Perspectives of Griffith Observatory
Griffith Park is a municipal park that is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. Situated on the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains, this park has a lot to offer, including a city zoo, theater, a museum, and more.
In addition to those attractions, another sight in the park is the Griffith Observatory, which is the part of the park that I visited on my first trip to Los Angeles. At this landmark, you can see an extensive view of the city. From the street parking just past the entrance of the park, you can walk up to the observatory in about 20 minutes. There are also hiking trails, but I went the walk for my first time there, which is really a hike in itself (perhaps an easier one). More specifically, there is a road you can take to drive up to the observatory, and next to the road is a sidewalk that can be walked all the way up to the top.
When you first start walking up to the observatory, you can get a nice view of downtown as you look out in the distance. The view gets better though, so let’s keep going.
Once you’re at the top, you can also see the famous Hollywood sign not too far in the distance. The sign is situated on the southern slope of Mount Lee. Of course, it’s fun to see the Hollywood sign as you drive around in the area, but being at the observatory is a great chance to check it out more closely as you’re standing there.
Here is the entrance to the Griffith Observatory. Inside features a rich collection of astronomical exhibits that are meant to educate visitors about human observation, space, the universe, and beyond. By definition, an observatory is a building or room that holds an astronomical telescope and/or other scientific equipment utilized for studying natural events in space. With that said, Griffith Observatory does indeed have a telescope that you’re able to look through! Also, it is said that the telescope is the “most looked through telescope in the world,” but that is merely a claim and is not a definite fact.
While I did go inside, I did not get any pictures worth sharing because the hallways and exhibits were packed with people; some areas inside were occupied with people shoulder to shoulder. Nonetheless, it is worth going inside and checking it out, but because of the high volume of people, I did not stay in there for long.
During my time at Griffith Observatory, one thing I really liked about it here is that the outside of the building itself feels very “interactive” in the fact that you can go up so many staircases, look out from different viewpoints, and get up close to the architecture. Given these circumstances, it was fun to capture photography here from so many different perspectives.
This is a view of one of the hiking trails in the area of the observatory, overlooking the city. From the trails I saw, they were seemingly wide, open, and of lower difficulty, so this could be a good option if you’re visiting the park for the day (or at least a good majority of the day). There are plenty of hiking trails throughout the park altogether that are of different distances and lead to different places, so be sure to do your research and pick one that caters to you.
At last, here is the view of downtown in the distance. Not only are you able to see downtown from the observatory, but you’re also able to see so much more of the surrounding landscape too. It’s a special sight!
As previously mentioned, there are so many places to hang out; I even saw someone looking out at the view of downtown while they were doing some writing/journaling of some sort. The pictures I captured of the people are my favorites.
When you’re standing on top of the observatory, this is the view looking out at the front of it. People were picnicking, working, hiking, and taking in the views.
As you can see, there are parking spots at the top, but if you’re not there early, there’s probably not gonna be little to no vacancy. With that said, you’re probably better off parking at the bottom past the park entrance, as there’s plenty of parking.
There are even some tower viewers at the top, so if you want, you can get an even more up close view of downtown or whatever else you wanna look at!
When you’re in Los Angeles, Griffith Observatory is a great place to spend some time doing some hiking, getting photographs, and hanging out. Of course, enjoy all the perspectives that this place has to offer too!