After years of running a deficit, the Queen Mary has turned a profit for the city of Long Beach.
The Queen Mary has for years been a landmark in the city of Long Beach, an iconic ocean liner serving as a majestic sentry at the port and a popular attraction for both tourists and locals. But the aging ship…
As Biden visits Lake Tahoe, locals struggle with overtourism
KINGS BEACH, Calif. — Strolling on the Lake of the Sky Trail, U.S. Forest Service officer Daniel Cressy marveled at the wildlife that first attracted him to Lake Tahoe. A bald eagle nestled into the top of a Jeffrey Pine looking…
Burney Falls in Shasta County faces crushing crowds thanks to TikTok and Instagram fame
BURNEY FALLS — By 10 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, the parking lot at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park was already full, and the line of cars waiting to enter stretched well back from the entrance. Down by the newly Instagram-famous…
What to know if you’re traveling to Maui after the wildfires
Tourists were initially urged to stay away from the Hawaiian island of Maui in the immediate wake of a wildfire that killed at least 115 people and devastated the historic town of Lahaina. But now, nearly three weeks after the…
After Hawaii wildfire, Maui courts tourists — with caveats
KIHEI, Hawaii — The line at Paia Fish Market usually extends so far down the main drag that staffers can’t see the end of it through their front window. But that hasn’t been the case as of late, with tragedy on…
Climate, anti-capitalist activists block traffic into Burning Man
Climate and anti-capitalist activists blocked a road leading into Burning Man on Sunday, the annual event’s opening day, creating miles of gridlock and leading to clashes with motorists and tribal rangers in the Nevada desert. Video and photos posted on…
Hollywood club the Magic Castle gets themed Princess cruise
One comfort in cruising is predictability: Each day, as you glide from port to port, you’ll eat in the same ship restaurants, walk the same decks, swim in the same pools and sleep in the same bed (well, probably). But…
How to claim a fire pit at Dockweiler Beach for a summer bonfire
Last Labor Day weekend, I woke up on Saturday morning to a text at 6:05 a.m. “Already a line,” my friend Sophia wrote. She sent over a photo of cars waiting on PCH to enter Dockweiler State Beach. Eleven minutes…
A classic paddleboard race from Catalina to Manhattan Beach is 32 miles of torture
After waking before dawn on Catalina Island beneath a vast bowlful of stars, 100 elite athletes prepared to cross the open ocean to Manhattan Beach using only their arms for power. The race they were about to start, the 32-mile…
L.A. Airbnb hosts are charging higher rates and raking in big payouts amid city crackdown
Running an Airbnb in L.A. has never been more profitable. As the city tries to crack down on illegal listings, and advocacy groups complain about the company’s effect on L.A.’s housing crisis, hosts are charging higher rates than ever while…
How to have the best Sunday in LA, according to Charo
Charo has always been larger than life. From her bedazzled, Day-Glo-colored costumes to her signature sky-high ponytail, the multihyphenate performer has always married the gaudy glitz of Vegas showgirls with a sense of humor. “I choose to be like that…
A guide to hiking and backpacking in the High Sierra
“Have you ever heard of the cowboy straddle?” my partner, Emanuel, asked. Without waiting for a reply, he hoisted himself onto a log suspended above a rushing stream and began using branches on either side — as if clutching the…
Growing crack in Yosemite rock face forces trail closure
A massive crack has opened up on a Yosemite National Park cliff face, raising the risk of a dangerous rockfall and forcing the indefinite closure of part of a popular trail, park officials said. Rock climbers recently reported the crack…
An immersive Bluey experience is coming to LA’s CAMP store
If you feel like “Bluey” has taken over your household, this is your chance to bring your household inside “Bluey.” Beginning November 6, the Camp store at Westfield Century City will host “Bluey x Camp,” a ticketed event that invites…
The scientific reason why you can’t stop going to Disneyland
To say a lot of people flock to Disneyland and Walt Disney World doesn’t do the mass migration justice. Each year, people descend upon the parks by the tens of millions, and many of them don’t fund the increasingly expensive…
L.A. aims to court international tourists, undo COVID losses
After several down years, tourism in Los Angeles County is on the rebound. But the recovery from the COVID-19 lull has been uneven to this point, officials say — with far fewer international visitors making their way to L.A. than…
Stoddard Canyon Falls near Mt. Baldy has blown up on TikTok
Here in California, there are places that are firmly lodged in the collective psyche as pristine paragons of natural wonder. Think Yosemite Valley. Joshua Tree. The giant sequoias. And then there are places whose majesties remain largely unknown to the…
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jeff Probst
