California
Fun things to do in Southern California that are always free
Living in Southern California can be expensive. No surprise there. But you may be surprised to know how many things you can do for free. Seriously. Always free (except sometimes for parking.)
So why spend a fortune to take the family out for the day? Here’s some cool things you can do without even opening your wallet. And if you know of something I missed, let me know!
ALWAYS FREE
Agua Dulce — Vasquez Rocks: This unique county park is worth the scenic drive toward the Antelope Valley, as it offers rustic walks among some of the most photographed rocks anywhere. This county park has been the scene of many a movie and TV shoot, as the closest “other-worldly” place to replicate for shows such as Star Trek. There are pleasant nature walks, and kids will love climbing on the rocks. Bring lots of water. There’s a small visitor center. Wear sensible shoes and sneakers. Warning: It’s hellishly hot in the summer. 10700 Escondido Canyon Road, Agua Dulce. parks.lacounty.gov/vasquez-rocks-natural-area-and-nature-center/
Costa Mesa — Orange County Museum of Art:. Open Wednesdays-Sundays. This contemporary museum is located on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus and was designed by award-winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis Studios. The collection includes some 4,500 pieces on rotating exhibit. You will need to print out a free ticket that can be obtained online. 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. Adjacent paid parking. 714-780-2130 or ocma.art
Irvine — Turtle Rock Nature Center:. Open Mondays-Saturdays. This five-acre nature preserve is a great place for kids to run off steam, or just relax. It offers a paved trail, garden, a walking labyrinth and interpretive center. Location: 1 Sunnyhill Drive, Irvine. 949-724-6738 or cityofirvine.org/parks-facilities/turtle-rock-nature-center
Jurupa Valley — Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center: Open Saturdays and Sundays only. Museum of Discoveries is free. Wander the botanical garden, turtle pond and see the dinosaur statues. Parking $10. 7621 Granite Hill Drive, Jurupa Valley. jmdc.org
La Habra Heights — Powder Canyon Family Hike: This two-mile easy hike in the Puente Hills nature preserve, on packed earth at the Black Walnut trailhead starts out a little steep, but afterward is relatively level and easy for most families. There are some nice trees along the way for shade. Nothing too dramatic to look at, but a pleasant time out of the city. There are also more rigorous hikes available here, along with biking and riding terrain. The parking and entrance are on Fullerton Road in the Puente Hills Preserve. Learn more: Habitatauthority.org
Lake Forest — Heritage Hill Historical Park: Free visit and parking. Visit the 1863 Serrano Adobe, the 1890 El Toro Grammar School and the 1891 Episcopal Mission. Building interiors are open only during the free tours, at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No reservations necessary. Meet at the Serrano Adobe. 25151 Serrano Road, Lake Forest. 949-923-2230 ocparks.com/heritagehill
Long Beach — Rancho Los Cerritos: Open Wednesdays-Sundays. This remaining 4.74 acres of one of the huge ranchos that once covered California includes an historic adobe and allows visitors to imagine themselves as early Californios. The “Ranch of the Little Hills” once was part of a 300,000-acre Spanish land grant settled by Spanish soldier Juan Nieto. It eventually became a 27,000-acre working ranch that included two adobes and facilities for his descendants’ family and 12 children. Online reservations are requested but not mandatory. 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach. 562-206-2040 or rancholoscerritos.org
Los Angeles — The Broad: Open Tuesdays-Sundays.this modern art museum is always free, but get advance tickets to avoid the long walk-up line. This museum in downtown L.A. features contemporary art from the collection of the late developer Eli Broad. The general collection is always free to view. There’s a parking garage that charges a few bucks, though if you’re lucky you might find free street parking on Sundays. Closed Mondays. Location: 221 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. 213-232-6250 or thebroad.org
Los Angeles — California Science Center: This fascinating museum in L.A.’s Exposition Park is open daily, free to visit and chock full of things to see. Kids love this place but so do adults. All permanent exhibits are free, but there’s an extra charge for the IMAX theater shows and some attractions, including the current show on Leonardo da Vinci that closes Sunday, Jan. 5. (Note that the Space Shuttle Endeavor is temporarily off exhibit.) Parking is $20 (ouch!), or you can ride the Metro. 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles. californiasciencecenter.org
Los Angeles — Getty Center: The world’s richest museum offers priceless art treasures, including Van Gogh’s “Irises,” which was the most expensive painting ever sold when the Getty bought it. The billion-dollar white complex, open Tuesdays through Sundays and free with online tickets, sits atop a hill in West Los Angeles. Kids enjoy riding the free tram to the top from the parking garage.so bring your lunch and nonalcoholic drinks. Admission is free, but timed admission tickets must be ordered online. Parking costs $20, or $15 after 3 p.m. Active and veteran U.S. military with ID park free. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Getty.edu or call 310-440-7300.
