Yesterday, in another timely Earth Day announcement, Governor Schwarzenegger announced California's first natural landmark in Orange County. 40,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch may be recognized with the title, but it does not mean the land is protected or open to the public. Rather, it is to help bring awareness to the land and focus on long-term public preservation. With summer coming, more people will be heading outdoors. Yes, Yosemite may be five hours away,......

The end of the trail at Parker Overlook | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist For most of the 5.5-mile Pacific Palisades hike at the popular Paseo Miramar trail towards Parker Overlook, you can see the ocean. Located two blocks east of Pacific Coast Highway on Sunset (map found below), the hike is a popular one, often leaving the dense hillside neighborhood at the top of the street strapped for parking, which means hikers must......

Travel + Leisure's November 2007 issue features a fun little ditty called America's Favorite Cities. They've asked people from all over the country to rate 25 well-known cities on everything from culture and nightlife to public transportation and weather. We're not quite sure who these 60,000 respondents think they are, but they don't have anything nice to say about our fair city. Oh, except for the fact that we have nice shops. Los Angeles......

Grand Performances Downtown, Free, Outdoors, Take the Red Line Thursday - Musicology 102, Music Theory: Melody/Harmony with Alan Chapman Friday - Paulist Choristers of California and Sinfonia Orchestra Saturday - Alan Chapman and Karen Benjamin Celebrate the American Songbook www.GrandPerformances.org Hollywood Bowl Outdoors, Drink Wine, Fireworks Monday thru Wednesday - July 4th Fireworks Spectacular Saturday - The Decemberists with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Sunday - Mozart's Magic Flute www.HollywoodBowl.com LA Opera in Beverly HIlls Outdoors,......

We rely on the kindness of strangers to show us their version of Los Angeles. Today, via Outdoors Club, we met a member of the Fairwind Yacht Club (a very cool organization if you like sailing, but don't own a boat) who took out a group of folks on a breakfast cruise. And here is what we saw.........

In the next several weeks, LAist will embark on a series of hikes and present to you an ambitious 8-part photo essay. This is the second one. As always, LAist encourages you to get out and take advantage of and experience the beautiful landscape of Southern California. Most of us forget that we are fortunate to live in such a diverse and ecologically unique locale that offers breathtaking sites at spectacular heights -- hike......

In the next several weeks, LAist will embark on a series of hikes and present to you an ambitious 8-part photo essay (not as majestic as BBC's Planet Earth). This is the first one. As always, LAist encourages you to get out and take advantage of and experience the beautiful landscape of Southern California. Most of us forget that we are fortunate to live in such a diverse and ecologically unique locale that offers......

Maybe it wasn't cool in the South to go to the record store to get the new Dixie Chicks cd, but on the internet nobody can judge you. The Chicks were boycotted by Country radio and their fans said that they shouldn't have said what they said about President Bush, but when it came down to picking up their new cd, the people let their fingers do the buying. And if you ask us,......

“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) Really, is this worth watching anymore without Springer on it? We're hoping for some kind of graphic dance-floor accident, or perhaps a Carrie-at-the-senior-prom reenactment. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) Liza Minelli makes a cameo appearance in this Halloween-tinged episode. “Veronica Mars” (the CW, 9:00 p.m.) The underground campus casino is robbed in this Halloween-tainted episode. “Frontline/World” (PBS, 9:00 p.m.) The Burmese government conducts a......

From bhangra to book smarts, from rock to margaritaville, there's something for everyone tonight. And if you go see Jimmy Buffet, we want photos. We'll post 'em. UCLA Bhangra 2006 6 pm at The Fowler Join UCLA's award-winning Bhangra team in a fun-filled evening of Punjab-inspired modern Indian dance. Outdoors, light refreshments provided. music from AM + free drinks! 6-8pm at the Knitting Factory At the door, say Billboard invited you to Billboard Underground......

We don't know if we should be offended/shamed for not getting included or mentioned in this Times article about the local blog community and the perspective they give on living in Los Angeles or just be happy that the article features live clickable links online. We'll take our victories where we can get them. In other news, as LA.Comfidential points out, MoveOn has a new political cause: harassing The Times. First Kucinich and the......

There's a nifty guide to 10 hikes in the Southern California in yesterday's "Outdoors" section of the Los Angeles Times. Speaking of walking, we noticed that this 3/14/2005 Los Angeles Times story about a growing grass-roots movement that encourages the growth of walking-friendly neighborhoods and suburbs has a SoCal slant- In at least 18 states, including California, a grass-roots movement called Safe Routes to School has won public funding to improve sidewalks, crosswalks and......

Tonight is one of the best times to view the Geminid Meteor Shower. The source of the shower is asteroid 3200 Phaethon. There's a cloud of dust trailing the asteroid and Earth plows through it every year in mid-December. Bits of dust traveling 80,000 mph hit our atmosphere and turn into glowing meteors. You can try to catch sight of these special stars at a portable telescope open for free public viewing of the......