Los Angeles With Kids: A Realistic Family Plan
The best things to do in Los Angeles with kids are Griffith Park (the free observatory, the zoo and the Travel Town trains), the dinosaur halls at the Natural History Museum, a beach day at Santa Monica Pier, the Getty Center, and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The catch is that LA is not one city you can wander. It is a set of separate towns joined by freeways, and the drive between them is where family trips go wrong. The fix is to pick one or two bases and group each day by area. Then Los Angeles with kids becomes one of the easiest big-city trips in the US.
Know before you go: LA is a driving trip
Plan by area, not by attraction. Nearly every “things to do in Los Angeles with kids” list is a scatter of great places a long drive apart. A two-sight day on opposite sides of the city can mean as much time in the car as at the sights, and a missed nap on the 405 is no fun. Group your days into four zones: Griffith Park and Hollywood, Exposition Park and Mid-City, the Westside and the beach, and Long Beach and Orange County. Do one zone a day.
Drive outside rush hour. Leave for the day’s main sight at opening and head back to base by mid-afternoon. Traffic isn’t predictable enough to plan to the minute, but the mid-morning and early-afternoon gaps are kinder than the commute hours.
You will need a car, and car seats. Rideshare with small children means carrying a seat for every child, every ride, which gets old by day two. Rent a car, and either bring your own seats or check that the rental company has the right ones. My travel car seat guide covers which seats are worth flying with.
Sun is a year-round factor. Even in winter, beach and park days are bright. Pack a mineral sunscreen for small children, like Blue Lizard Baby, and plan outdoor sights for the morning.
Griffith Park and Hollywood (one full day)
Griffith Park is the best single area in LA for families, because three of the city’s best kids’ sights are inside one park.
1. Griffith Observatory
The city of Los Angeles runs Griffith Observatory as a free-admission facility on the south side of Mount Hollywood. Visitors can look through telescopes, explore the exhibits, catch a show in the planetarium, and see views across the city to the Hollywood Sign. Two practical notes from the observatory’s own visit page:
- It is closed on Mondays.
- It is busiest on weekends, in summer, on holidays and at sunset. Parking near the building costs extra.
With small kids, go on a weekday morning, when the views are clear and the car park has room. The sunset crowds are for a trip with older children who can manage a walk up from a lower lot.
2. Travel Town Museum
The best hidden gem in the city for any small train fan. The Los Angeles parks department runs Travel Town in Griffith Park, a collection of real locomotives and rail cars with a miniature train ride. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is small, outdoors and easy to leave, which makes it the ideal toddler morning. Full-size engines at close range are a thrill at two, and it rarely has the crush of the big museums.
3. The Los Angeles Zoo
The LA Zoo is in Griffith Park too, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is hilly and spread out, so bring the stroller even for a five-year-old. As with every zoo, the first two hours after opening are when the animals are most active and the paths are coolest.
A Griffith Park day: Travel Town at 10, a picnic in the park, the zoo or a nap, then the observatory if the kids still have energy. Hollywood Boulevard itself is crowded and not much fun for small children; a quick look at the Walk of Fame is plenty.
Exposition Park and Mid-City (one full day)
4. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The dinosaur museum of the trip. The Natural History Museum in Exposition Park is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on the first Tuesday of every month and some holidays, so check before you plan around it. L.A. County residents get free admission on weekday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m. Pick the dinosaur hall and one other gallery, and stop while everyone is still happy.
5. The California Science Center and Space Shuttle Endeavour
Next door in Exposition Park, the California Science Center is the big news of the 2026-27 season. The City of Los Angeles says Space Shuttle Endeavour now stands in its vertical launch position, 20 stories tall, inside the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, with a public opening set for November 13, 2026. If your trip falls after that date, it is the most impressive thing in Los Angeles for any child who likes rockets. Expect crowds in the first months and check the Science Center’s own site for tickets and timed entry before you go. Pairing it with the Natural History Museum means one parking fee for two big sights.
6. La Brea Tar Pits (outdoors only, for now)
Kids love the idea of the tar pits: real asphalt still bubbling up in the middle of the city, where Ice Age fossils were found. Know before you go that the museum building is closed for construction. The La Brea Tar Pits site says indoor exhibitions are paused, while many outdoor areas of the surrounding Hancock Park remain open. That makes it a short outdoor stop rather than a half-day this year. It works best on the way between Mid-City and the Westside.
