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Palisades Park
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
14 reviews for Palisades Park
Perfect place to read a book, sunbathe, ogle joggers, or have a picnic.
It also offers a fantastic view of the beach (and sunset at the right time), as well as access to the ocean.
Pay parking, except for certain side streets.
I go at least once a week, and it indicates the home stretch is just around the corner on my usual jog.
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In my opinion, this is SM's version of Central Park. Where else can you run on a trail on a 3 mile bluff that over looks the ocean? There are rose gardens, a huge variety of trees, tables where old people play chess and picnic, tons of spots to throw down a blanket and read, and above all... the best place to sneak a cup of good wine and watch the sunset.
It is also apparently now the home of several makeshift outdoor training sessions and fitness groups. Apparently the views are good and you can't beat the free rent. Oh well, it's big enough to where there is still plenty of room to get your own peaceful plot of well maintained grass.
I tend to favor the section of the Palisade between California and the Northern end by San Vicente. Mostly because it is where most of the local residents (not tourists and panhandlers) go to relax.
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Sun, sand, palm trees, wind, manicured lawns, and ripped abs.
I'd love to say that I go running here all the time, but I don't run. However, I am lucky enough to live not too far from this prime strip of land, and I can't think of too many more beautiful places to sit on a bench and breathe.
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I've heard people complain that this park is grungy. They need to keep in mind this simple rule: North of Wilshire = Good, South of Wilshire = Bad. Those last four blocks of the park between Wilshire and the pier have not only the most homeless but also the most crowds, and that section seems to have gotten the scruffiest since the park's renovation in 2000.
But north of Wilshire is the park everyone knows and loves, blissfully uncrowded, but with the same awesome ocean view....and lots of 5-hour parking spaces! I guess you know you're a true Angeleno when the latter means as much as you to the former.
I can't visit Santa Monica without walking through this park. Period.
So in continuation of my "Afternoon in West LA on my way to pick up my mom from LAX", with Bay Cities sandwich in one hand and my green tea ice blended from Coffee Bean in the other, I decided to seek out a bench to enjoy my lunch. I actually have never walked on this side of Ocean Avenue, but I knew there were some benches to take advantage of.
I crossed Ocean Avenue and I saw the bench. I propped myself down and momentarily took in the view. 180 degree panorama of the Pacific Ocean with the Santa Monica Pier at my 10 o clock. I did not have any shade, but it wasn't too warm and it was breezy, literally being a few hundred feet from the water.
This would have been the perfect time to people watch, but the bench was facing the water, so if I did any people watching, I had to turn around. I did do some squirrel and pigeon watching though. As soon as I opened my sandwich, I had 2 squirrels converge on my twenty, to which I made a small little kicking like motion to scare them off. I didn't want those rabie infested things getting too close and try to jack my sandwich like it was a pair of thugs trying to carjack someone. Carjacking is wrong and karma will bite those guys in the ass.
After some time, being in the sun did get kinda warm, so I didn't stay there as long as I could have. There is a parking structure on Arizona and 2nd st that has 2 hours free, so do take advantage of that if you're going to do anything aside from seeing a movie.
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I used to frequent Palisades Park after work. This park not only has a spectaular view of Santa Monica bay, but has a relaxing and inviting path to power walk on or take a leisurely stroll. Palisades Park is my favorite park in Los Angeles County. It offers every thing. You can picnic, meditate, walk your dog, exercise or just practice the art of sitting. I used to take comfort in walking and people watching here. I'm a sucker for golden retrievers and pooches in general. I loved my walks here.
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I love walking along the paths here, watching the ocean and listening to Ben Folds' "Brick" repeatedly. I'm kind of emo like that.
It is absolutely beautiful here and a convienent break from the day since you can cross Ocean Ave from Wilshire while on lunch from the office.
There are homeless people everywhere, sleeping, walking, asking for money, etc. In my experience, they don't really bother you but just do their own thing.
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Some of the best views you can find anywhere! Palisades Park is a runners heaven and provides your choice of a dirt pathway or a large grass runway for your exercising pleasure. The park is a long linear strip that runs along the bluff above PCH and has amazing views to Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, the Palisades and the mountains of Malibu. Plenty metered street parking can be found all along the park but I suggest parking for free in the adjacent neighborhoods. Access to the beaches below can be found spotted along the park and it's a great place for people watching while stretching before and/or after your run. There are plenty of places to get an after run snack and you'll have good company as this is a popular running area and one of the few that doesn't get crowded.
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This is one of the nicest parks. It is incredible. The view is amazing. However, there are a lot of snobby rich people walking around and they can damper the mood sometimes. It is a good place to walk a dog or just sit. There are more homeless at the southern end of the park and less at the northern. Take a walk all the way to the north- little surprise garden type area and some benches.
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I've been spending a lot of time here, lately...on Saturdays, my daughter trains with her cross country/track team and sometimes during the week, I walk my dog here after visiting my Grandma. On weekends, it's like the whole world's imagined view of LA, except it's for real: Everyone here is an extra in a movie, and everyone is beautiful in their own way, some of them artificially so, some of them enhanced by the green grass, the blue sky, the tall palm trees, the faint roar of the PCH far below, and the ocean beyond which, if you look closely enough, reveals the curve of the earth to the naked eye. At sunset, you'll see people from all over the world, taking picture postcard beautiful snapshots of the sun (one day recently, the sun was setting behind a long, thin, horizontal cloud that glowed orange and pink and looked like the mothership, and people were taking pictures of it like they were paparazzi and the sun was the love child of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney herself). Every once in a while, you'll see real paparazzi, taking pictures with six foot long telephoto lenses, if something cool is shooting below.