When Jeff Probst isn’t stirring up drama in the jungles of Fiji, you can find him at home in the hills of Studio City — still thinking of new ways to challenge “Survivor” contestants. In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give…
How to park at LAX for less than $20 a day
The LAX ground-transport revolution — that is, the unveiling of the automated people mover connecting terminals to bus, Metro and rental car centers — isn’t due until sometime in 2024. But travelers hoping to save some money got a consolation…
Alcohol-free dance parties taking over Los Angeles
In the crests of Elysian Park overlooking Dodger Stadium and downtown L.A., a group has formed a makeshift dance floor on an asphalt plateau tucked away from the park’s dusty trails and grassy hills. Funky soul music flows from two…
Discover the Southwest on the Grand Circle road trip
There are 63 national parks in the United States, but at the start of 2023, I’d made it to only one. So when my partner, Reanna, bought us tickets to see Big Thief and Lucinda Williams at Colorado’s Red Rocks…
Government shutdown concerns businesses around national parks
Sundays at the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort, 35 miles southwest of Yosemite National Park’s Arch Rock entrance, are usually buzzing. The 45-bedroom facility in the Sierra Nevada foothill hamlet of Midpines was near its 120-person capacity during the summer…
Death Valley will likely reopen Oct. 15 after storm damage
Death Valley National Park, whose roads and trails were scarred and flooded by August storms, will probably reopen Oct. 15, rangers say. If current repair plans hold, that reopening will give travelers renewed access to many popular park spots, including…
How everyone became obsessed with the names of full moons
As we hiked to an overlook on a warm evening in late August, a new acquaintance seemed to be dissatisfied with the luminous full moon shining over Griffith Park. “It’s not blue,” they remarked. Though it was dubbed a “blue…
The Jungalow’s Justina Blakeney shares her perfect Sunday in L.A.
As an artist, designer, creative director and bestselling author, Justina Blakeney has always been intrigued by the power of mixing things up, particularly in Los Angeles. When she was a student majoring in world arts and cultures at UCLA in…
Disneyland is a terrible first date — but a magical fifth
When Ethan Wong took his Tinder match to Disneyland, it didn’t end happily ever after. Instead, there were some awkward silences, pricey snacks and a tense fireworks show where a romantic moment felt mandatory. “I didn’t even put my arm…
How to take better photos of the night sky in Joshua Tree
It’s no secret that one of the best stargazing spots in Southern California is Joshua Tree National Park. The park is an International Dark Sky Place — meaning that aside from some light pollution coming from Palm Springs and the…
$50 tickets and everything else that’s new at Disneyland this fall
If fall is a transitional time, perhaps here in Southern California where the temperature stays relatively consistent, we can most clearly mark the season of change through our theme parks. Be it mazes of horror or giant Mickey-eared pumpkins, our…
Here’s everything new coming to Disneyland in 2024 — so far
A new parade, resurrected shows and a revamped attraction: Disneyland has laid out its 2024 calendar, and it’s heavy on entertainment and festivals. If you’re planning a trip to the Anaheim parks in the next 12 months, here’s what to…
California ski resorts look to the latest storm for snow
As skiers and snowboarders flock to the Lake Tahoe and the Eastern Sierra slopes this holiday weekend, National Weather Service meteorologists say the latest storm is expected to drop only a limited amount of snow in Southern California. The only…
You don’t have to join Soho House to enjoy its free run club
During the middle of a Sunday morning jog through West Hollywood with a run club, marketing executive and digital strategist Mark Baroth exclaims: “I hate running!” Later on, when I mention it to Soho House Run Club founder Raymond Braun,…
The untold history of Santa’s Village
Santa’s Village had become a ghost town, closed for nearly two decades. Rides had been auctioned off, much of its electrical equipment was stolen and bark beetle-infested trees — destined for an incinerator — had once taken up residence in…
Opinion: Should fat people get an extra airline seat for free? Southwest Airlines thinks they should
Kimmy Garris, who describes herself as a “fat solo traveler,” probably had no idea that her 30-second TikTok video was going to cause a sensation when she recorded herself in September politely asking a Southwest Airlines gate agent if she…
Volunteer with 340 merino sheep at a Santa Barbara preserve
On one side of a path in the idyllic hills of Santa Barbara, a dense clump of dried out mustard rises more than six feet. Meanwhile, just across the way, the invasive plant is thinned to wisps. Carolyn Chaney, 77,…
How to experience Los Angeles like a poet
I was walking in Venice with poet Tom Laichas when he showed me a hard-to-describe object protruding from the strip between sidewalk and street. It was about the size of a fire hydrant, made of cement and decorated with faded…
New California law seeks to improve state park campsite access
