LA County's coast runs roughly 75 miles, and every public beach from Zuma Beach in Malibu down to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is free to access year-round. At least 8 notable museums in the city charge nothing for general admission, including The Getty Center, The Broad, and the Hammer Museum. Griffith Park covers over 4,300 acres on the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, with free trails, picnic areas, and the Griffith Observatory. LA averages around 284 sunny days per year, so outdoor plans hold up in nearly every month. You could spend 7 full days between Venice Beach and Griffith Park on a zero budget and still leave with a list of places you never reached.
Free attractions
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The Getty Center
The Getty Center sits on a hilltop in Brentwood and holds European paintings from the 13th through 19th centuries, plus rotating photography and sculpture exhibits. Richard Meier designed the travertine-clad campus, and honestly the architecture might impress you more than some of the galleries. Admission has been free since the museum opened in 1997. Parking currently costs $20 per car, though you can take Metro Line 734 to the base of the hill and ride the free Getty Center Tram up. The Central Garden, designed by Robert Irwin, changes with the seasons and smells like lavender in spring. On clear days the upper terrace gives you a view from the Pacific to the San Gabriel Mountains.
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The Broad
The Broad opened in September 2015 on Grand Avenue in Downtown LA, and general admission has been free since day one. The permanent collection includes over 2,000 works from artists like Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Cindy Sherman. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room tends to draw the longest lines. Timed-entry tickets are available online, usually released on the first of each month. Walk-up standby is also an option, though waits of 45 minutes to 2 hours are common on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory sits at about 1,134 feet elevation on the south slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. Admission to the building and all exhibits is free. The Samuel Oschin Planetarium inside charges a small fee per show, currently around $7 for adults. You get a direct view of the Hollywood Sign from the front lawn, and on clear nights the Zeiss telescope on the roof is open to the public at no charge. The Observatory has been free since it opened in 1935, per the will of Griffith J. Griffith.
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Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood has been free to enter since February 2014. The permanent collection leans toward Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, including pieces by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and John Singer Sargent. The museum is probably better known now for its contemporary exhibitions and the biennial Made in L.A. show. Thursday evening programs often feature free talks and film screenings.
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California Science Center
The California Science Center in Exposition Park offers free admission to its permanent galleries covering ecosystems, creative technology, and the World of Life exhibits. Temporary exhibitions and the IMAX theater charge separately. Parking at the Exposition Park lots currently runs about $15. The museum sits next to the Natural History Museum and the California African American Museum, so you can visit two or three in one afternoon.
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California African American Museum
The California African American Museum in Exposition Park is free every day it's open. Rotating exhibitions cover art, history, and culture, with a permanent collection of several thousand objects and artworks. The museum has been open since 1981 and sits at the northern edge of Exposition Park, a short walk from the Expo/Vermont Metro station.
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The Getty Villa
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades houses Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities in a recreation of a 1st-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. Admission is free, but you need to reserve a timed ticket online in advance. Parking runs $20 per vehicle, same as the Getty Center. The outdoor gardens and reflecting pools are modeled on ancient Roman landscaping, and they smell distinctly of rosemary and lavender in the warmer months.
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MOCA Grand Avenue
MOCA's main building on Grand Avenue in Downtown LA offers free general admission. The collection spans from the 1940s to the present, with works by Mark Rothko, Diane Arbus, and Robert Rauschenberg. The museum also operates The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Little Tokyo, about a mile east, which is likewise free to enter. Free general admission became permanent around 2020.
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Griffith Park
Griffith Park covers over 4,300 acres between Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and the eastern edge of Burbank. More than 50 miles of trails run through the park, from flat fire roads to steeper paths like the hike up to the Hollywood Sign via the Brush Canyon Trail. Travel Town Museum near the park's north end is free to visit, though the miniature train rides cost a few dollars. The park stays open from 5 AM to 10:30 PM daily, and entry is free.
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Runyon Canyon Park
Runyon Canyon Park sits at the north end of Fuller Avenue in Hollywood, about 2 blocks from Hollywood Boulevard. The 160-acre park has 3 main loop trails, with the shortest taking around 40 minutes. You'll see the Hollywood Sign to the east and the Downtown LA skyline to the south on clear days. Most of the trails allow off-leash dogs. Mornings tend to be cooler, and the canyon still holds some shade by 9 AM even in August.
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Grand Park
Grand Park stretches across 12 acres between City Hall and the Music Center in Downtown LA. The park opened in 2012 and includes a fountain, lawns, gardens, and a small performance space. It has become a gathering spot for free public events, including a New Year's Eve celebration and a 4th of July block party. On regular days it's a quiet green space between the civic buildings, with a view of the Downtown skyline from the upper terrace near the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
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Free activities
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Venice Beach Boardwalk
The Ocean Front Walk (that's the actual name, though everyone calls it the Venice Beach Boardwalk) runs about 1.5 miles along the sand from Venice Pier north toward Santa Monica. Street performers, muralists, and small vendors set up most days. Muscle Beach's outdoor weight pen is right along the path, and the sound of clanking iron carries a surprising distance. The smell of incense and coconut sunscreen is pretty constant. On weekends the foot traffic between 11 AM and 3 PM can get thick, so mornings tend to be more pleasant for a walk.
