Wattles Garden Park — Attraction in Los Angeles

My new spot to explore...be aware people..there are coyotes besides snakes in this park.Wattles Park occupies approximately 50 acres (200,000 m2) of a long narrow corridor of space that rises 950 feet (290 m) from Hollywood Boulevard. The lower park is 4.13 acres (16,700 m2) in size and fronts on Hollywood Boulevard. The Wattles Mansion and formal garden area runs along the private roadway to the building. The early American garden area is directly behind the residence and was composed of rose and vegetable gardens. The Japanese teahouse along Curson Avenue was a gift to the City of Los Angeles from Nagoya, its sister city in Japan. The Japanese garden portion of the grounds was designed by Fugo, an influential landscape architect in Japan. All of the shrubs, plants, and vegetation were brought directly from Japan for the garden.[2]

In the 1980s and 1990s, crime at the park increased, with drug pushers and junkies using the tea house. Vandalism and a couple of fires ruined the tea house, which has since been off limits to all visitors, and only a small portion of the tea house is still standing. Heavy flooding overflowed the small lake and stream, drying them up forever. Some of the palm trees had to be cut down. The place became unkempt as a result of the cutbacks, making it difficult to maintain the gardens. Graffiti was reported on the white columns and the Japanese entrance, as well as the outdoor temple, and the roof of the temple was removed. The park now has a sign warning of rattlesnakes in the area. Benches were...

This park is a favorite of mine for hiking and observing nature. Right in the heart of Los Angeles - nestled in the Hollywood Hills and with fantastic views of the city, local mountains and Pacific Ocean on clear days - this park affords the public a quiet and enjoyable escape from the stress of normal life below. With multiple trails available that lead to and connect with the more travelled hiking trails of Runyan Canyon, this park provides an access to Runyan that is ideal if you want less-crowded ingress and egress points on the Hollywood side the hill. (In addition, you can actually find a place to park your vehicle along North Curson Avenue.). The entrance to the Wattles Dog Park and Wattles Garden Park is through the HUGE gates just passed the Wattles Mansion on North Curson just North of Hollywood Blvd. I'm always looking for people to hike with me! Contact me if you want a buddy to go with... but my recommendation is that you go and have a great...

Beautiful park in Hollywood Hills that also serves as an unofficial off-leash dog park. Great place to have a picnic, relax in the grass or bring your dog. Mix of big and small dogs and no dedicated "small dog area", but owners tend to bring friendlier dogs and watch them pretty carefully.

I love it here, but a few cautions:

This is a place where dogs play and humans picnic. If you don't watch carefully, a well-intentioned human might give your dog a snack (this happened to me and wasn't a big deal, but if it is for you, good to know).

Skip this park if you or your kids are scared of dogs and be careful with small children. Despite it technically being an "on leash" dog park, I've visited 5 or 6 times and never seen less than a dozen dogs running around off-leash.

If you aren't comfortable with your dog off-leash or your dog doesn't get along with other dogs, this place probably isn't the best choice -- all dogs seem to...