Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round — Attraction in Los Angeles

Not many people realize that they have this free, great resource in LA. And there is more to it than just the great views from the Observatory. There are many miles of hiking trails, where you can forget that you are in the middle of a huge metropolis (until you get to the top of a ridge). A hike to the top of Mount Hollywood gives 360 degree views of the city, and is worth the effort getting there. However, there is much more to the park. Travel Town Rail Museum houses vintage and antique trains, in addition to having a small scale raildroad circling the area. Next door, the LA Live Steamers takes Walt Disney's love of trains to the public. In addition to the "Carolwood Barn", where Walt worked on his trains, there is an extensive layout of model trains large enough to ride in. The LA Zoo is also in Griffith Park, along with the Gene Autry Musuem of Western Heritage. The Merry Go Round is still located near the ranger station, and is credited with giving Walt Disney the idea for a theme park. There are play areas, BBQ pits, and even a pony ride area (with yet ANOTHER miniature train). And the trails! Miles and...

PHOTOGRAPHERS BEWARE!!!!!! Even if you are just a hobbyist, you are NOT WELCOME here. Thought we'd have a fun day, and snap a few quick cute photos, but boy were we in for a nasty shock. Went with a few friends, and bought tickets to ride. The owner saw I had a camera, and made a b-line straight for me asking what my intentions were. I was honest when I said it was probably just going on Facebook (we just did a shoot in the old LA Zoo, for our hobby group in Facebook) I was told I would need to sign a waiver because it was private property (ok fine. He was rude, but I wasn't planning to sell the images), but then I read the thing and it said we couldn't even post it to our private pages online! This is ridiculous, and really unnecessary. I rarely get upset over silly things like this, but I was shaking by the time I was done being talked down to by this guy. Please don't waste your time and money here. It's not special enough for him to treat people like they...

I was surprised just how long this hike was up to the iconic Hollywood sign. The trail is paved in spots and while not difficult, it was much farther than I expected to reach the sign. Be prepared by wearing comfortable shoes and bringing a water bottle. I walked it on a Friday afternoon and it was not crowded at all. Easily 75% of the people I encountered were locals out exercising. Once you are up to the sign a tall chain fence makes pictures a little difficult but still worth the climb. A friend who lives locally told me that the sign is protected by numerous cameras that assure no one gets any ideas to jump the fence and get too close. On the advice of locals, I took N Beachwood Dr up to some limited parking and happened to find a spot without a problem. It's not well marked and I think the locals like...