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Venice Canals Historic District
The Venice Canals sit a few blocks inland from the boardwalk, between Venice Boulevard and Washington Boulevard. Abbot Kinney developed them in 1905 as part of his Venice of America project. Six canals remain today, lined with small footbridges and private homes. The walk through the full canal loop takes about 20 minutes. It's quiet, and the water reflects the houses in a way that feels more like a Dutch neighborhood than Southern California.
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Downtown Arts District Murals
The Arts District in Downtown LA, roughly between East 1st Street and East 7th Street along the LA River, has one of the densest concentrations of outdoor murals in the city. Many appeared during the 2010s as former warehouses and factories converted into galleries and restaurants. You can walk the core area in about an hour. The murals rotate, but established walls by artists like Shepard Fairey and Retna tend to stay up for years.
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Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame runs 1.3 miles along Hollywood Boulevard between Gower Street and La Brea Avenue, with a short extension south on Vine Street. More than 2,700 stars are embedded in the sidewalk, covering film, television, music, radio, and theater. The walk is free and open 24 hours. TCL Chinese Theatre, formerly Grauman's, sits about halfway along, and the handprints and footprints in the forecourt are free to view.
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Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier extends about 1,600 feet over the ocean at the end of Colorado Avenue. The pier itself, the views, and the street performances cost nothing. Pacific Park's amusement rides and the aquarium inside charge separately. It's also the western terminus of Route 66, marked by a sign near the entrance. The sound of the wooden planks underfoot and the carousel music from the 1922 Looff Hippodrome building give the place a distinctly old-fashioned feel.
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Original Farmers Market
The Original Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax has been running since 1934. Browsing the 100-plus vendors is free, though you'll likely end up buying something once you smell the fresh crepes or roasted nuts. The market sits next to The Grove shopping center but has a completely different atmosphere. Wooden stalls, open-air counters, and hand-painted signs give it a throwback quality that the rest of LA's retail doesn't have.
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LA County Beaches
Every public beach in LA County is free to access, from Zuma Beach in Malibu through to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. Will Rogers State Beach, Dockweiler Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach are all reachable by public transit or bike path. The Marvin Braude Bike Trail, known locally as The Strand, runs 22 miles along the coast from Pacific Palisades to Torrance Beach. Parking is the main cost, typically between $5 and $20 depending on the lot and the season. Water temperatures along the LA coast range from about 57°F in January to around 70°F in August.
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Silver Lake Reservoir Loop
The Silver Lake Reservoir walking path circles the reservoir on a 2.2-mile paved loop in the Silver Lake neighborhood. The path is flat, open year-round, and popular with joggers and dog walkers. On clear days you can see the San Gabriel Mountains to the north and the Downtown LA skyline to the south. The southern end of the loop includes a planted meadow with California native grasses and wildflowers.
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Free events
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CicLAvia
Several Sundays per year, typically 4 to 6 events annuallyCicLAvia closes miles of LA streets to car traffic and opens them to pedestrians, cyclists, and skaters. Routes change each event and have covered stretches from Downtown to the Eastside, South LA, and the San Fernando Valley. The nonprofit has held events since October 2010, typically 4 to 6 times per year.
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Grand Performances
Friday and Saturday evenings, June through SeptemberGrand Performances has been staging free outdoor concerts, dance performances, and film screenings at California Plaza in Downtown LA since 1986. Summer lineups typically run from June through September and lean toward world music, jazz, and contemporary dance. Seating is on the plaza steps and open lawn. The sound bounces well off the surrounding office towers.
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Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles
Various evenings, primarily summer through fallThe Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park presents about 50 free concerts per year, with genres running from cumbia and Afrobeat to indie rock and R&B. The open-air stage sits near the lake in MacArthur Park, surrounded by the Westlake neighborhood. Bring a blanket or a low chair. The sound carries across the water on warm evenings.
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Downtown LA Art Walk
Monthly, typically a Thursday evening from 6 PM to 10 PMGalleries, studios, and pop-up spaces along Spring Street and Main Street in the Gallery Row area of Downtown LA open their doors for evening walks on a regular monthly schedule. Street vendors and food trucks cluster along the route. The tradition has been running since 2004 and tends to draw a mix of serious collectors and neighborhood regulars.
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First Fridays on Abbot Kinney
First Friday of each month, eveningOn the first Friday of each month, Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice brings out food trucks, local artisans, and live music along the 1-mile strip. Shops stay open late and the sidewalks fill up by early evening. The event has been a Venice tradition for over a decade. It gets crowded, but the energy and the smell of grilled food from the truck lineup make it worth the trip.