Los Angeles — Griffith Observatory: Located in scenic Griffith Park and open Tuesdays through Sundays, this observatory built in 1935 is well worth seeing, including an Egyptian sundial and a Foucault pendulum. The planetarium shows cost $6-$10. Every night it’s open and the sky is clear, there are free telescopes to observe the sky. There’s a memorial monument to actor James Dean, who starred in the movie “Rebel Without a Cause,” which has a climactic scene at the observatory. Look for the Hollywood Sign behind the building. Parking is expensive; park down at the Greek Theatre and walk up, or ride the bus for 50 cents. 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles. 213-473-0800 or griffithobservatory.org
Los Angeles — MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art: Open Tuesdays-Sundays, the Museum of Contemporary Art is free to visit, with advance tickets available online. There are two facilities: A striking sandstone building across from Walt Disney Concert Hall that was designed by a famed architect Arata Isozaki at 250 S. Grand Ave., and the Geffen Contemporary in an old police car warehouse renovated by architect Frank Gehry, in Little Tokyo at 152 North Central Ave. moca.org/visit
Los Angeles — UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden in Westwood: This is one of the few free public gardens around, encompassing 7.5 acres including California natives, desert, ferns, palms, bromeliads, herbariaum and more. Open 7 days a week. You can bring your leashed pooch, too. Main entrance is at La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Drive, Los Angeles. (Campus parking in Structure 2 costs $4-16, or look for street parking.) Learn more: botgard.ucla.edu
Newhall — Placerita Canyon State Park: Take the family to the San Gabriel Mountain foothills, go for a bird walk in the oak woodlands, see the hummingbird gardens, visit the nature center and explore more than 12 miles of trails, including a seasonal stream. One trail is wheelchair friendly. Open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. 19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall. placerita.org
Northridge. Museum of the San Fernando Valley. Open Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only. Founded in 2005, this museum is now located at the historic Rancho Cordillera del Norte in Northridge. Exhibits have included the history of author Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan series, who founded the city of Tarzana and the history of “The Hollywood Shorties,” who were actors and stuntmen little people ranging in height from 3-foot-5 to 4-foot-9 who played baseball and basketball games for charity. 18904 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 818-347-9665 or themuseumsfvnow.org
Oak Glen — Oak Glen Preserve: Drive up to apple country for the day. Look for wildflowers and hummingbirds while strolling this property near Yucaipa owned by the Wildlands Conservancy, which includes the entire Los Rios Rancho Apple Farm. Check out the Southern California Montane Botanic Garden and Children’s Outdoor Discovery Center. Bring a picnic and walk on miles of trails. 39611 Oak Glen Road, Oak Glen. wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/oakglen
Orange — Hilbert Museum of California Art: Check out the new expansion of this always-free museum, open Tuesdays-Saturdays in Old Town Orange near Chapman University. It specializes in California scene painting, but also has Disney art and more. 216 E. Chapman Ave. Orange. Street parking. or in the city lot in back. 714-516-5880 or hilbertmuseum.org
Pacific Palisades — Getty Villa Museum: On a spectacular site, this replica of a Roman country house contains the Getty’s collection of old and rare Greek and Roman antiquities. The villa itself is an attraction, with its mosaics, art, gardens and architecture. It’s modeled after the Villa dei Papiri that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed Pompeii. Picnics are allowed, so bring your lunch and nonalcoholic drinks. Open Wednesdays through Mondays (closed Tuesdays). Admission is free, but timed admission tickets must be ordered online. Parking costs $20, or $15 after 3 p.m. 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. getty.edu/visit/villa/
Rancho Palos Verdes — Point Vicente Interpretive Center: This place is guaranteed to lift your mood. Located on a rocky point with a spectacular ocean view, you might see whales here. The small but interesting museum explores the history of the area. Check the route before you go, because there has been some subsidence lately. 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes. And, while you’re in the area, you can also take one of the hikes in the scenic nature preserve. rpvca.gov/1204/Visit-Point-Vicente-Interpretive-Center
Riverside — California Citrus State Historical Park: Learn about the era when citrus was king in Southern California, visit the 200 acres of groves that produce navel and Valencia oranges, grapefruits, and lemons and stop by the museum visitor center. Bring a picnic! Tables are available. Hiking and biking trails are available. Citrus tastings are sometimes available. The visitor center and museum is open Fridays through Sundays. Parking is $7. 9400 Dufferin Ave., Riverside. 951-780-6222 OR parks.ca.gov/?page_id=649
