Hiking in Los Angeles

Despite being a favourite destination for Australians visiting the USA,  Los Angeles hasn’t been on my own travel with kids wish list.   I’d viewed it as a stop-over at best, tacky fake town at worst.  I was wrong.    Family connections with the city let us to vacation there recently and I left impressed by the snow capped mountains in the distance, the winter sunshine and extensive options for engaging the entire family.  From our base at an AirBnB in West Hollywood we headed out on public transport (easily negotiable with kids), each day bringing a new discovery.  Admittedly, you would have to spend weeks in Los Angeles to do it all.  Here is just a sample of our own favourite places to add to your own itinerary when visiting Los Angeles with kids.

Hollywood 

Posing with Micheal Jackson at the Hollywood Wax Museum

Acting as a kind of movie Mecca Hollywood draws tourists seeking  celebrity encounters and yearning to connect – if only through a handprint with the stars of film.   Most Aussies that I speak to tell me they would love to visit Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame, and the Hollywood sign.  Truth be told Hollywood Boulevard is one of my least favourite places (my son nicknamed it seedy town).  Walking along the Boulevard we were overwhelmed by homeless folk, scammers and a large number of mentally ill individuals drawn as if by magnet to the location.  I did however want to see it at least once and what I found worked best for our family was having a focus to our exploration.  Visiting the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Guiness Book of Records Museum, which are opposite TCL Chinese Theatres (Previously Mann’s Chinese Theatre) gave focus to our outing down Hollywood Boulevard and turned trip to “Seedy Town” into a fun family outing.  The Hollywood Wax Museum offers visitors the chance to wear props and pose with wax images of various celebrities.  The enthusiasm of my 8 year old son,  who loved posing with his entertainment hero Micheal Jackson (and pretty much every other wax figure) was infectious so that soon my young daughter was dancing around Jennifer Aniston and Katy Perry.  There is a horror section of he museum which should be bypassed if visiting with kids.

Perhaps because I recall poring over the Guinness Book of Records as a kid I took my own children to visit the Guiness Book of Records Museum on Hollywood Boulevard.  If you ever want to appreciate the wacky ways humans seek to make a name for themselves then this is the museum to visit.  Footage of crazy record breaking attempts – such as cracking sequential watermelons on their cranium, and eating the most hot dogs abound.  Life size models of the shortest, tallest, oldest and fattest people on earth brought to life (almost ) the famous characters from the Guiness Records books of my childhood.  If neither museum is for you then consider taking the family to see a movie at TCL Chinese Theatres once again, to give focus to a visit to the Boulevard.

West Hollywood offers classy alternatives for families – dining at Au Fudge – owned by among other’s Jessica Biel on Melrose Avenue allows parents to dine alone while the children are cared for in a kids creative space.  A visit to the Grove, an upmarket shopping centre is a family friendly outing – there are free trolley car rides.  The American Girl Store is a multi-level store that incorporates experiences – a doll hair salon and unique dining experiences in their cafe.

The American Girl Store in Los Angles

Free trolley rides at the Grove

La Brea Tar Pits

I was blown away by the La Brea Tar Pits.  In the midst of Los Angeles Urban sprawl are the La Brea Tar Pits.  An active archaeological site the tar pits trapped thousands of Ice Age animals in their sticky midst.  Smelly, bubbling pits of tar with statues of stranded woolly mammoths the pits are interesting in themselves to young kids.  An onsite museum displays fossils escalated from the pits and give families an insight into the Ice Age.  I’d recommend watching a movie at the museum to optimise your families learning.

La Brea Tar Pit Museum

Hiking

Miles of hiking trails exist within Los Angels facilitating outdoor adventures in the midst of a city break.  Our own explorations focused on Griffith Park Trails but a good list of hikes with details can be found at Discover Los Angeles.  Comfy shoes, hats, sunscreen and plenty of water is a must when hiking in Los Angeles.

Hiking in Griffith Park

Griffith Hill Observatory

If you’ve watched Rebel Without a Cause or La La Land you’ve seen the Griffith Park Observatory.  This substantial working observatory and astronomy museum is a must visit.  Before you even enter the observatory  there are stunning views of the Hollywood town and the city from the site.  Once inside families will enjoy the interactive space exhibitions and planetarium shows.  Note – children are meant to be five to be able to attend a planetarium viewing.

Theme Parks

Disney California Adventure Park

Where do I even start! You could spend a fortnight at Los Angeles theme parks.  Disneyland, Disney California Adventure Park, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios are all expert at creating fantastic family memories.  If you have the time – dedicating a couple of days to exploring Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is worthwhile as they are huge.  I always recommend that families visiting from Australia take advantage of jet lag and visit Disneyland at night when there are much shorter lines for all the kids rides.  In the warmer months Los Angeles has multiple waterparks open – Six Flags Hurricane Harbour, Raging Waters Los Angeles, Knotts Soak City, and Buccaneer Bay among others.

California Science Center

The California Science Centre

The California Science Centre is located close to downtown Los Angeles.  A stunning, free science museum it is easily accessible by public transport.  The Science Centre facilitates families to engage with the different sciences – our favourite was the Ecology Section exploring deserts, islands and kelp forests.  As a plus there are significant aquarium exhibits here including a touch tank.  We also loved seeing the Endeavour Space Shuttle.  For an added cost you can watch a science themed IMAX movie.  There are various displays that are an additional price (usually just a couple of dollars) such as space simulators.  It is worth deciding whether you want to pay for these before you go to head off all nagging at the pass.  Expect to be tempted by the Science Centre’s store too – lots of fantastic kids science toys and games.

Just down the road is the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.  Don’t expect to visit both of these museums in the same day with young children – there is just too much to do.

Where to stay.

If visiting Disneyland for more than one day I advise staying near the park – there are many, many hotels in Anaheim to suit each budget.  We stayed at the Hyatt House at the Anaheim Resort Convention Centre and were very comfortable in their family rooms.  Staying elsewhere in Los Angeles then I recommend an Air BnB rental to optimise space for the family and the convenience of cooking.

Getting around Los Angeles with kids.

Uber offers a wonderfully convenient and reasonably priced option for getting around Los Angeles.  As we have two children requiring car seats we chose public transport much of the time.

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