La Brea Tar Pits

[kailuagirl]

Is it worth going to? We have a 8 year old daughter. My husband went a long, long time ago and said it was boring. But I'm sure it's changed since then. Anyone been? Thanks!

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

It is fine for an hour or two. They have a small museum, 3d movie and a nice park surrounding the pits. They also have some interactive play for younger kids, but we did not see that.

La Brea is also around the corner from the Farmer's Market at The Grove for lunch (or Pink's Hot Dogs). The Grove has the American Girl store if you are so inclined. We went to La Brea,The Grove, the Farmer's Market for lunch, saw a movie and then went to a concert at The Greek in one day. This was the day I let the kids sleep in a little...they are teens after all and would sleep until 1 if allowed.

Anyhow, we enjoyed the visit (I have been wanting to go forever, it just always got pushed to the bottom of the list on our LA trips). My family likes museums, though.

 

[wanderlust7]

I thought the tar pits were very cool to see, to have something like that in the middle of LA, still bubbling. The museum is small and just okay, at least we had a Living Social deal. You don't actually need admission to the museum to see the tar pits, only if you want a guided tour.

 

[dotfurio]

I agree, it was fun for kids for an hour or 2. The best part was seeing the pits and excavation.

 

[Luckymommatoo]

We live in L.A. I wouldn't pay to go inside the La Brea museum, but the outside tar pits are actually pretty cool. Plus it's right next to LACMA (the art museum), which has free admission for one kid and a parent if you use this link: http://www.lacma.org/arts-for-nexgen-lacma

LACMA is spread out over a few buildings and has a number of outdoor exhibits as well. Don't miss Metropolis: http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/metropolis-ii

or Levitated Mass!

If your kid is a Harry Potter fan, just across the street is Whimsic Alley, a really fun store: http://www.whimsicalleyla.com/home

And I totally agree with PP about combining with a trip to the Grove and Farmer's Market. Have fun!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I also recommend the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Page Museum is interesting for a nominal fee. They also give tours, and I thought that was interesting as well. I wouldn't make this a full-day, but would include it with visiting Farmers Market/The Grove, and other neighboring museums. I often take people there as well as Hollywood in the same day.

 

[tzeitel]

Sorry to hijack but I was also wondering about the tar pits on our day not doing DLR. I was thinking of something like - tar pits, farmers market, movie at El Capitan and the Observatory. Does his sound doable? Maybe The Grove as well? Would love to do LACMA, but while I am big on museums, DH & DD not so much

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Sorry to hijack but I was also wondering about the tar pits on our day not doing DLR. I was thinking of something like - tar pits, farmers market, movie at El Capitan and the Observatory. Does his sound doable? Maybe The Grove as well? Would love to do LACMA, but while I am big on museums, DH & DD not so much

Yes, this is doable. I've done it with several of our guests. I recommend going to the Observatory right before it opens, then head over to La Brea Tar Pits, then have lunch at Farmers Market/stroll around the Grove, then a movie at El Capitan -- or see a matinee at El Capitan, go to the tar pits, and then have dinner at Farmers Market/Grove. The Grove lit up at night is so pretty.

 

[kailuagirl]

great suggestions everyone!! I really appreciate it. Is the observatory the Griffith one? I would have never thought we could get all that in in one day. That's awesome. So excited!! My dd is 8 and really wants to go to American Girl Store at the Grove, so perfect!

 

[Luckymommatoo]

Yes, they are referring to Griffith Observatory. And I concur with Mary Jo -- she has a good itinerary laid out!

 

[Sherry E]

This is in my neighborhood!

I would actually advise against getting to Farmers Market at night -- The Grove's hours are more extended than the Farmers Market's after summer ends. While some of the newer businesses/vendors at the Farmers Market stay open later, a lot of the longtime residents of the Market (the counter service mom & pop places that are worth trying) leave earlier... and those are the ones I heartily recommend for lunch.

I would do the La Brea Tar Pits & LACMA (LACMA has "Levitated Mass" in the back/north/6th Street side, and "Urban Light" on the front/south/Wilshire side) in the daytime, then take a quick jaunt up Fairfax to Third Street, where you will find Farmers Market. There are other museums east of LACMA on Wilshire. And, although it won't reopen until December, the very wild, modern-looking Petersen Automotive Museum is at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax, and is worth having a look at.

If you do visit the Tar Pits and pay for the admission to the George C. Page Museum, be sure to go out into the courtyard behind the museum, where you will find a lovely garden with koi, turtles, etc. You can only get back there if you pay for the admission to the museum.

 

[kailuagirl]

Question about going to tar pits and not paying to go into museum - do you just walk around the outdoors part? How do you know where you can and can't go? Thanks!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Think of the tar pits as a park with a pathway meandering through it. There are fenced in tar pits throughout, and behind the "pond" of water-covered tar is the Page Museum that you pay to go in to. Try to go to the observation deck for (I think) Pit 93 to see how they have dug down and a list of items they've discovered. There is also a tour that you can sign up for at the Page Museum. I thought it was interesting. There is also tar coming up through the grass, and "they" have put traffic cones over these spots so you don't get it on your shoes. I remember walking there in the mid-70's and tar was coming up through the sidewalks and grass then, too. It's cool that this place exists right along Miracle Mile.

 

[Aust]

We are spending the last day of our upcoming trip at The Grove/Farmers Market and I'd love to see the tar pits - is it walkable from The Grove?

 

[sheetz]

We are spending the last day of our upcoming trip at The Grove/Farmers Market and I'd love to see the tar pits - is it walkable from The Grove?

Yes, it's walkable. They are about a mile apart.

 

[rangermom]

We really enjoyed the tar pits. We went on a day we decided not to do the parks. We went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Disney Soda Fountain and the Tar Pits. I think we stayed about 2 1/2 hours. We are planning to go back soon especially now that we live in SoCal and only a couple hours away.