Riverside — Mount Rubidoux Park: Get outside and take a walk along the wide paved trail in this landmark 161-acre city park, which offers fabulous views and even a historic bridge and tower toward the top. On average, it takes around 60 to 90 minutes to hike the hilly 3.2 mile loop trail. Park at Boniminio Park nearby and use the restroom there. Bring water. 4706 Mount Rubidoux Drive, Riverside, 951-351-6250 or riversideca.gov/park_rec/facilities-parks/mt-rubidoux
San Bernardino — Norton Air Force Base Museum: Located in the former NCO Club, this small museum tells the history of the base, which trained 30,000 pilots and became a jet aircraft maintenance facility, among other uses. The base closed in 1994. Always free, open Thursdays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum is still looking for donations of historical items. 1601 E. 3rd St. San Bernardino. nafbmuseum.org
San Pedro — Fort MacArthur Museum: This interesting bit of military history allows visitors to take a look at underground bunkers and weaponry that were built to protect Los Angeles Harbor from enemy attacks. It was part of the Army coastal defense system from 1914 to 1974. Movies such as “Pearl Harbor,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Private Benjamin,” “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and more have been filmed here. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Note that the Angels Gate Park with its Korean Friendship Bell is nearby. 3601 S. Gaffey St. San Pedro. 310-548-2631 or ftmac.org
San Pedro — Point Fermin Park and Lighthouse: People who love lighthouses should not miss this visit to the historic 1874 Victorian lighthouse here, one of the first in the region. The lighthouse is openTuesdays through Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m., but you must take a (free) tour at 1, 2 or 3 p.m. (Check for special closures.) The park is open every day and has beautiful coastal views, especially at sunset. Look for whales on their way to or from Baja California in season. There’s also a playground and picnic area. 807 W. Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro. 310-241-0684. discoversanpedro.org/visit/explore#http://www.pointferminlighthouse.org/
Got more suggestions? Email me at mfisher@scng.com
With California’s June 2nd primary election nearing, Republican candidates for governor, Steve Hilton and Sheriff Chad Bianco, are set to appear at a forum in Clovis.
The Fresno County & City Republican Women Federated is hosting its “Celebrating 250 Years of America Dinner” and a gubernatorial forum on Friday, May 22nd, at The Regency Event Center, 1600 Willow Ave., in Clovis.
The forum will be moderated by State Senator Shannon Grove.
The discussion is expected to focus on major issues facing Californians, with questions presented via video by a panel of state and local figures, including Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp on public safety and crime; former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims on border control and citizenship; William Bourdeau of Bourdeau Farms LLC on water rights and agricultural issues; California state Assemblymember David Tangipa on taxation and fiscal responsibility; Jonathan Keller of the California Family Council on parental rights and education; and Matthew Dildine, CEO of Fresno Mission, on homelessness and mental health.
Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce and Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig are listed as masters of ceremonies.
Doors are scheduled to open at 4:30 p.m., followed by a social hour at 5 p.m. Dinner and the program are set for 6 p.m.
Attire is listed as cocktail or business formal. Organizers said a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Veterans Home of California – Fresno.
GOP California governor candidates to face off at Clovis forum ahead of primary (Courtesy: Fresno County & City Republican Women Federated)
[RELATED] Top-two primary could pit same-party rivals as crowded Democratic field fractures votes
“This forum comes at a pivotal moment for our state,” FCCRWF event organizers said. “Bringing the top Republican gubernatorial candidates to Clovis allows Valley families, farmers, and business owners to get real answers on the issues that affect their daily lives, from water infrastructure to public safety and the skyrocketing cost of living.”
Individual tickets are $150, with discounts offered to FCCRWF members.
Table sponsorships are available at the $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000 levels.
Tickets and sponsorships are available online at FresnoRepublicanWomen.org.
Orange County’s top prosecutor said Amazon has agreed to stop California sales of certain e-bikes that can go faster than state speed limits following a series of fatal collisions.
The announcement, first reported by KCRA, comes on the heels of an April consumer alert by California Attorney General Rob Bonta that highlighted a rise in deaths related to e-bike and motorcycle crashes.
“We are seeing a surge of safety incidents on our sidewalks, parks, and streets,” Bonta said in a statement. “To ride a motorcycle or moped, you need to have the appropriate driver’s license and comply with rules of the road.”
