Free things to do in LA

I’ve got some college buddies staying with me for the week. Two are unemployed, one is engaged, and the other is just a cheapskate, and they’ve never been to Los Angeles before. So they want a complete tour of LA…for free. Fortunately, they’ve got me as their guide and I know the ins and outs of the city and how to have packed days without spending a dime.

• Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits – free on the first Tuesday of each month. The Page Museum has the largest collection of Ice Age fossils.
• Getty Museum – parking is $7, but the museum is free…and beautiful.
• Santa Monica Pier – A fun and free place to walk around.
• Venice Boardwalk – Street performers, crazy people, fun for tourists. They leave here thinking everyone is LA is strange.
• California Science Center – Admission is free, parking is about $5 I think.
• Grauman’s Chinese Theater – Tours cost money, but walking around the forecourt is free.
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• African American Firefighters Museum
• MOCA at the Pacific Design Center – free on Thursdays 5-8pm.
• Los Angeles County Natural History Museum – free the first Tuesday of the month.

Summer Fun with your Pup

After I posted about skiing with your dog, I realized that I should’ve written something perhaps a bit more practical. So here’s another quick list of amusement parks, parks, malls, and other attractions in California that are pet-friendly—either they have kennel facilities or let you roam around with your dog. (I’m not much of a kennel guy myself…) This is more summer appropriate, right?

• Disneyland – Anaheim, California
• Legoland – Carlsbad, California
• SeaWorld – San Diego, California
• Six Flags Hurricane Harbor – Valencia, California
• Universal Studios Hollywood – Universal City, California
• Griffith Observatory – Los Angeles, California
• Hollywood Walk of Fame – Hollywood, California
• Travel Town Museum
• Dog Beach – Huntington Beach, California (Huntington Cliffs)
• LA’s Griffith Park – Los Angeles, California
• The Grove – Los Angeles, California
• Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive Shopping District – Beverly Hills, California
• Leo Carrillo State Beach – Malibu, California
• Angeles National Forest – Los Angeles, California
• Whittier Narrows Nature Center – South el Monte, California
• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area – Thousand Oaks, California

Happy Summer!