Travel Town: A Great Destination for Los Angeles Kids of All Ages

Whether you are a tourist visiting for the first time, or a life-long resident, Los Angeles' Travel Town offers a great and inexpensive way to have fun for children of all ages.Travel Town is located in two areas in Griffith Park, the huge natural oasis in the middle of Los Angeles.

The main area, located on 5200 Zoo Drive, is one of the hidden treasures of Los Angeles. Right next to the Los Angeles Zoo, and only five minutes from the heart of Hollywood, Travel Town features genuine trains and a full-size railroad platform.

Travel Town lets older folks recall and relive memories of a time when giant trains ruled the land, and air travel was the purview of the wealthy and the extravagant. For the younger set, it provides a rare hands-on (and feet-on) opportunity to touch, climb, and experience these giant machines. On weekends, the cars are open to the public, and volunteers lovingly explain details about the trains, and their restoration.

A scale-model train circles the park, and a two-circuit ride can be enjoyed for the low price of $2. Kids will thrill as the engineer shouts "All Aboard!" and announces that the train is leaving Travel Town, with its destination as San Diego, Santa Barbara, or wherever the imagination may desire.

The park reflects the history of urban trains as well, from the old horse-drawn streetcars to a retired San Francisco cable car. The park features picnic tables and grassy areas, and one can reserve space for birthday parties and other events.

One more thing about Travel Town that is particularly appealing is the admission charge - free. With free parking, free admission, and hours of potential enjoyment, this is one of the most pleasant and inexpensive ways to spend a day in Los Angeles.

Down at the other end of Griffith Park from the main Travel Town, on Crystal Drive at the Los Feliz entrance to Griffith Park, is the second Travel Town area. Also free of charge, and with free parking, this area offers pony rides for children as young as 1 year old, for only $2, as well as train rides through the southern area of Griffith Park.

The pony rides in Travel Town are in three separate areas, for children of different comfort levels with the Travel Town
ponies. There is a tethered area where ponies walk in a tight circle, a slow area, where ponies walk around a track at a very mild pace, and a medium area, in which the ponies break into a gentle trot.

The Griffith Park & Southern Railroad has been entertaining visitors to the park since 1948, and features more than a mile of track winding through a meadow, an Indian Village, and an old Western town.

The main area of Travel Town is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend. The railroads have hours that vary seasonally, and can be checked at http://www.gprah.com/organization/calendar.htm. The Pony Rides are open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.