Bonta’s alert stated that pedal-assisted e-bikes cannot exceed 28 mph. Throttle-assisted e-bikes are limited to 20 mph.
Amazon had continued to sell e-bikes with speeds over 40 mph. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Electric bikes and motorcycles have become increasingly popular in the last few years, particularly among teens. But the surge has been shadowed by a spate of deadly crashes.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer has charged at least three parents with allowing their children to ride electric motorcycles illegally, calling the vehicles a “loaded weapon.”
Spitzer noted in a post on X that Amazon said it removed e-bikes advertised with speeds over 40 miles per hour after KCRA contacted the company.
“The company said it has removed the examples provided and is investigating compliance for similar products,” Spitzer wrote.
That includes an Orange County mother, who faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after her son allegedly struck an 81-year-old man with an electric motorcycle. The 14-year-old boy had been doing wheelies on an e-motorcycle
A 13-year-old boy on an e-bike in Garden Grove died earlier this week after veering into the center median and hurtling onto the roadway. The boy was traveling at around 35 mph on a black E Ride Pro electric motorcycle, authorities said.
Amazon’s new sales limits come as the Los Angeles City Council pushes to keep electric bikes of off most city recreational trails, arguing they are a threat to hikers. E-bikes would still be allowed on designated bikeways, such as along the L.A. River.
Daniel Felix, 10, looks out from atop a gargantuan stump of an old-growth redwood on his tribe’s ancestral land. Once, this forest on California’s North Coast was replete with the ancient behemoths that can live beyond 2,000 years.
Only a fraction are left now, depleted by a logging company before the state acquired the forest in the 1940s.
This is unique public land, Jackson Demonstration State Forest, spanning 50,000 acres. Trees are plentiful here, but they might not live a millennium. California’s 14 demonstration forests are required to produce and sell timber to show — or “demonstrate” — sustainable practices. Money from logging — roughly $8.5 million a year — pays for management of the forests by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
Daniel’s tribe, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, has pushed to rein in the cutting — spearheaded by his late great-grandmother, Priscilla Hunter. They’re part of a diverse coalition that includes environmental activists, local politicians and other tribes.
Now they may finally get their wish. Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) has introduced a bill that would nix the forests’ logging mandate, instead prioritizing values such as carbon storage, wildfire resilience and biodiversity.
The bill represents the latest chapter in a region legendary for fierce battles over logging, and it marks an uncommon alliance between tribes and the environmental movement.
Under Assembly Bill 2494, there could still be logging, but it would have to support those new principles, and the forests would be funded differently.
And it proposes another significant change. It would pave the way for giving tribes a say in managing the lands for the first time since they were forcibly evicted more than a century ago, and for integrating Indigenous knowledge — like cultural burning — into the forests.
“It’s what we dreamed of,” said Polly Girvin, Hunter’s former partner and a retired lawyer focused on Native American issues. “And to have it come true? I’m used to movements that sometimes take 30 years in Indian Country to get to the justice you’re seeking.”
Kids play in the stump of an ancient redwood during a potluck held after the spirit run in Jackson Demonstration State Forest last month.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
Some backers say the bill offers a new economic path forward for communities behind the so-called redwood curtain. With the decline of logging and cannabis, they see tourism driven by ultramarathons, mushroom foraging and other outdoor activities as a financial savior.
“If we had an increase of 10% of visitors coming to our county because of recreational opportunities, that would more than surpass all of the timber tax in our county,” Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams said, projecting an increase in money from a lodging tax.
But the push to reshape forest management is fiercely opposed by loggers and mill owners, who say their work is sustainable and provides blue-collar jobs in a region where they’ve dwindled. Already California imports most of its wood from Oregon, Washington and Canada.
“California has the most rules and regulations of anywhere in the world so all they’re doing is exporting the environmental impact to somewhere else, still using the product,” said Myles Anderson, owner of a logging company in Fort Bragg founded by his grandfather. “It’s pretty disgusting, really.”
Anderson believes the bill will greatly reduce logging, even stop it altogether. In his office, with photos of him and his father at a logging site decades ago, he points out it’s sponsored by the Environmental Protection Information Center. Why else would they and other environmental groups “support it if they didn’t see the same thing that I’m seeing?”
Last month, activists who have sought to rein in logging at Jackson held their first major gathering in about four years, galvanized by the bill that they see as a significant step in the right direction.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
A new but old fight
About five years ago, community members caught wind of plans to chop down towering redwoods within Jackson, near the coastal town of Caspar. Priscilla Hunter would come out to the forest “and could hear them crying — it was our ancestors,” said her daughter Melinda Hunter, the tribe’s vice chairwoman. “Then she had to protect [the trees].”