After the recent wind and rain, the air has been so clean that the roller coaster and the rest of the rides on the Santa Monica Pier stand out in vivid and improbable relief against the sky and the sea. Even the barber shop pole smokestacks of El Segundo look pretty on days like these.
At night, the bright mercury vapor lights make the paths look friendly and inviting, even when the park is mostly deserted, and the sound of the palms rustling high above make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Times like these...I love LA.
Speaking of which, I had an only-in-LA moment here: A nice dog ran up to mine and they played together. The owner cooed complimentary things about my dog and I agreed. Then she asked if my dog would like to be in a commercial: "I'm a dog scout," she explained, handing me her card.
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Palisades Park is essentially a strip of grassy area that runs along the top of the Santa Monica bluff above Pacific Coast Hwy.. It includes nice walking paths, plenty of benches, spectacular views of the Bay and beaches, from Palos Verdes Peninsula to Malibu, and everything in between. It also is refuge for many homeless people, who occupy most of the seating areas between the Pier & the California Incline. After that, the tourist population thins out considerably and so do the panhandlers. I would recommend you pick up the walking path at the point of the Incline and head north toward Santa Monica Canyon. There is ample metered parking all along the way.
Palisades Park was one of my favorite haunts when I lived a few blocks away. It has been the setting for many movies & TV shows. I watched Katie Holmes film a romantic scene with Oliver Hudson (Kate Hudson's brother, Goldie's son) for Dawson's Creek. The two of them had to hold a kiss while on a revolving platform, at sunset. I learned a whole new respect for actors in romantic scenes after that. It looked grueling. At that time, Katie had no idea of the changes that were to come into her life!...........but I digress.
Anyway, there are staircases at intervals in the park, leading from the top of the bluff down to the ocean. There is a beautiful rose garden in the park up near Montana Ave.. At the park's north end, turn right and stroll up Adelaide Drive for breathtaking views of the canyon, as well as some of the finest vintage homes I've seen, gracing that fascinating stretch of street.
Bring your camera - photo ops abound. Leashed dogs are OK in the park. The bike path parallels the park along Ocean Ave.. There are plenty of clean restrooms.
Palisades Park is damn near perfect, in fact. I had to deduct one star because of the huge numbers of transients near the touristy area south of Wilshire. Oh, and do stop to admire the white Art Deco statue of Saint Monica herself, in the park at Wilshire. She appears to be the guardian of the Bay beyond, perhaps also watching out for those less fortunate in her midst.
Additional points of interest in the park are included in my photos.
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Nice view, but I do not enjoy being harassed and having to jump over people sleeping right in the middle of the path during my runs.
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This park is simply gorgeous. On a cliff, overlooking the ocean, giant palm trees, great running trails, a rose garden and much more all along beautiful Ocean Avenue. What makes the park lose a star is the amount of homeless people living here. It is really sad and distratting. I've been asked for change while jogging, reading, etc. If you stay in the North end of the park (north of Wilshire) you are less likely to encounter the homeless and the flock of tourists heading towards the pier. I go here everyday for a run so the negatives can't really take away from the manicured beauty of the place.
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i love palisades park for really just one reason - it's a nice place to take a walk/run. it's a 1.5 mile stretch of land from the santa monica pier (south border) to san vicente (north border) on ocean, the elevated street just overlooking PCH and the ocean in santa monica.
when i first started running about a little over a year ago, it was because i got talked into doing a half marathon with two friends and i knew i had to start somewhere. so, i read if you can run 3 miles 3 times per week, you can train for a half marathon. i found this route, which isn't too far from where i live, and happens to be 3 miles from the pier up to the san vicente turnaround and back down to the pier. this became my training spot and maybe if it hadn't found such a beautiful place to run i might not have continued on with the training. i ran after work and if you time it right, as you run north on the trail you can watch the sun setting over the ocean against the backdrop of the jutting out hills in the distance and then when you make the turnaround at san vicente after the sun sets, the setting in front of you now is the ocean lit by the lights from the rides on the pier. the pier, while cheesy when you're there, is pretty when lighted in the distance.
yes, there are a lot of homeless people in the park. but, i've never, ever had any sort of issue with anyone living there. in my opinion - it's no different from having anyone else there and i have way more of an issue with the huge blocks of runners who will sometimes take up the entire path and mow down the single runners like me! early weekend mornings there are a lot of large running groups who run here for their training runs so sometimes it can get really crowded but for me, as long as they're considerate of the single runners, i find it more motivating than anything to have all these other runners running with you, too!
there's also a lot of green space that people bring weights and balls and mats and do other types of exercises there, too. it's just a beautiful setting to be overlooking the ocean and when the weather is nice, you can't beat working out outdoors!
one final note. the gradient is slightly uphill when you start at the pier and run to san vicente (and obviously downhill coming back...) so i always start at the pier to get the harder part overwith first and then the second part feels great - sometimes great enough for me make it a six miler and do it twice!
and yes, i did run the half marathon despite the fact that the two who talked me into it dropped out!!! that was almost a year ago but i'm still running here! look for the really, really slow moving person huffing along and dancing to her music at the stoplights.
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