Favorite Outdoor Spots in Los Angeles (And Other Headlines)

It’s Independence Day, y’all. And why not talk about the FREEDOM you feel when you spend time outside in the summertime? The sun is out. The grill is on. The parks and beaches are full of people having a good time. It’s time to marinate and bask in the JOY of a California summer.

Discovering LA outdoors

As you already know, I LOVE being outside.

Other than spending quality time with my family members in someone’s backyard playing games and dancing to the cha cha slide, I like grabbing some wine and a charcuterie board to enjoy a hike and a picnic at Rancho Palos Verdes Beach. What about you? Where are your favorite spots to spend time outside?

How to LA is looking for some suggestions. Do you have hiking hacks or some secret spots? Do you know the best places to safely spot wildlife or take the perfect sunset picture? Maybe you know the best place for a romantic getaway with your bae. Please let us know by filling out this survey. You might just get featured on an upcoming How to LA podcast or in this newsletter!

Here’s what some How To LA readers and listeners have previously shared with us:

For more of a chill hang out, there’s Wattles Garden Park near Runyon Canyon.

Or head to Northeast L.A. and spend some time walking the trails of Ascot Park and take in some great views of downtown. Angeleno Maria Patiño Gutierrez takes her family with her after work to enjoy the sunset. It’s where she had her first date with her husband, too.

Now tell us where YOU like to escape to the outdoors in LA. You can tell us here. 

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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More news

(After you stop hitting snooze)

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• Happy Fourth of July, my friend and there’s SO MUCH to do tonight! Attend the July 4th Fireworks Spectacular with The Beach Boys at the Hollywood Bowl.. Check out the LA Galaxy vs. LAFC & Fireworks Night at the Rose Bowl. Be amazed by a 3-D drone night show during the Gloria Molina Grand Park’s 4th of July Block Party. Check out these events and more in this week’s Best Things to Do list.

Wait! One more thing...

Explore the life of volunteer bee conservationist

A bee collects pollen from flowers in Los Angeles last June.

(

Chris Delmas

/

AFP via Getty Images

)

Most of us try to shoo bees away when they’re near us out of fear of getting stung. But some people welcome them to their palms in fascination with the creatures.

For our interesting story of the week, we’re heading out to far western Malibu where the Crotch’s Bumble Bee or Bombus crotchii species calls home.

That’s where conservation biologist Leif Richardson leads volunteers through a project called the California Bumble Bee Atlas that surveys bees. It’s for the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation. The cool thing about this project is that volunteers, people who are trained newbies, get to learn more about bees, analyze data and store information about the various species of bees. Sometimes, people are afraid of getting stung, but Richardson tells them that bumble bees aren’t likely to sting them.

Richardson told NPR’s Christopher Intagliata during his trip to forage bees that people see bees as a danger to them instead of “seeing them as whole animals, with interesting lives and behaviors.”

"They have this rich ecological life history. They have interesting mating biology," Richardson said. "Another one is social biology. The biology of the nest is absolutely fascinating and it gives us a model for understanding social behavior in other bees and also other insects and vertebrates like us."

Read more about what a bee conservationist does in this fascinating profile.