La Brea Tar Pits

[Aust]

If I wanted to drive to La Brea tar pits and arrive at 9.30am, what time would I need to leave Anaheim, on a Saturday? I was thinking 8am, is that reasonable? thanks

 

[PrincessInOz]

I was thinking a local might answer.

It takes me about 45 mins to 70 minutes to get from Farmer's Market to Anaheim non-peak times. Farmer's Market/The Grove is close enough. On a Saturday morning, maybe an hour might be sufficient if you want to be sure?

 

[Aust]

Thanks Princess! An hour sounds ok - also on reading my guide book today it says the tar pits open at 10am Saturdays, not 9.30, so if we leave DL at 8.30 it should be heaps of time. And we plan on going to Farmer's MArket/The Grove after, it doesn't look like far on the map (hoperfully not far anyway). Now I just have to convince my husband to brave the freeways in a hire car.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks Princess! An hour sounds ok - also on reading my guide book today it says the tar pits open at 10am Saturdays, not 9.30, so if we leave DL at 8.30 it should be heaps of time. And we plan on going to Farmer's MArket/The Grove after, it doesn't look like far on the map (hoperfully not far anyway). Now I just have to convince my husband to brave the freeways in a hire car.

I think the Tar Pits to The Grove might take you all of 5 minutes or so. Make sure you eat at the Farmer's Market. The food options there are pretty reasonable.

 

[Aust]

Closer than I thought! We plan on having lunch at Farmers Market, we had a lunch stop there on a tour we did our first trip, I had some fantastic berry pie. Also I loved the American Girl shop, just have to try and resist buying a doll for my middle child who will love it (she was a bit young last time).

 

[poohbear2]

We just did this last Thursday. We went later to Tar Pits. But it didn't take long at all to get to the Farmer's Market.

 

[Aust]

Another question - what's parking like at Farmer's Market at lunchtime on Saturdays - I imagine it gets pretty crowded then? Would it be an idea to park there first then walk to the tar pits??

 

[lcasa]

Parking at the grove is pricey - even with validation it adds up FAST. I think I'd move the car! Or if the Tar Pitts parking is inexpensive walk from there.

 

[Sherry E]

I don't know when the trip to the Tar Pits is, but parking at Farmers Market to get to the Tar Pits, or parking at the Tar Pits to get to Farmers Market/The Grove may not the best plan, unless you really just love walking. They are close if you drive from one to the other, but not necessarily on foot if you are not 100% familiar with the area.

I am a local and I live right down the street from both Farmers Market/The Grove and the Tar Pits/Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I know the area well, so I know exactly where I am going and how long it will take me to get there on foot.

LACMA/the Tar Pits are on Wilshire Boulevard, but you can also access them from 6th Street (which is in between Wilshire and 3rd Street).

Farmers Market/The Grove are at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax. 3rd Street is north of north of both 6th Street and Wilshire.


You can get a few hours validated parking at Farmers Market or The Grove if you eat at a restaurant in either place - but sometimes it's hard to tell which restaurants/shops actually belong to the Farmers Market part of the property or The Grove part of the property! Some of them look like they belong in The Grove when they actually are part of FM, so be sure you know where you are parking and eating if you go there, hoping to get the free parking.


Now, as for the time it takes to get from Anaheim to the Tar Pits or from the Tar Pits back to Anaheim - yes, it is about 45 minutes without traffic. If you hit heavy traffic - like during rush hour - it could be twice as long as that.

On a Saturday morning there will be a bit of weekend traffic happening, but I still think you should be able to get to the Tar Pits from Anaheim in an hour or and hour and 15 minutes. It won't be as bad as weekday rush hour traffic. I think that leaving at 8:00 would be fine, but allow a bit of extra time if you plan to park at Farmers Market and walk to the Tar Pits from there - you'll definitely need the extra time.

The parking at Farmers Market is almost always crazy any time of day - and it always has been, ever since I was a little girl! - but especially around the lunch hours.

I moved this thread over to the Southern California forum, but I left a redirect so people can find it!

 

[Aust]

Given that parking at the Grove/Farmer's Market may be harder at lunchtime, I'm now thinking we should go there first, have an early lunch, then go to the tar pits. Thanks for the local knowledge, it's a big help.

 

[Sherry E]

I just took a bunch of photos at the Tar Pits and at LACMA (which is immediately adjacent to the Tar Pits) a couple of weeks ago (I am a photo-taking maniac!), and I have many photos of The Grove/Farmers Market. I may eventually start a separate thread just for those specific sites, as we do get a lot of questions from people who plan to visit Southern California and go to those locations. Since the Tar Pits/LACMA and The Grove/Farmers Market are all kind of close together by car and collectively make for a good day trip, maybe I will lump them all together.

Anyway, stay tuned for signs of a thread popping up about those places!!