A Free Hilltop Picnic at Barnsdall Art Park, Then Coffee in Los Feliz
A hilltop lawn that costs nothing, a clear view of the Hollywood ridge, and Wright's Hollyhock House as the paid extra at the top.
Barnsdall Art Park to Go Get Em Tiger
🌿 A free lawn, free parking, a city view
Olive Hill is a 36 acre public park, and the lawn at the top is free to use. Barnsdall Art Park opens daily from 6 am to 10 pm, picnics are allowed, and parking at the top and bottom of the hill is free but limited. Bring a blanket and a picnic; on a clear day the view north runs to the ridge that carries the Hollywood Sign, with Griffith Observatory on the hillside to its right. Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House sits above the lawn, and its interior is the one paid extra here.
☕ Ten minutes down for the coffee
The walk to 4630 Hollywood Blvd runs 0.4 mile, ten minutes downhill and east along the boulevard. The shop opens at 6:30 am on weekdays and 7 am on weekends, and its own pages disagree on the close: 4 pm on the homepage, 5 pm on the locations page. Plan on the 4 pm cutoff for a late cup and check the shop's page that day. The patio sits next to one of the olive trees.
🌇 Sunset, and the one paid stop
A daytime visit runs picnic first, coffee second. For a sunset finish, buy the coffee first, walk the 0.4 mile back up, and end with the light dropping over the city; the park stays open until 10 pm. Hollyhock House is the one paid stop: watching it from the path costs nothing, and the self-guided interior tour is 12 dollars for adults, 6 for seniors and students, free under 18 with a paying adult, Thursday to Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm, last entry 3:30 pm. Advance tickets are recommended, and it is closed November 26 to 29 and December 24 to January 3.
