It’s no sweat taking public transportation to discover everything L.A. offers during the summertime. Check out this car-free and carefree list of summer happenings you can reach by bus and rail.
- Cool Down: Go Metro to the shore or beat the heat at one of these transit-accessible public pools. The Santa Monica Big Blue Bus can also help you hit the sand. Bring your bicycle or borrow one from a bike-share system to cruise one of the many adjacent bike paths.
- Anchors Away: Go Metro to the Long Beach water taxis and use Metro Rapid 704 or Bus 2/302 to Sunset/Echo Park or Metro Bus 92 to Glendale/Santa Ynez to visit Echo Park Lake and rent pedal boats to see lotus blooms, as well as a picturesque view of the downtown skyline.
- Bases Covered: Go Metro to Dodger Stadium by connecting with the Stadium Express at two convenient locations – Union Station and the South Bay. Your Dodgers ticket is good for the fare!
- Where Summer Plays: Hollywood Bowl's Park & Ride service allows you to park in your neighborhood and ride directly to the Tinseltown amphitheater to hear performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other musical acts.
- On Display: Roam museum halls with help from LA Metro or LADOT. Arrive at the Natural History Museum of L.A. County via Metro's Expo Line, which stops on both sides of NHMLA: Expo Park/USC and Expo/Vermont. Two LADOT Dash bus lines also have stops directly across the street from the museum: the Dash F and the Dash Southeast. The Getty Center and Getty Villa are also transit-accessible, offering an outstanding collection of paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, photography, and beautiful gardens.
- Ride the Movies: Get soaked on Jurassic Park: The Ride or sip an icy butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood to cool down. Take the Metro Rail B (Red) Line to the Universal City/Studio City Station, then cross the bridge for the free shuttle up the hill.
- Cinema Under the Stars: You can also share the ride with your fellow film aficionados to the various outdoor movie screenings around the city hosted by Cinespia, Rooftop Cinema Club, Street Food Cinema and others. For a complete list of screenings, visit Time Out's website.
Ready for something extra cool? UCLA Transportation offers discounted summer transit passes. Just in time for these seasonal activities, enjoy extra savings on select passes in addition to already subsidized rates.
Hop aboard — the summer fun is just beginning!
Photo Credit: Santa Monica Big Blue Bus
