Finding a Bit of Green in Los Angeles
Pictorial of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, located in Los Angeles, California.
As a senior in high school, spring break doesn’t mean vacation, it means college visits! So Mom, Dad and I headed down to Los Angeles to check out Loyola Marymount University, where I’ll be going next year. While we were down there, I felt the need to find at least a little bit of green in this city of grey-yellow skies. I found Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, which seems to be the Central Park of LA.
The park is named for Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who served from 1952 to 1992. He realized that the land, once used for oil drilling, would be a great place for a park. First opened in 1983 as Baldwin Hills State Recreation Area, its area is now greater than 1000 acres, and was renamed in 1988 by the State of California to recognize Supervisor Hahn’s work.
When we first arrived, we found we had to park at the very top of the park because every other parking lot was closed. We asked one of the people sitting in front of one what was going on, and it turns out that day they were filming a made-for-TV movie in the park! We later saw equipment trucks and actors’ trailers being brought in.
Driving into the park is an instant respite from the miles and miles of freeway and tall buildings. There are multiple playgrounds, miles of hiking trails, a lake for fishing, and expansive lawns, perfect for picnics. Wildlife has taken refuge from the city in the trees, bushes and lake. We saw robins, hummingbirds, gophers, ducks, geese, lizards and fish. We walked a loop around the park and saw kids playing on swings and slides, a group of elderly gentlemen fishing and telling stories by the lake, women from a senior center out for a stroll chatting away in Russian, and mothers and their children feeding the ducks.
It was a beautiful day, and a great way to spend some extra time in the City of Angels. I’ll have to be sure to come and spend some Saturdays at this park when I’m in school next year.
