David & Timmery
Things To Do
Eaton Canyon
Eaton Canyon Natural Area is a 190-acre zoological, botanical, and geological nature preserve situated at the base of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains. Visitors can enjoy its hiking trails, equestrian trails with a staging area, picnic areas, seasonal stream, rocks and minerals, various natural habitats, native plants, and wildlife. Open daily from sunrise to sunset. A relatively easy, under-4 mile hike up a canyon in the lower San Gabriels to a 40-foot waterfall. This popular trail can get crowded on the weekends, but is still worth a visit! Suitable for adventurous beginners, this trail has several stream crossings, and optional, moderate trails on fire roads and single tracks through some of the eastern nature preserve outside the canyon. A must-see for waterfall lovers, even if you have to fight for a good view.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
A popular tourist stop, this 207 acre complex houses a library, art collection and stunning gardens. The library and art gallery contain rare books and one of the most complete collections of 18th century art outside of London.
Old Town Pasadena
Old Pasadena boasts more than 300 restaurants and shops within the 22 blocks of this nationally registered historic district. More than half are one-of-a-kind businesses that are found “Only in Old Pas.” These locally owned small businesses are often found off Colorado Boulevard, housed in historically significant architecture along tree-lined side streets and charming alleyways.
Stark Spirits Distillery
Up the street and around the corner from the famous Pasadena Rose Bowl, is Stark Spirits Distillery. Stark Spirits in a micro-distillery specializing in Rum, Gin, Orange Brandy, and Malt Whiskey. The owners will give you a personalized tour, explaining the production of their hand-crafted spirits. A tasting of the awarding winning traditional whiskeys, rums, gin, aquavit and unique Sunshine Orange Brandy follows. Tours are free of charge on Fridays and Saturdays, and scheduled through the website.
The Broad
This persistently popular Downtown LA museum has two of Yayoi Kusama’s immersive, mirror-laden rooms . Elsewhere in the museum, Eli and Edythe Broad’s collection of 2,000 postwar works includes artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger and Jeff Koons.
Grand Central Market
This European-style food hall has been operating in Downtown L.A. since 1917. Even if you’re not there for the food, it’s worth a trip; people from all corners of L.A. mix and mingle among rows of spices, produce and vintage neon signage. Of course, if you’re hungry it’s a great place to get cheap pupusas, carnitas tacos and aguas frescas, as well as food from handsome, trendy eateries like Sticky Rice, Belcampo, Sari Sari, Horse Thief BBQ, Eggslut, McConnell’s and G&B Coffee.
Hollywood Bowl
As long as there’s no performance going on (which is most days in the winter and spring), it also doubles as a public park! This gorgeous and instantly recognizable outdoor amphitheatre has been hosting concerts since the LA Philharmonic first played there in 1922. Nestled in an aesthetically blessed fold in the Hollywood Hills, the 18,000-seat venue can bring out the romantic in the terminally cynical.
Griffith Observatory
This famous Art Deco observatory dates back to 1935. The vista from this hilltop landmark is stunning, particularly at night when Los Angeles twinkles below. Inside you’ll find a bevy of exhibits, including a Foucault pendulum, Tesla coil and planetarium show. Give yourself plenty of time before the 10pm closing to gaze through the 12-inch refracting telescope on the roof and recreate *that scene* from "La La Land," otherwise you can look through the far less crowded modern, reflecting telescope on the front lawn.
Malibu Seafood and Point Dume Day Trip
Though you'll need to rent a car, this postcard-worthy seafood shack on the Pacific Coast Highway toward the western edge of Malibu is well worth the trek (and scenic drive). The selection of fresh fish and fried ocean bites makes Malibu Seafood a unique destination. Don’t miss: The outdoor patio affords views of surfers, kite boarders and fellow diners. For an even closer ocean view, take your food across the street and picnic right on the sand! From here, we highly recommend taking the short drive up PCH to Point Dume, one of Southern California’s most beautiful beaches and a frequent Hollywood filming location due to its iconic rock face (see: Jackie Treehorn’s fateful beach bonfire). If you can find a free space along Westward Beach Road or you’re willing to pay for parking, you’ll be rewarded with this wide and rarely crowded patch of sand and surf. An easygoing dirth path climbs from the sand to the top of the point.