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Free Beaches Along the LA Coast
LA County maintains access to dozens of public beaches along its 75-mile coastline, and none of them charge admission. Zuma Beach in Malibu tends to be one of the quieter options, with wide sand and relatively uncrowded conditions on weekday mornings. Santa Monica State Beach draws bigger crowds and connects to the bike path that runs south through Venice, Marina del Rey, and on to Manhattan Beach. Dockweiler Beach is the only LA beach that allows bonfires, with concrete fire rings available first-come-first-served. Mind you, parking is where the cost creeps in. Most beach lots charge between $5 and $20, though metered street parking in Venice and Santa Monica can run $2 to $4 per hour. The cheapest approach is biking the Marvin Braude Bike Trail or taking Metro bus lines like the 720 Rapid to Santa Monica. Water temperatures along the LA coast range from about 57°F in January to around 70°F in August, so a wetsuit might be worth packing if you're visiting outside of summer.
Free Viewpoints Across the City
Los Angeles has more free viewpoints than most visitors realize. Griffith Observatory is the most well-known, with a direct line of sight to the Hollywood Sign from about 1,134 feet. The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in Culver City requires a climb up about 280 stairs, or the gentler switchback trail, but gives you a 360-degree panorama from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the San Gabriel Mountains. Parking there runs about $6, but walking in is free. Mulholland Drive runs along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains from Hollywood to the 405 Freeway, with unmarked pullouts every few hundred yards that face either the San Fernando Valley to the north or the LA Basin to the south. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Baldwin Hills has a dedicated viewpoint that frames the Downtown skyline with the Hollywood Sign behind it. At night, the Elysian Park loop road near Dodger Stadium offers a view of Downtown's lit towers from an elevation of about 600 feet, with far fewer people than Griffith.
A Full Free Day in Los Angeles
Start at Griffith Observatory, which opens at noon Tuesday through Friday and 10 AM on weekends. The view from the front terrace covers the Hollywood Sign, the Downtown skyline, and on clear mornings the Pacific. From there, head down to The Broad on Grand Avenue in Downtown, where free timed-entry tickets are available online or through the standby line. Walk south 4 blocks to Grand Central Market on Broadway for the atmosphere, though eating there will cost a few dollars. Continue west in the afternoon toward the Hammer Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, which is free all day. If you still have energy, Venice Beach is about 20 minutes from Westwood by car. The boardwalk stays active until sunset, and the canals are a 5-minute walk inland. That loop covers roughly 30 miles, which is normal for an LA day. Metro single rides cost $1.75, and the daily fare cap sits at $5 if you'd rather skip parking fees entirely.
FAQ
Is parking free at most LA museums and attractions?
Rarely. The Getty Center and Getty Villa both charge $20 per car. Griffith Park has some free roadside parking, but the popular lots near the Observatory fill early on weekends and holidays. Most beach parking lots charge between $5 and $20. Street parking near attractions is sometimes free but often metered at $2 to $4 per hour. The most reliable way to avoid parking costs is Metro, with single rides currently at $1.75.
Are LA beaches really free to visit?
All public beaches in LA County are free to access, with no entrance fee at any of them. The main cost is parking, which typically runs $5 to $20 at the official beach lots. You can avoid parking fees by biking, taking public transit, or finding free street parking a few blocks inland. Dockweiler, Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach are all accessible by Metro bus or the Expo Line connecting to a bus transfer.
What are the best permanently free museums in Los Angeles?
The Getty Center in Brentwood and The Broad in Downtown LA are the two highest-profile free museums. The Hammer Museum in Westwood, MOCA Grand Avenue in Downtown, the California African American Museum in Exposition Park, and the California Science Center (permanent exhibits only) are all permanently free as well. The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is also free, though you need to reserve a timed ticket online in advance. All of these are free every day they're open, not limited to specific days of the week.
Can I hike to the Hollywood Sign for free?
You can hike to a viewpoint near the Hollywood Sign for free via several trails in Griffith Park. The most popular route starts at the Brush Canyon Trail off Canyon Drive, about a 6-mile round trip. The Mount Hollywood Trail from the Griffith Observatory parking area is shorter, around 3 miles round trip. The sign itself is fenced off and the immediate base is closed to visitors, but the trail viewpoints bring you within a few hundred yards. All trailheads in Griffith Park are free to access.
When is the best time of year for free outdoor activities in LA?
September and October tend to have the warmest beach weather, with water temperatures near 68 to 70°F and fewer crowds than the summer peak. Spring months from March through May are comfortable for hiking, with temperatures in Griffith Park typically in the 65 to 75°F range and green hillsides from the winter rains. Summer is the peak season for free outdoor concert series like Grand Performances at California Plaza and Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. Winter remains mild by most standards, with daytime highs around 65°F in January, though evenings can drop into the mid-40s.
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