side road; you'll reach Shane's Inspiration several parking lots down the road. Griffith Park Los Angeles -- The famous Greek Theater
Griffith Park Los Angeles boasts a famous entertainment venue, the Greek Theater. This beautiful building was added to the park in 1929. Because of its classical style and meticulous upkeep, you will be amazed that the Greek Theater is over 75 years old! It still looks like it could be one of Griffith Park's new additions! The Griffith Park Greek Theater closes for the winter season. When it re-opens every spring, it begins a busy concert season featuring music from all the genres---Latin, classical, pop, etc. The Greek Theater itself is wonderful---an open-air venue built in a natural amphitheater selected for its excellent acoustic properties. The parking lot isn't so wonderful---entirely inadequate for a large crowd. Be prepared for your car to get "stacked," meaning that once the employees park your car, you won't be able to retrieve it again until after the concert is over. (They will park the cars without any room to maneuver in and out, so that more will fit.) It would be nice if tourists could visit and enjoy the beautiful Greek Theater during non-concert hours (like visitors can enjoy viewing the Hollywood Bowl when there's nothing going on.) Unfortunately, the Greek Theater gets closed to the public between concerts. The only way to enjoy seeing and admiring the Greek Theater is by attending a concert there. For information about the Greek Theater's concerts and ticketing, use the following link to visit the
Greek Theater's official website.
Autry Center for Western Arts
Gene Autry was a patron of Western-themed art, and was involved in building a lovely museum to preserve and display such works. You can visit this museum, now called the Museum of the American West---but until recently called the Autry Museum of Western Heritage---at Griffith Park Los Angeles.Inside, you'll see the works of Remington and Russell...among many others. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $3 for children. (Check your Entertainment Coupon Book before heading to the Autry Museum; they usually feature a BOGO ticket offer.) The museum is open daily except Monday. For further information, you may wish to consult the
Autry Museum official website.
Griffith Park's Golf, Tennis and Team Sports FieldsGriffith Park Los Angeles, with 4 full 18-hole golf courses, is a mecca for golfers. Since I don't know anything about them...other than their nice looks!...for information on these 4 golf courses, I'll refer you to the Griffith Park Golf Shop's website, where you'll discover all sorts of
Griffith Park golf information.
Do you like team sports? You'll find fields and facilities at Griffeth Park Los Angeles for playing all your favorite team sports...soccer, softball and basketball being the favorites here. All you'll need to do is bring along some friends! Check out the "Griffith Park FAQs" page of this website for more details about the Griffith Park Soccer Fields. There are still MORE activities you can enjoy while visiting Griffith Park at Los Angeles, California. Like to bike? On weekends, Griffith Park offers bike rentals (on its main road, Crystal Springs Drive.) Like to throw the frisbee around? Griffith Park has wide lawns for picnicking and frisbee throwing...as well as playing tag, running sack races, or any other traditional park picnicking activity. Do you jog? Crystal Springs Drive is generally alive with joggers at most any time of the day. Just park and join right in with them! Griffith Park's Many Hiking Trails
Griffith Park is a favorite place for Los Angeles area hiking enthusiasts. You see, not all of Griffith Park is "developed" (with lawns, buildings roads, etc.) Even with as many attractions as Griffeth Park has to offer, the largest part of the park still remains UNdeveloped. There are actually 53 MILES of off-the-road hiking trails through the Santa Monica Mountains (upon which Griffith Park straddles itself.)I've only hiked one of the trails, myself...the popular Mount Hollywood trail. The Mount Hollywood trail starts off with a steep climb from the back of the Griffith Park Observatory parking lot (where you'll find plenty of parking, rest rooms and a snack bar.) This trail is wide (yes, it's popular) and made of smoothly-graded dirt. The higher you climb on the Mount Hollywood trail, the more sweeping your vistas of Los Angeles become! For descriptions of some of the other "most popular" hiking trails at Griffith Park, I'm going to refer you to a website whose author has actual experience with these other trails. Use the following link to see that site's
descriptions of Griffith Park's most popular hiking trails.
Griffith Park Los Angeles -- Travel Town MuseumTrain enthusiasts---Griffith Park of Los Angeles has something for you, too! At the Travel Town Museum, you can explore through the trains of the past which are displayed there. the Travel Town Museum is open daily---and it's FREE!If you'd like to learn more about the trains displayed at Travel Town, and about Travel Town's schedule of special events, use the following link to view the
Travel Town official website.
Griffith Park Los Angeles -- Maps and Directions
The Griffith Park address is---4730 Crystal Springs Drive Los Angeles, CA 90027 The Griffith Park phone number is--- Directions to Griffith Park in Los Angeles--- To get a better mental picture of where you're going, use the following link to see a
road map to Griffith Park in Los Angeles.
Use the following link to see a detailed, expandable
map of Griffith Park's interior roads, with the various attractions pinpointed.
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At the Los Angeles Zoo, you'll see all the standard "favorite zoo animals"---giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers, flamingos, bears, hippos, rhinos...etc. The biggest surprise at the Los Angeles Zoo is not about animals; it's how hilly the zoo is. From the (flat!) front entrance, you can't really tell that the Los Angeles Zoo's trails wind around in hilly terrain. If you have toddlers, now's the time to bring a stroller!
