Ditch traffic and parking. How to get to the Hollywood Bowl without your car
The Hollywood Bowl, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, remains a must-visit spot for shows throughout the summer. Yet driving to the bowl can be a nightmare.
Perhaps you've witnessed the river of red taillights streaming along Highland Avenue, spilling out onto Hollywood and Sunset boulevards. Maybe you've sat in your car, inching up the hill, only to be turned away when the Bowl's parking lots are full.
If you're visiting the Hollywood Bowl this summer and want to ditch the car — whether to avoid the strain of traffic, or to reduce your carbon emissions to fight the climate crisis, or to give yourself an urban adventure — we've compiled a short list of alternatives.
Take the Red Line to Hollywood and Highland
Many people outside of Los Angeles (and even some in L.A.!) may not know there's a subway system that runs beneath the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Metro's Red Line, recently renamed the B Line, runs from Union Station downtown to North Hollywood. The stop closest to the Hollywood Bowl is the Hollywood and Highland station. Several Metro bus lines also stop near Hollywood and Highland.
The train spits you out at a shopping center near attractions such as the Dolby Theatre, which hosted this year's Academy Awards, and the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.
From the Hollywood and Highland station, you can either take a shuttle bus to the Bowl or walk the rest of the way.
Shuttle bus from Hollywood and Highland
From the Hollywood and Highland Metro station, take a short walk through the mall to Orange Court on Orange Drive. There, you'll be able to purchase a shuttle ticket, which costs $6 roundtrip. The Bowl's website doesn't allow you to buy a ticket for this shuttle online.
Shuttle buses start 2 ½ hours before an event and continue every 15 to 20 minutes, with the last ride leaving at the concert start time.
After the concert, shuttles resume, with the last one leaving 25 minutes after the end of the show.
Walking from Hollywood and Highland
From the station to the Hollywood Bowl box office, the walk is just under one mile and will take about 20 minutes.
Although it's not the furthest of walks, you need to account for the uphill climb along Highland Avenue, which according to Google maps, is an elevation gain of about 174 feet.
Hollywood Bowl event organizers ensure adequate sidewalks and walkways, with traffic officers at major intersections to help guide the flow of pedestrians and cars.
Take the Red Line to Universal and Studio City
The Red Line also stops at the Universal and Studio City Station.
If you get off there, you'll need to walk around the block to the shuttle bus stop at the Ventura Lot, 10801 Ventura Blvd. You can buy a roundtrip shuttle ticket for this ride online for $6.
Shuttles start 2 ½ hours before an event and continue every 15 to 20 minutes, with the last ride leaving at the concert start time.
After the concert, buses resume, with the last shuttle ride 25 minutes after the end of the show.
Park & Ride options
From Downey to Chatsworth, organizers offer timed bus rides from locations across Los Angeles County. Buy $7 tickets online.
After the concert, Park & Ride buses resume, with the last bus leaving 25 minutes after the show.
Some of the Bowl bus stops are along existing Metro lines. Organizers pointed to the following:
The El Monte Station near Santa Anita Avenue and Romona Boulevard: Bus pickup is at Metro Bus Terminal Bay 24.
The Lakewood Metro C (Green) Line station in Downey: Bus pickup is at 12801 Lakewood Blvd.
The Chatsworth Station at 10046 Old Depot Plaza Road: Bus pickup is in the station's parking lot.
Brave the streets on a bicycle
If we could offer a safe, straightforward bike route to the Hollywood Bowl, we would. But for now, it simply doesn't exist. Biking around Hollywood (or Los Angeles in general) is often difficult and dangerous.
However, if you're comfortable sharing the road with cars from the saddle of a bike, the Hollywood Bowl offers bike racks where cyclists can secure their rides during a show.
Getting there would mean a patchwork of side streets and the occasional bike-friendly thoroughfare. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works put together a map of bike paths, bike routes and bike lanes that do exist across the county.
If you can make it to Hollywood, you may find respite on Cahuenga Boulevard, beginning at Yucca Street, where a marked bike lane begins, leading you up the hill and toward the bowl.
Use rideshare or a taxi
There are easy drop-off and pick-up locations in Parking Lot B. Though you'd technically still have to sit inside a car and will likely experience some traffic, at least you aren't driving.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