The Getty
This is a beautiful, free hilltop art museum with a rolling lawn overlooking the ocean. From the ocean to the mountains northeast of Downtown L.A., the panoramic views from this artopolis more than compensate for its relative inaccessibility (you need to ride a tram to the museum). You’ll find proper picnic tables down the hill at the tram station, but we highly suggest sitting on the lawn adjacent to the Central Garden.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
As morbid as it may seem, your best chance of spotting a celebrity in LA is at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Here, you'll find the final resting places of Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Fay Wray, Jayne Mansfield, and other stars who once worked at the adjacent Paramount Pictures Studios. You can pick up a free map at the entrance to the cemetery (where you'll also have a great view of the famous Hollywood Sign). Recent visitors described the cemetery's quiet grounds as "peaceful and serene," adding that the grounds are well-maintained. Many also appreciated the informative caretakers and the on-site flower shop's friendly staff.
Griffith Park
In 1896 the Welsh mining magnate Griffith J. Griffith presented over 3,000 acres of Rancho Los Feliz to the City of Los Angeles as a “Christmas present”. Since then the park has added another 1,000 acres, making it one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Griffith Park is a rough-hewn wilderness, incorporating a chunk of the Santa Monica Mountains and streaked with trails for walking and horseback riding. The Hollywood Sign is in the park’s boundaries, and can be reached on a tough hike. Just above is a majestic but unmarked 360° viewpoint, taking in both Hollywood and Burbank behind.
Venice Boardwalk/Abbot Kinney
Although gentrification has crept in, the 2.5-mile Venice Beach Boardwalk is still prowled by outlandish characters, and teems with tattoo parlors, cannabis shops, international cuisine, countless street vendors and a big cast of street performers. The boardwalk is the second most-visited place in Southern California, which leads to the famous Muscle Beach and Venice Skate Park. While Venice's claim to fame may be its Boardwalk, we highly recommend checking out Abbot Kinney nearby; this street is home to some of the city's best boutiques, galleries, coffee shops, restaurants and bars. Abbot Kinney is one of the Westside's hippest havens, offering a day's worth of beach-adjacent exploration that's one of L.A.'s quintessential must-dos.
Leo Carrillo State Beach
One of the least touristy beaches in Los Angeles, this state park stretches for two and a half miles and offers tide pools, soft sand, coves, 7 miles of trails, and pretty vistas. Unlike some other Malibu beaches, this one is also pretty easy to access. There’s free street parking and designated parking for a fee ($12 per day).
Santa Monica Beach Bike Path ("The Strand")
Biking The Strand is one of our favorite things to do in West LA! You can easily rent a bike from a rental shop or bike-share hub along the strand in Santa Monica and pedal south to the Venice Boardwalk or north to Malibu, soaking in the sights and gawking at weird people along the way. In Venice, you’ll spot famous Muscle Beach, drum circles, skateboarding, and some pretty solid breakdancing. In Santa Monica, you’ll cruise past Shutters on the Beach and the world famous pier (but don’t bother stopping unless you enjoy chain restaurants and tacky souvenirs). Things get normal from there, and you really can’t beat the vistas. You can also ride south from Venice to Redondo but will have to navigate around the Marina before the path picks up again (just ask for a map wherever you rent your bike).
Hollyhock House
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House—his first house in Los Angeles— was just recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July. It is now opened to the public following a big restoration. The house represents not just a beautiful Wright creation but also a “germination of what I think you can easily say became California Modernism.” The goal was to take the house back to as close an approximation as possible of how it looked in 1921, when it was completed; the house features the plaster, elaborate ceiling moldings, and accordion glass doors that it was intended to have. Furnished with a mix of original furniture and detailed reproductions, the house is still a work in progress, but it has made incredible strides in its restoration. The house is open for self-guided tours Thursday through Sunday each week; standard admission is $7. After your tour, stick around for a picnic in Barnsdall Art Park.