Environmental activists and Native Americans, not historically allies in the region, joined forces to fight it. “Forest defenders” camped out high in the canopy and blocked logging equipment with their bodies. Some were arrested.
The uprising harked back to the 1980s and 1990s, when iconic environmentalist Judi Bari led Earth First! campaigns against logging in the region. Many of the old tree sitters — white-haired and brimming with stories of Bari — have come out of the woodwork for the latest battle.
For them, it was a win. Cal Fire paused new timber sales and, citing public safety, halted some that were underway — including one expected to generate millions of dollars for Myles Anderson’s logging company.
“We were left with nothing,” Anderson said.
Then, last year, Cal Fire approved the first harvest plan since that hiatus. It riled up the sizable, ecologically minded community.
Jessica Curl, 47, remembers growing up nearby “in a terrain of trunks” as trucks carried out logs. Now the redwoods are regrowing, “gorgeous” and gobbling carbon, she said.
“We’re so lucky to live in an area where we have this amazing climate-change mitigation tool, that if we would just leave it alone would do this amazing work that we’re trying to think of all these cool, inventive things to do.”
Isidro Chavez receives burning sage, or smudging, after a run in Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Smudging is a ritual used to cleanse spaces and individuals of negative energy, promote calm and improve mood.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
Tears of grief, resolve
A group of “spirit runners” — a Native American tradition of bringing prayer — sprinted through the heart of Jackson forest as rain poured through the canopy. The mid-April event marked activists’ first major gathering since protests wound down in 2022.
Attendees gathered in a circle to wait for them. Misty Cook, of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, read a statement as eyes misted all around:
“All the living things around us, they miss us. They miss the language. They miss our touch, our hands, touching all of the things — the water, the plants. They miss the songs. They miss the beat of our footsteps and our voices, and they miss the children’s laughter and play, which was so important. They want us to gather them, to use them and to share them. Otherwise they will get sick and possibly die.”
Cal Fire launched a tribal advisory council to bring Indigenous perspective into Jackson. But some local tribes say it’s not enough because they lack decision-making power.
When the runners arrived, the circle absorbed them. Then they continued on to the site of a controversial proposed harvest, Camp Eight. They wrapped a bandana that belonged to Priscilla Hunter around a small tree — a quiet, somber act where she took her last stand. Runners took turns embracing the trunk.
Redwoods at the Capitol
In March, Rogers’ bill cleared a committee and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. A hearing is set for Thursday.
Funding is a major point of contention. Environmentalists say funding these forests with timber operations incentivizes cutting bigger trees. Cal Fire maintains decisions are driven by forest health, not industry demand.
AB 2494 would fund the forests through a tax on lumber and engineered wood products. The shift could create “[o]ngoing state costs and cost pressures of an unknown but potentially significant amount, possibly in the low millions of dollars annually,” according to a legislative analysis.
The California Forestry Assn., a timber industry trade group, says the idea is a nonstarter.
Cal Fire declined to comment on pending legislation but Kevin Conway, the agency’s staff chief for resource protection and improvement, said its nearly 80-year history managing Jackson reflects “care and attention.” Since the state acquired the forest, “we have more trees on the landscape, more habitat and those trees are trending larger,” he said.
For the tribes who have rallied and prayed, a burning question is whether the land will again reflect their vision, or remain shaped by decisions made by others.
Buffie Campbell, executive director of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council — co-founded by Priscilla Hunter and one of the groups supporting the bill — said young people wouldn’t be able to fathom the significance of the legislation passing. Maybe that’s a good thing.
“Maybe they don’t need to know about all the fighting that we have to do before they get to go out and enjoy and be tribal guardians stewarding their land.”
-
News25 minutes agoShip operators involved in Baltimore bridge collapse charged with misconduct and obstruction
-
New York2 hours agoDeadly Gang Feud Left Bystander Paralyzed in Brooklyn
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoDetroit leads northern border in drug seizures, federal report says
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoCalifornia ‘Fans First’ bill aims to cap skyrocketing concert ticket prices
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoRanking Every Cowboys Position Group By Overall Talent and Depth
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoSevere weather, flash flooding possible in South Florida on Tuesday
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoCanvas reportedly reaches deal with hackers for stolen data – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoFormer Denver Bronco Craig Morton, who became the first quarterback to start Super Bowl for 2 franchises, dies at 83