The best things to do in Griffith Park reach far beyond the Griffith Observatory. Across 4,200-plus acres, the park holds the LA Zoo, the Greek Theatre, Travel Town, the Autry Museum, an abandoned zoo you can picnic inside, and miles of hiking trails. Many of them are free.
We wish more first-timers knew that beyond the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign photo sits one of the biggest city parks in the country, with a full zoo, summer concerts at the open-air Greek Theatre, a yard of vintage trains kids climb on at Travel Town, a 1912 zoo you can eat lunch inside, and hiking trails that open onto the best skyline views in LA.
The Griffith Observatory is an absolute must-see, no question. But if you’ve got the time in LA, don’t miss the rest of Griffith Park. This guide to Griffith Park walks through the whole day, one stop at a time.
See the Griffith Observatory, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier, and The Grove on the Half Day Best of LA Tour, four stops with time at each, and the rest of your day still open.
The Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Sign Views
The Griffith Observatory is free to enter, one of the great deals in L.A., and it earns the crowds. Inside sit the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, a Zeiss telescope you can look through on clear evenings, and a Tesla coil that throws sparks during the daily demonstrations.Â
You’ll know the building the second you see it, from Rebel Without a Cause to the planetarium scene in La La Land. It’s also a stop on our Half Day Best of LA Tour, where the guide drops you for Hollywood Sign photos and views of Los Angeles.
The building is closed on Mondays and opens at noon Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. on weekends. The grounds, the lawn, and the sign view are open every day from early morning, so a sunrise start still works if the terrace is all you came for.
An hour covers the grounds, the Hollywood Sign viewing area, and a quick look at the exhibits, which leaves the rest of the day for the acres past the Observatory. Thirty minutes is what we give it on the tour, and that’s enough for the terrace, the sign shot, and a lap of the main hall. A planetarium show adds more time if you catch one, and it’s the only ticketed thing in the building. For sunset, the west-facing terraces are the most reliable sunset view in the city.
Catch a Show at the Greek Theatre
The Greek is an outdoor venue tucked into the park’s southern edge, and it seats 5,900 people under open sky. Its season runs through the warm months, roughly late spring into fall, and the lineup leans toward big-name music. A show at the Greek Theatre is a proper L.A. summer night, with tall trees framing the stage and a canyon setting known for its acoustics.
But if your trip lands outside the concert season, you’ll still pass the venue on the road up toward the Observatory. Tickets sell through the venue and the usual sellers, so check dates before you count on it. The park hosts events throughout the year, and the Greek is the biggest of them.
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
The zoo holds more than 1,700 animals across more than 270 species, with botanical gardens and plant collections spread through the grounds. Plan about three hours if you have them. The grounds are large and hilly, so give yourself room to wander. Admission is ticketed, so check the zoo’s site for current pricing and hours.
The habitats worth planning around are the Campo Gorilla Reserve, the Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountains, and the Rainforest of the Americas, a 2.2-acre stretch of Amazon where giant otters swim and jaguars prowl.Â
It’s still one of the homes of the California condor recovery program, though the condors themselves stay off display. You’ll want water and a hat, since the Angeles zoo and botanical gardens sit on an open hillside with little shade in the middle of the day.
The Old LA Zoo Picnic Area
Before the current zoo opened, the park had another one, and its bones are still here. The Old LA Zoo operated from 1912 to 1966, and the old stone cages and grottos now sit open in a grassy picnic area near the Old Zoo trailhead. You can walk right into the enclosures, stand behind the bars, and take the photo, and nobody charges admission for any of it.
It’s good for kids who like a little spooky history with their sandwiches. And it’s an easy, flat walk from the parking area. Pack a lunch, grab a table, and let the group roam the ruins (someone always tries to squeeze through the old bars). This is one of the quieter hidden gems in the park, and it costs nothing.
Travel Town Museum and the Griffith Park Southern Railroad
Travel Town Museum is an open-air railroad museum on the park’s north side, and it’s free to walk through. The yard holds 43 full-scale locomotives and cars, most of which kids can climb on or peer into, plus a miniature train that loops the grounds for a small fee. One of the little engines, the Melody Ranch Special, once belonged to Gene Autry.Â
It runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closes on Mondays, so a Monday visit costs you this one and the Observatory both.
On the other side of the park, off Crystal Springs Drive, the Griffith Park and Southern Railroad runs a separate miniature train ride through a stretch of greenery, a longtime favorite for families with young children since 1948. Between Travel Town and the Southern Railroad train ride, a train-obsessed five-year-old can burn an entire morning here, happily.
The Autry Museum of the American West
The Autry Museum of the American West sits across from the LA Zoo, and it’s the park’s best indoor stop when the sun gets heavy. Co-founded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry, the museum of the American West pairs cowboy-movie memorabilia with serious galleries on Native American art and the actual history of the region, the version and the Hollywood myth side by side.
It’s a strong pick for a hot afternoon or a rare rainy day, and an easy ticketed add-on after the zoo across the street. Plan about 90 minutes inside.
Fern Dell and Bronson Caves, Two Easy Griffith Park Walks
Fern Dell is a shaded creek walk at the park’s western edge, near the Los Feliz entrance, and it’s the green way into the Observatory trail. The path smells like wet stone and leaf litter, cool even when the rest of the city bakes, and it’s flat enough for almost anyone. Walk it slowly, then decide whether you’d rather keep climbing toward the Observatory or just sit by the water.
On the far side of the park, a five-minute walk from Canyon Drive leads to Bronson Caves, the man-made tunnels of an old quarry. The tunnel mouths are fenced off these days for rockfall, and the fences are signed, so read them and stay out.Â
The canyon and the exteriors stay open, film buffs still make the walk, and these caves stood in as the Batcave in the 1960s Batman series and show up in dozens of other productions. The trail sits below the ridgelines that run behind the sign, so you can catch park scenery and a Hollywood Sign view on one short walk.
