We love going to Griffith Park and though it is a huge park with tons to do we tend to go to the same places over and over. Weekdays we usually head over to Travel Town for train rides and on the weekends we typically have brunch at Trails Cafe followed by a hike up to the observatory. We never manage to make it to the carousel, the pony rides, the bat cave, Shane's Inspiration , etc. So a few weekends ago we decided to mix it up. We still had brunch at the Trails Cafe (I cannot pass up their granola and coffee) and then we took a short drive to the other side of the park to check out the Old LA Zoo.
The original LA zoo was built in 1912 and closed in 1965 when the new zoo, also in Griffith Park, opened . The cages and enclosures from the old zoo are still in place and it's fun to hike around and let your kids pretend to be zoo animals. They can growl in the bear enclosure and rattle the bars of the old iron cages animals were kept in before we knew better. Although many people talk about the area being secluded and hard to find, it's actually just a short walk from the parking lot and right next to a big grassy picnic area. In fact, in an inspired bit of party planning, there was an animal themed birthday party going on with a bunch of 3 year olds with painted faces running around in the cages. I'm sure the parents ended up with some very cute pictures. And further up the path, in some creepier looking abandoned cages we found a local band taking some promotional photos.
The Old LA Zoo is near Shane's Inspiration Playground. Drive past the playground so that it is on your left. A parking lot will be on your right. Keep following the road until it dead ends. You can park for free at the end of the road and then off to your left (facing the barricade) are the stairs to where the old zoo is.
