Riding the Rails in Los Angeles' Griffith Park

Serene and Alex at the Los Feliz Station in Griffith Park.

Steam Engines!

The Griffith Park Train Ride Station.

  

There are three ways to ride the rails at Griffith Park: The Griffith Park Train Rides, The Travel Town Museum and the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum.  Each ride will cost you just a couple of bucks, but all of them are take you on more than enough track to make it a worthwhile ride. While Alex is a train expert, Serene is a novice. She loved the chuchu and was ready for more: "Again, again!"

The Carousel: Merrily she goes around, goes around, ...

Serene loves the Merry-Go-Round.

Serene rides the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round.

Serene likes carousels. At the nearby indoor play park, she costs me several dollars each week spinning around in circles. After each ride, she jumps off and demands "more money" and won't relent until you pop in another quarter. Merry-Go-Rounds were popularized in the United States during the early 20th century, when once more than 4,000 spun children and adults round-and-round. Today, there are believed to be only 150 left in operation. One of those is located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Celebrating 75 years, this carousel is in dire need of a paint job, but the music is loud, the ride is fast & long and its still great fun for families on the weekend.

178 visits to Travel Town

(All photos taken by Joanna S.)

Travel Town is one of the best places to take little boys who love trains. A free open-air museum it features retired full-size engines, as well as passenger and freight cars. Some are more than 100 years old. For a couple of bucks, a little train even loops passengers around the park for a 10 minute ride.

Alex's end-of-kindergarten school trip was held at Travel Town. As we pulled into the parking lot he announced it was his 178th visit. He may not have been that far off. When Alex was younger, we did visit Travel Town quite a lot. These days, Alex no longer lays out miles of track inside our house and guests no longer trip over Thomas, Percy, Henry and Gordon strewn across the floor. (We could even resist the gift shop at Travel Town that use to cost us a pretty penny.) But, when he saw the old trains he couldn't resist climbing on the engines -- with full steam -- and running along the tracks just like he did when he was little. 

Little Ninjas boarding Little Steamers

The Los Angeles Little Steamers Railroad Museum in Griffith Park in the center of Los Angeles is open for the public on Sundays only to ride narrow gauge model engines.There are steam, diesel and electric engines that pull three or four freight cars that guests climb aboard. The track is 1.5 miles taking visitors around a steam plant and several parked cabooses. Alex thought it would be more fun if he used his ninja skills while riding the train.

All Aboard!

Travel Town is like heaven for little boys who love trains. Founded in the 1950s, the outdoor museum is situated on the edge of Griffith Park in the center of Greater Los Angeles. It features retired locomotives, freight cars, cabooses, passenger cars, dining cars, and more. The grounds are shaded, easy to walk and you can climb on nearly every engine.

Alex was so overwhelmed with excitement that I prepared myself for the first case of a heart attack for a 2-year-old. Once he got onboard with the place, he was a true conductor testing his own toy trains on the real tracks.

A good place to begin the visit is on the miniature train that adults and children can ride together. Lapping the park twice, the ride is longer, faster and the train is bigger than most of the kiddie train rides elsewhere. While this rest of the park is free of charge, the ride will cost kids of all ages $2.50 per ride. The gift shop will set you back if you (or your child) is a Thomas the Tank enthusiast. It is fully stocked with party supplies, T-shirts, books, videos, and every possible character in the Thomas and Friends collection. We enjoyed a picnic and planned for future birthday parties, as there are plenty of places for pinatas, cake and the party treats will be great! While the museum is popular with little boys, this recommendation is for all the 21st century little girls too....All Aboard!