Places thepackedlife Wants to Go

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.

The only theatre in the world constructed specifically for sound movement.

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

One of the only known surviving coconut palm trees in the entire state.

This playground sculpture of an icon from the past is dedicated to the children of the future.

Clap your hands at the base of the pyramid, and the song of a sacred Mayan bird will echo through the air.

A cow in the road might subvert the flow of traffic but this one's above it all, quite literally.

World War II-era Nazi compound nestled in the Santa Monica hills.

A Bicycle Path in the Sky.

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.

Friendships have been forged over ham and eggs every Wednesday morning for a century.

Pizza joint known for labor-inducing salad dressing.

Beautiful Victorian buildings from L.A.'s forgotten architectural past.

The neighborhood shop is a sort of tiny cactus museum full of exotic specimens you can take home.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.

The quiet canyon has a tumultuous history involving a doomsday cult.

The illuminating collection of L.A. street lights is run by the city and only opens one day per month.