Many people, including locals do not know The Hollywood Bowl is actually a park. No this won’t count towards my one park visit because it is so far from what we think of as a park.
This has been one of my favorite places to go since I was a teen. Seeing the gates open made me curious so I drove right up and found myself alone in the house which is what the staff call it.
There are three very cool things to do at the Bowl. One is to sing on stage. We couldn’t today because Hollywood High School was rehearsing for graduation but normally it is empty during any weekday.
The second thing to do at The Hollywood Bowl when it is empty is picnicking. There are picnic tables all around the grounds and some take a small hike to get to. There are picnic spots all over the surrounding grounds.
My favorite tables are in the house’s box seats. A small tablecloth, cool drinks, a little food and you are all set for a great lunch in a world famous spot.
The many tables around the bowl itself have shade but thee is none in the house so bring a wide brimmed hat.
The third and best thing to do for fee at the Hollywod Bowl is…
Hear Big Name Artists Rehearse for FREE!
The bowl is a big deal for artists who play it for the first time and it is far from the normal acoustics of other venues so many bands show up the morning of their concerts to perform sound checks and rehearse.
So if you are very lucky you could just get to hear Elton John or The Beastie Boys play a few songs and it will seem like they are playing just for you.Thursday and Friday mornings are your best shot at catching a rehearsal.
As a boy I was an usher for the Easter Sunrise Service. It starts at the ungodly hour of 5:30AM and until 7AM the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays. They time the music to coinide perfectly with the sun rising over the Bowl.
If you follow the roads to the end at the top there are some nice trails but they can be steep and my kids were not up for it.
