One of the things we love about the West coast is how much its residents seem to love their open spaces. During our time in L.A.’s Griffith Park, we estimated that locals outnumbered us visitors by at least three to one. We understand the attraction.
As one of North America’s largest urban parks, Griffith sprawls over a whopping 4,210 acres of the eastern Santa Monica Mountains. Its rugged 1,200 foot elevation gain to the summit of Mount Hollywood makes the park a favorite for anyone seeking a hardy workout, whether man or beast.
An equine contemplates the Hollywood sign
In addition to its 53 miles of hiking and equestrian trails, the park is also the site of a 5,700 seat theater modeled after a Greek temple, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, a Museum of the American West, and – of course – the world-famous Griffith Observatory.
Saturn and Jupiter models inside the Griffith Observatory
In keeping with a recent blog theme, Griffith Park also happens to be one of Los Angeles’ busiest filming locations, racking up an impressive 346 days of production in 2011. A bronze bust of James Dean still graces the Observatory to commemorate its prominent inclusion in his 1955 classic, Rebel Without a Cause.
James Dean on the Griffith Observatory balcony in Rebel Without a Cause
Since then Griffith has performed as a backdrop for everything from music videos to video games. Fittingly for us, it also served as this season’s starting line for The Amazing Race’s around-the-world travel competition. Taking off from the Observatory, teams immediately made way for LAX airport and on to Bora Bora. Now that is an interesting idea!
