This small park with a historic adobe (which is usually closed unless there’s a tour) and gardens has places to sit and picnic (you can rent them out for bigger parties), but prohibits barbecuing, smoking, or “amplified sound,” meaning this is a park where you can go have a nice quiet lunch, break up with someone, or read a book under the viney arbor. The park also hosts a Luminaria Festival in the winter. The only bummer: no dogs allowed.

More information is available here for those interested in renting the park for weddings, showers, and other special events.

At first glance, this park just looks like a really elaborate roadside planting. Located on the north side of the LA River in the Burbank Rancho Equestrian District, the small, slim park is a good place to watch horses plodding through. But it’s super green; has a good number of large, shady trees; and is never, ever crowded. It also has a very memorable statue, funded in part by Bob Hope and a one-time Burbank mayor, along Riverside Drive. Bring your own picnic here, because there are never any taco trucks camped out.

Established way back in 1902, this sprawling park has lots of flat, grassy areas shaded by mature trees—perfect for picnicking. It’s located just below historic Castle Green, and is blocks from downtown Pasadena and the Gold Line’s Del Mar Station.

Just a 10-minute walk off an unpaved section of Mulholland Drive (we like this already!) is this amazing park that was once “one of sixteen Los Angeles area Nike-Ajax supersonic anti-aircraft missile launch sites.” There are tons of signs throughout the park with little educational tidbits, but the absolute best part about the park, aside from the crazy vistas, is that the original radar tower is now a viewing platform/likely selfie hotspot. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has a great video about the park, as well as details on getting there.

This Runyon Canyon-adjacent site is perhaps most popularly known as the site of the Freddy in Troop Beverly Hills. The house was designed in the early 1900s by Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, and is surrounded by several gardens (including a community garden) in various states of upkeep. It’s a spectacular spot to host a wedding.

Silver Lake isn’t actually a lake, and this meadow isn’t actually a meadow. It is a quiet, grassy knoll bisected by the non-lake’s running path. It features nice views of the non-lake, surrounding redwoods and midcentury houses, and, because it’s a dog-free zone, signs encourage visitors to pad around without shoes.

Winner by a long shot for the most awesome, multi-generationally-appealing playground equipment in the land goes to La Laguna Playground at Vincent Lugo Park. Slides that look like dragons, things to climb on that look like sea serpents, an open-mawed whale perfect for hide-and-seek—and all brightly colored like a children's book come to life. The creatures were sculpted in the ’60s by local artist Benjamin Dominguez; the playground is in the state’s register of historic places. The rest of the park is cool, too, with dog-friendly walking trails and a Thursday farmer’s market.

Centrally located next to the Grove, this park has barbecue pits, picnic tables, and decent restrooms, plus a baseball diamond, basketballs courts, sufficient shade, and enough space in between all of that for a pick-up soccer game or a round of catch. For a more somber day at the park, visit the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, also on the grounds.

Located in Temple-Beaudry, Vista Hermosa is a relatively young park on a former oil field. Is that not selling you on it? Well, now the 10-acre space includes a FIFA-regulation soccer field, playful park furniture, native plants, walking trails, water features, and some really awesome views of Downtown, which, when seen from a quiet grassy knoll, are even more incredible.

This 14-year-old park, on land that was previously an LADWP pipe-storage facility, has walking paths, parking, and a reedy pond with little fish swimming through it. Says one Yelper, “It looks deceiving/hidden when you arrive but once you park inside, you'll see there is a mini trail to walk around, nice green grass, lots of foliage.” The transit-accessible, 8.5-acre park is close enough to the Blue Line that you can see the platform from some areas.

This space designed by local starchitect Michael Maltzan is incredible-looking. It has a giant clamshell on its bandstand (bandshell?) and lots of birdlife. What it lacks in shade from towering old trees, it makes up for with water features. No dogs or biking are allowed in the park, but it’s so pretty, we forgive it.

A short way from the Korean Friendship Bell is this park, which shares its name with the 1874 Victorian lighthouse—one of LA’s first—that still stands on the property (tours are available). The park features views up and down the coast, as well as to Catalina and the Channel Islands. The park is also the starting point for those seeking the legendary Sunken City and hosts Shakespeare by the Sea, if you’re looking for some culture with your beach view.

To host a special event here, fill out this application.