SoCal has plenty to envy, from the year-round summer weather and breathtaking beaches to the lush valleys. But we can’t help but miss a bit of beautiful fall scenery and its spectrum of red, orange, yellow, and brown. Luckily, we can still celebrate the fall season in Los Angeles everywhere from the nearby hiking routes to local botanical gardens.
Everyone deserves to witness the vivid transition into (slightly) colder months, so check out our guide to the best places to catch a glimpse of fall colors in Los Angeles, which incidentally make for some gorgeous photo ops.
Note: A few of these will require bookings and November is the best month to catch the transition, so plan ahead!
1. Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens
The Huntington Library is a perennial favorite! Fall foliage is at its peak in November, especially the brilliant golden ginkgo leaves in the Japanese and Chinese gardens. Here in Southern California, fall “foliage” also includes the final red and gold roses in the Rose Garden, Mexican sage in the Shakespeare Garden, and bright red poinsettia at the Huntington Art Gallery.
📍 Location: 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108
2. South Coast Botanic Garden
Head to Palo Verdes for a brilliant display of fall colors and blooming flowers. Roam among the luscious scenery of the Rare Fruit Orchard, where you’ll find crepe myrtles, crabapples, and loquats changing colors for the season.
📍 Location: 26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274
3. Los Angeles County Arboretum
It’s easy to forget that there are places like this so close to home, but the L.A. County Arboretum is an absolute gem in Arcadia that’s worth visiting any time of year. In the fall, you’ll see plenty of unique specimens bursting into orange and yellow colors, which look even more striking against the backdrop of the Angeles National Forest.
📍 Location: 301 N Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
4. Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens bursts with over 3,000 kinds of camellia flowers in November and December. Look out for fall colors throughout the gardens including ginkgo, sycamore trees, birches, cherry trees, crape myrtles, and Chinese pistaches.
📍 Location: 1418 Descanso Dr, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
5. Franklin Canyon Park & Reservoir
Tucked into a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains in Beverly Hills, this 605-acre park is home to a is a 3-acre lake (reservoir) and has a few trails that will let you leave the city buzz behind and connect with nature. Beyond the plethora of wildflowers that grow here, you’ll be surrounded by shady grassland meadows; oak woodlands; and sycamore, redwood, and walnut trees.
📍 Location: Lake Drive & Franklin Canyon Drive, Franklin Canyon Park, CA 90210
6. Big Bear
Though Big Bear isn’t technically in Los Angeles, it’s too great of a mini road trip to pass up. Once you catch a peek of all the autumn-leafed trees surrounding the lake, you may forget that you’re on the West Coast. Try and catch the red, orange, and yellow leaves before they fall off to prepare for the winter!
📍 Location: Alden Rd, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
9. Oak Glen
It takes about an hour and a half to drive from Los Angeles to the tiny agricultural community of Oak Glen. The area is known for having some of the most bountiful apple orchards in SoCal, and people like to visit for apple picking in September and October. The town is situated around Oak Glen Road, which forks off the 10 Interstate in Yucaipa, looping around 20 miles before reconnecting with the 10 in Beaumont. This makes for a scenic drive through fall colors, apple farms, shops, nature trails, bakeries, and more.
📍 Location: Oak Glen, San Bernardino County, CA
10. Lake Arrowhead
While Lake Arrowhead is often remembered for its snowy landscapes in the winter, it’s also a stunning destination to visit in the fall. The mountain paradise is known to experience a spectrum of fall colors surrounding the lake, including bright reds, oranges, and yellows. If you visit at the end of November you can experience the tail end of the fall foliage together alongside the beginning of their Christmas activations at Santa’s Village.
📍 Location: Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino County, CA
Written by Jamie Ferrell, Ashlyn Davis, and Malia Wooten