LOS ANGELES BRIEF HISTORY &  DEMOGRAPHICS  

Recreational Activities in Los Angeles

The mild climate enables people to enjoy outdoor recreation during much of the year, and the variety of landscapes provides facilities for a wide range of outdoor activities. It is possible to swim in the ocean and ski in the mountains on the same day. Public recreational facilities include many parks and playgrounds, numerous swimming pools, and several golf courses. One of the parks, Griffith Park, covers 1,662 hectares (4,107 acres) and is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. Besides its theater and planetarium, it has golf courses, picnic grounds, and is home to the Los Angeles Zoo. Outdoor activity frequently focuses on the city's long stretches of oceanfront, including beaches at Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica, and Redondo.

       

Facilities for skiing and other winter sports are available near the city in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto mountains. Santa Catalina, an island 42 km (26 mi) offshore in the Pacific, is a summer resort famed for deep-sea game fishing. Anaheim, southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is the site of Disneyland amusement park. Other well-known theme parks in the region are Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios Hollywood.

The Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena is the scene of an annual New Year's Day college football game, the Rose Bowl, preceded by the spectacular Tournament of Roses Parade. Two major league baseball teams have home stadiums in the metropolitan area: The Anaheim Angels play at Edison International Field and the Los Angeles Dodgers play at Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball teams and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team play their home games at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play professional ice hockey at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.