Week of July 3rd 2011: Griffith Park

Griffith Park is a staple of the Los Angeles area. Since L.A. isn't a condensed city like San Francisco, New York, etc. it doesn't really need that large, centralized park like the other large metropolitan areas do, but if it did - Griffith Park would be it. Like LA, the park is large and sprawling and you need a car to really get around it. However, it relates to the other parks by frankly, being much more than just a park. Griffith park is home to the LA Zoo, the Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, tons of trails, and many of L.A.'s dearly departed.

In my effort to get to know more of L.A., I stumbled upon some neat things to do in Griffith Park. While I'd been to the zoo, I hadn't really explored the rest of the area. I had originally been search Google for some tidal caves because that just seemed cool. Instead, I came across the Bronson Caves which, as it turns out, are the caves they used to film the Adam West Batman TV show. In other words, this was something I needed to check out.


After following the intricate directions, I found myself at the parking lot closest to the caves. Since the directions were a little difficult (not to mention I kept losing service), I was really hoping that I had found the right place. However, I got out of my car and noticed I was right next to a sign that said "Camp Hollywoodland." Here's a fun little piece of history - the Hollywood sign used to read "Hollywoodland." However, the original sign started seeing severe deterioration and when it was being restored, "land" was left off. Either way, seeing another sign with the original "Hollywoodland" title made me feel like I had found a bit of history.

I continued up the path to the spot of the Bronson Caves. Honestly, they weren't anything special. Just a little cave in a hill, not very deep at all. It is fun to witness some Hollywood magic though. The right angle and a few effects can make even some little caves into something much more. The directions I had found also mentioned that you could see the Hollywood sign on the way back down the path. True enough, you could. However, the angle was just bad enough that it was really difficult to get a good picture of it. That gave me a new challenge.

I got back in my car and drove to a spot with some service and looked up better places to see the sign. It seemed like the best spot was up by Griffith Observatory so off I went. Apparently, the observatory is a popular spot on a nice summer day because it was rather difficult to park, but eventually I found a spot and got my Hollywood sign picture (the one at the beginning of the post. It still wasn't great, but it seemed like it was the best I was going to do this time.

The trip gave me some new ideas for new things though. I definitely want to take a hike up the real sign (as close as is legal - don't worry, I'm not planning on breaking any laws) and to actually go into the observatory  (even though I got this lovely picture of the outside of it).

On my way back down the hill, I came across some other famous movie landscapes. I didn't get to snap a picture since I was driving, but maybe I'll let you find that one on your own... or you can click the link if the curiosity is too much for you.

I can't wait to go back and conquer my other new ideas, as well as looking into other famous movie locations that I can explore.