The Westside and the beach (one or two days)
7. Santa Monica Pier
The pier has been around since 1909, and it is a National Historic Landmark. The Santa Monica Pier is home to Pacific Park, with rides like the West Coaster and the Pacific Wheel, plus carnival games, street performers and food carts. With toddlers, the beach beside the pier and a ride or two is plenty. Go in the morning, before the pier gets busy, and spend the afternoon on the sand or at a playground along the beach path.
8. The Getty Center
A museum that kids actually like, because the hilltop setting, gardens and views do half the work. The Getty Center has free admission but requires a timed-entry reservation. Parking is $25 per car, $15 after 3 p.m. and $10 after 6 p.m., and it is free on Saturdays after 6 p.m. (prices as listed in October 2026). It closes on New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Some galleries are closed for renovation, so a Getty visit with kids is really a garden and views visit with one or two rooms of art.
Long Beach and Orange County (one day each)
9. Aquarium of the Pacific
The best rainy-day or too-hot-day pick in the region, and the easiest aquarium visit with small children. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach has a Shark Lagoon and a Ray Touchpool for hands-in-the-water moments. General admission needs no advance reservation, and children’s tickets cover ages 3 to 11. Pair it with a walk along the Long Beach waterfront.
10. Disneyland, as its own base
If Disneyland is on your list, treat it as a separate trip with its own hotel in Anaheim, not a day trip from Santa Monica. The drive across LA County at either end of a park day is the single most common way families wreck an LA itinerary. Two or three nights near the park, then move to the beach, is the better shape.
How to pick your base
Santa Monica, for a beach-and-city trip. You get the pier, the beach path and the Getty within easy reach, and it is the easiest area to stroll in the evening. The Regent Santa Monica Beach, formerly the Loews, sits by the beach on Ocean Avenue with an outdoor pool, so the hours between sights take care of themselves.
Anaheim, for the Disneyland nights. Stay within walking distance of the park so nap breaks are a stroll, not a drive. The Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground has two pools and a pirate-themed water playground, and it is about a ten-minute walk from Downtown Disney.
Pasadena or the Valley, for a Griffith Park-heavy trip. Quieter, often cheaper, and closer to Griffith Park than the coast is. It suits a family whose trip is built around trains, the zoo and museums rather than the beach.
Two bases are better than one. A week split between Santa Monica and Anaheim covers most of what families come for, with almost no long drives. For resort-style options in Orange County and along the coast, my best family resorts in California roundup has the picks.
A realistic five-day plan
- Day 1: Arrive, check in at the beach, and spend a slow afternoon at Santa Monica Pier.
- Day 2: The Getty in the morning, then a beach afternoon.
- Day 3: Exposition Park: the dinosaurs and the Science Center (Endeavour from November 13), with a stop at the Tar Pits’ outdoor park on the way back.
- Day 4: Griffith Park: Travel Town, a picnic, and the observatory.
- Day 5: Move to Anaheim, or drive to Long Beach for the aquarium.
Heading south afterwards? San Diego is the natural next stop, and my San Diego with kids guide has the zoo, the beaches and the calmer pace that many families find easier than LA.
FAQ: Los Angeles with kids
Is Los Angeles good for kids?
Yes, if you plan by area. Griffith Park, the Natural History Museum, the beaches and the Aquarium of the Pacific are all excellent with children. The trouble is the driving between them, so group each day in one part of the city.
What are the best things to do in Los Angeles with toddlers?
Travel Town’s trains in Griffith Park, the beach beside Santa Monica Pier, the Aquarium of the Pacific’s touch pools, and the dinosaur hall at the Natural History Museum. Keep it to one sight per morning.
Where should we stay in Los Angeles with kids?
Santa Monica for a beach-and-city trip, Anaheim if Disneyland is part of it, and Pasadena or the Valley if your trip centers on Griffith Park. Splitting a week between two bases cuts the driving.
Do you need a car in Los Angeles with kids?
Practically, yes. The sights are spread out, and rideshare means carrying a car seat for every child on every ride. Rent a car and plan one area per day.
Is Griffith Observatory free?
Yes. The observatory is free to enter and closed on Mondays. Parking closest to the building is paid, and it gets busiest on weekends and at sunset.