Hiking Trails in Griffith Park
The hiking trails in Griffith Park run through real urban wilderness, from flat strolls to steep climbs, and the reason Angelenos are out here at dawn is what waits at the top. Take the Mount Hollywood route for panoramic views of the L.A. basin, with a shaded rest stop called Captain’s Roost partway up, and the longer trails connect toward the ridgelines behind the Hollywood Sign and out to the Mulholland Trail.
We keep the deep trail breakdown in a separate post. For routes, distances, parking, and which trailhead to pick, read our roundup of the best hikes in Los Angeles. Start early. Bring more water than you think you’ll need, and the views at the top run the length of the basin.
The best skyline views take a little planning to reach. See where to catch the skyline before you lace up.
The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round and Horseback Rides
The historic Griffith Park merry-go-round has a story bigger than the ride itself. Walt Disney used to bring his daughters here on Saturdays and watch them circle while he daydreamed a cleaner, grander park of his own, and that daydream became Disneyland. A billion-dollar theme-park empire started with a dad killing time on a bench.Â
The carousel has been closed since 2022, though the city bought it in a roughly $1 million deal and framed the restoration around its 2026 centennial. There’s no confirmed reopening date, so check its status before you promise the kids a ride.
What’s open for families is Shane’s Inspiration, a large accessible playground built for kids of every ability, over near the zoo, and an easy stop if you’re seeing LA with kids. For older kids and adults, Sunset Ranch Hollywood runs guided horseback trips on the Mt. Hollywood and Mulholland trails from its stables at the top of Beachwood Canyon, on North Beachwood Drive, with the Hills laid out around you.
Getting to Griffith Park and Parking
Griffith Park sits in the heart of Los Angeles, and it has several entrances, so picking the right one saves you time. The main access points are off Los Feliz Boulevard, Crystal Springs Drive, and Vermont Canyon, and there’s parking next to the Griffith Park Ranger Station where you can grab a map and ask a Griffith Park ranger what’s open that day. Parking’s free in most lots, and on a weekend it’s its own endurance sport, so you’ll want to come early.Â
The best time for the park itself is a weekday morning, when the lots are open and the trails are cool. If the Observatory is on the list too, remember the building doesn’t open until noon Tuesday through Friday, so hike first and head inside after. Mondays are the day to avoid, with the Observatory and Travel Town both closed. So build the day around Tuesday to Sunday.Â
If you’d rather not drive at all, bike rentals are the move, and Spokes ‘n Stuff rents wheels near the Crystal Springs entrance so you can explore Griffith Park on flat park roads. And if a car isn’t in your plans, our guide to getting around LA without a car lays out the options.
The Griffith Observatory is the easiest piece to hand off. On the Half Day Best of LA Tour, a local guide takes the wheel and the stories and drops you right there for your Hollywood Sign photos, with Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier, and The Grove filling out the day. It’s the kind of easy morning behind our 20,000-plus five-star reviews, where guests tell us they saw more and worried about less.
Do the park at your own pace, and let us handle the famous run across the rest of LA.
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FAQ
What are the best things to do in Griffith Park besides the Observatory?
Beyond the Observatory, the top things to do in Griffith Park are the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the Greek Theatre, Travel Town Museum, the Autry Museum of the American West, the Old LA Zoo picnic area, Fern Dell, Bronson Caves, and the hiking trails. Several are free, including Travel Town, Fern Dell, the Old LA Zoo, and every trail, and you’ll pair a few into a single day without much planning.
Is Griffith Park open on Mondays?
The park, its trails, and the Observatory grounds are open every day, but two of the big indoor stops are not. The Griffith Observatory building is closed on Mondays, and so is Travel Town Museum. If Monday is your only day, plan around the trails, Fern Dell, the Old LA Zoo picnic area, and the Observatory lawn for the Hollywood Sign view.
How much time do you need to explore Griffith Park?
Plan a half to full day to explore the park properly. A short visit covers the Observatory and one trail in two or three hours, while a full day lets you add the LA Zoo, a museum, and a picnic. Families with young kids can easily fill a day between Travel Town, the train rides, and Shane’s Inspiration playground.
Is the Griffith Park merry-go-round open?
The historic Griffith Park merry-go-round, the carousel that helped inspire Walt Disney to build Disneyland, has been closed since 2022. The city of Los Angeles purchased it to restore and reopen it, with the work framed around the carousel’s 2026 centennial, but there’s no confirmed reopening date yet. Check its current status before planning a visit around it.
Can you go horseback riding in Griffith Park?
Yes. Sunset Ranch Hollywood offers guided horseback rides on the Mt. Hollywood and Mulholland trails from its stables on North Beachwood Drive, at the top of Beachwood Canyon next to the park. Rides climb into the Hollywood Hills with the sign in view, and they range from short outings to longer trail trips.
How do you get to Griffith Park and where do you park?
The park has entrances off Los Feliz Boulevard, Crystal Springs Drive, and Vermont Canyon, with free parking in most lots and a ranger station near the Crystal Springs entrance. Weekends fill fast, so arrive before 10 a.m. If you’d rather skip driving, a guided tour or a bike rental from Spokes ‘n Stuff both work well.
Is Griffith Park worth visiting for first-time visitors?
Griffith Park is a must-do for first-time visitors because it packs so many iconic attractions into one place, from the Observatory and the Hollywood Sign views to the LA Zoo and Griffith’s original 1896 gift of land. It’s one of the best ways to discover LA, and a guided tour removes the parking and navigation headaches.
