Griffith Observatory is on every list of things to do in Los Angeles, almost always for the view and the building. What those lists consistently leave out is the thing the building was actually built for. On clear evenings when the observatory is open, its historic refracting telescope is pointed at whatever is worth looking at, and members of the public queue up and look through it, free of charge. More people have looked through this particular telescope than any other on Earth, and a good proportion of the people photographing the building outside have no idea it is happening.
Telescope viewing depends on clear skies and the observatory is shut one day a week, which between them account for most wasted trips up the hill. Ask Karpo whether tonight is worth the drive.
The telescope, and how it works
The main instrument is a long brass refractor of considerable age, housed in the eastern dome, and it is opened to the public on clear evenings during opening hours. There is no ticket and no booking; you queue on the stairs and a member of staff points the instrument and tells you what you are looking at.
There are usually additional portable telescopes set up on the lawn on the same evenings, operated by staff and volunteers, which have shorter queues and are aimed at different objects. Doing both is the sensible approach and most visitors do neither.
What is visible depends entirely on the night — the moon and the brighter planets are the usual targets, because Los Angeles light pollution rules out most of the fainter things. A crisp view of Saturn's rings through a hundred-year-old brass tube is nevertheless a genuinely affecting experience.
The one day it is shut
The observatory closes one day a week, and it is the day at the start of the week. This is comfortably the most common way a trip here fails, because the grounds and the view remain accessible and people assume the building will be too.
The grounds themselves and the terraces are open beyond building hours, so a closed observatory still gives you the view, the architecture from outside and the walk. It just does not give you the telescope, the planetarium or the exhibits.
It also opens later in the day than most attractions rather than in the morning, which suits it — this is fundamentally an afternoon and evening destination and trying to do it early is working against the building's whole purpose.
Free, except for the parking
Admission to the building and the exhibits costs nothing and always has. The planetarium show is the exception and carries a modest charge, which is worth paying — it is a proper projector and a properly made show rather than a gift-shop attraction.
Parking is where the money and the misery are. The spaces on the road up to the observatory are metered and limited, and on a clear weekend evening the queue of cars grinding up the hill for them is genuinely dispiriting.
There is a dedicated shuttle bus running up from the metro at the bottom of the hill, and it is the correct answer for anyone not specifically attached to their car. It costs very little, it goes past the traffic, and it removes the entire parking problem.
The view, and the sign
The terraces look south over the whole basin, which at night is a very large field of lights running to the horizon, and west towards the Hollywood Sign, which sits on the ridge nearby. This is the closest good public viewpoint of the sign that does not involve a hike.
It is also the reason the observatory is busiest at sunset, when everyone arrives simultaneously for the golden hour and the crowd on the terraces is at its densest. Arriving an hour later, once the sun has gone, gets you a calmer building and a better night view.
Air quality determines how much of the basin you actually see, and Los Angeles haze can reduce the view considerably on a warm still day. Clear conditions after rain or wind are dramatically better, and they are also exactly the conditions the telescopes want.
Walking up instead
Several trails run up to the observatory from the park below, and walking up is a real and rewarding option that sidesteps the parking entirely. The routes vary from a gentle graded path to a genuine climb.
The hill is exposed and dry, with very little shade, so a summer afternoon ascent is harder than the distance suggests. Going up in the late afternoon as the heat drops, and coming down after dark, is the comfortable version.
If you do come down in the dark, a torch is worth having. The trails are unlit, the surface is loose in places, and the descent is considerably less obvious than the ascent was — this is a real park, not a lit promenade.
Practical notes
The historic telescope is open to the public free on clear evenings during opening hours. No booking, just a queue.
Additional portable telescopes are usually set up on the lawn with shorter queues.
The observatory closes one day a week, at the start of the week. The grounds and view stay open.
Admission and exhibits are free. Only the planetarium show carries a charge, and it is worth it.
Parking is metered, limited and miserable on clear weekends. Take the shuttle from the metro at the bottom of the hill.
Arriving an hour after sunset gets a calmer building and a better night view than the sunset crush.
If you walk up the trails, bring a torch for the descent. They are unlit and loose underfoot.
Tags: #thingstodo #griffithobservatory #losangeles #freethingstodo #griffithpark #astronomy #lathingstodo #hollywoodsign #stargazing #laviews #telescope #sunset #lafree
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Ask Karpo first
Clear skies and the right day of the week are the whole thing here. Ask Karpo whether the observatory is open tonight, whether the sky is clear enough for the telescopes, and how to get up the hill without the parking queue.