Anyone who has tried to reserve campsites at a California state park or beach knows how tricky they can be to secure, with spots sometimes being completely booked minutes after slots open up. A bill recently signed into law by…
Halloween at Disneyland is so big it rivals Christmas
When Halloween arrives on Oct. 31, it will feel like a grand finale, the culmination of a multimonth celebration of events around Southern California. Spending for Halloween is estimated to be at some of its highest levels in history, and…
After Maui fire, some Hawaiians are out of aloha for tourists
LAHAINA, HI. — Paele Kiakona is not ready to go back to work. Still reeling after August wildfires ravaged his hometown of Lahaina, he doesn’t want to serve tourists, pouring brut Champagne or topping their mai tais with honey-liliko’i foam. “I’ve…
Love where you live? Tell us about your L.A. place
We get it. Your L.A. place is the best L.A. place. But people just don’t know. So tell us: Where do you live and what makes it special? It can be a city or neighborhood we’ve covered or one we…
Solar eclipse threw Utah town, Navajo workforce into crisis
BLUFF, Utah — When Mayor Ann Leppanen learned that the moon would cross in front of the sun above her home on Saturday, she foresaw calamity: a tidal wave of tourists engulfing her tiny town as they pursued the annular…
Explore L.A. through the places that bring it to life
Los Angeles is — depending on who you ask — glitzy, rugged, meditative, frenzied, lonely, connected, old and brand-new. But we all can agree it’s vast. So we’re helping break it down for you. “This must be the place” is…
Sunday Funday with Paris Hilton
Of the dozens of Sunday Fundays we’ve published, no celebrity has name-dropped as many sponsorships or brand deals throughout the conversation as effortlessly as Paris Hilton. And that’s to be expected. She is the influencer of all influencers after all….
How to have the best Sunday in LA according to Maria Bamford
If there’s one thing to know about Maria Bamford, it’s that she loves a 12-step group. The comedian has attended an assortment of 12-step programs over the years, and though she’s not supposed to share which ones she attends, she…
One of SoCal’s spookiest escape rooms hides in a strip mall
The lights are turned off. Smartphone flashlights are forbidden. You’re instructed to walk down a hall, arriving at the entryway to a home. Through set dressing, we are transported to a rickety porch. And then she appears like an apparition….
How to visit the Huntington’s ancient Japanese Shoya House
It’s hard to say what’s cooler about the Japanese shōya house at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens — the centuries-old wood structure that was once the center of a small farming village in Marugame, Japan, or the…
Heading to Yosemite next summer? Better get a reservation
You’ll need a reservation to drive into Yosemite National Park by day this summer, even if you’re not spending the night. The National Park Service announced Wednesday that it would impose an updated version of the reservation requirement that it…
3 lunches and a Michelin-star dinner with Tiffani Thiessen
“Frickles are freaking good.” Tiffani Thiessen is sitting in the Elvis corner at Johnny Rebs’ True South in Long Beach. Above her are framed photos of the singer alongside license plates, coffee mugs and other Elvis memorabilia. “You have to…
‘Squid Game’ in real life? The IRL competition comes to L.A.
When Squid Game: The Trials opens in Los Angeles this December, the immersive experience will have two lofty goals. One, to reflect the tense themes of the hit Korean series in what is essentially designed to be a fun day…
Why your next vacation should be a book retreat
Prologue We could be on our way to camp — 24 of us are crowded into a charter bus headed north of Los Angeles, our luggage packed in tight underneath the vehicle, the bus swinging widely around scenic turns. We…
Love-seeking tarantula causes crash in Death Valley; motorcyclist is hospitalized
Desert tarantulas aren’t considered poisonous to humans. That doesn’t mean, however, that they can’t be dangerous. A trio of international travelers learned this lesson over the weekend when the brown, hairy spider’s appearance caused a two-vehicle accident in Death Valley…
The ultimate gift guide you need in Los Angeles
What makes a house or an apartment building or an Airstream trailer or a yurt a home for the holidays? Sure, it’s mostly the people (and pets) you share it with. But it’s also the well-considered gifts given and received….
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Matt Rogers
L.A. is not a Christmas town. Matt Rogers blames the weather. “You go to anywhere that’s cold like Chicago — huge Christmas town — Boston, New York … you see Christmas happening and you feel that Yuletide sensation in the…
A first look at Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse
The real estate market in Southern California is brutal, especially inside Disneyland’s Adventureland. Tarzan has officially been kicked out of his treehouse at the Anaheim theme park, given the boot for a crafty family of explorers. The new residents move…
What’s a vortex and do you have to visit Sedona to feel one?
SEDONA, Ariz. — The rock formation known as Kachina Woman rises like an obelisk out of a cool green canyon. At its base, more than three dozen women are tucked into crevices in the rust-colored stone, their faces turned toward the…
‘Castle in the Sky,’ an immersive show in an Art Deco penthouse
In a story with outrageous, less-than-savory personalities, one character stands apart: the stage. Or, in this case, the 13th-story penthouse of the Oviatt, which is the setting for a new immersive theater production running this month in downtown. “Castle in…
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Craig Robinson
Actor, comedian and musician Craig Robinson (“The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Hot Tub Time Machine”) is upfront about his ideal L.A. Sunday. “It’s spent at home chilling,” he said. “My day is a blank canvas.” The star of “Killing It,” a…
A Taylor Swift-themed cruise sets sail from Miami in 2024
A travel agency is hoping to be the latest business to capitalize on Taylormania and is selling tickets for a Taylor Swift-themed cruise. Called the In My Era Cruise, the Royal Caribbean trip is scheduled to embark from Miami on…
Disneyland artists share story behind Adventureland Treehouse
Like many a child, no doubt, Kevin Kidney fantasized about living at Disneyland. But he didn’t imagine himself swashbuckling with pirates or cavorting with ghosts. His special place was more serene. Kidney’s spot was the original Swiss Family Treehouse, built…
Thanksgiving travel set to break records; 9 tips to help keep you sane
Whether you’re planning to take a plane, train or automobile for your Thanksgiving travels this year, experts recommend you prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Fifty-five million travelers are expected to head out between travel Wednesday through…
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to MC Lyte
The thing that first brought MC Lyte to Los Angeles? New York’s historic Blizzard of 1996. “I always said I wasn’t going to do another winter in New York, but then when that snowstorm happened I was like, ‘Oh my…
While thrifting in L.A. with my teenage son, I found what my mother missed
My 13-year-old son has entered his thrifting era. It started with an off-chance trip to Goodwill over the summer while he was skating through Glendale with a friend two grades ahead. He came home with a decent pair of Nikes…
Visit Carmel, artsy, pricey, gorgeous, quaint and by the beach
In Big Sur, land meets sea in the most amazing ways. Meanwhile just up the road in Carmel, nature meets art, cars, charm, golf and money. It’s hard to look away. And once you get there, hard to leave. At…
A new Pixar-themed parade is coming to Disneyland
A new Pixar-themed daytime parade and enhancements to the “Star Wars” attraction Star Tours — The Adventures Continue are coming to the Disneyland Resort in 2024. Numerous festivals and celebrations will also dot the theme park calendar for the upcoming…
What’s new in Death Valley: the lake, sand dunes, reopened roads
Death Valley’s temporary lake, fed by one powerful summer storm, is down to inches as it dwindles in the park’s Badwater Basin. But as it evaporates, other parts of the national park are reopening. In the aftermath of an Aug….
Opinion: Flying while disabled is a nightmare. It shouldn’t be this way
I live in Boston and want to visit my daughter in Los Angeles. Easy, right? Book a flight, visit daughter, fly home. If only. I use a power wheelchair that costs about as much as a small SUV. I’m terrified…
Killer whale punts sea lion 20 feet in the air to teach calf to hunt
While many families spent Thanksgiving watching football in their living rooms, some lucky few spent it watching killer whales punt a sea lion 20 feet into the air in Monterey Bay. About 120 people aboard a Monterey Bay Whale Watch…
SoCal resident tickets for Disneyland are back
This holiday season, Disneyland is already looking ahead to 2024, and today announced a new offer for Southern California residents. Each local resident who pays $225 will receive three one-park-per-day tickets to be used on separate visits from Jan. 2…
Need a U.S. passport? Try Brentwood post office’s passport fair
It’s never too early for travelers to prepare for their 2024 spring and summer trips, even though the national backlog on passport processing has lessened. And there’s one U.S. Postal Service site in Los Angeles that wants to help travelers…
How to get into pickleball if you’ve got no one to play with
Pickleball leagues around the city host what’s called “open play,” where anyone can show up and jump into a game with strangers. Usually, there’s at least one court reserved for beginner players, with the rest split between intermediate and advanced….
Atheists in Los Angeles seek wonder, awe and community too
ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah — In the cold dark of a November night, beneath the jagged cliffs of Zion National Park, Dani Hsia posed a question that mystics and religious thinkers have pondered for millenniums. “Why are we here?” she asked,…