La Brea Tar Pits: LA’s Ice Age Throwback
Most people associate the city of Los Angeles with rows of palm trees, endless sunshine, and plenty of posh places to eat, drink, and be seen. Lots of folks are unaware that Los Angeles is also home to an ancient crude oil reserve that trapped countless plants and animals in its sticky pools. The La Brea Tar Pits are widely considered to be one of the most important fossil excavation sites in the world. Visitors can watch scientists search for the remains of saber-toothed tigers, dire wolves, and woolly mammoths under the bright California sun.
Since the early 20th century, over one million bones have been excavated from the La Brea Tar Pits. Most of the creatures unearthed from the pits walked the Earth around 50,000 years ago. Virtually every fossil recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits is put on display in the adjacent George C. Page Museum, where visitors can learn more about what the Earth was like when the tar pits first formed.
The iconic Lake Pit features a defunct mining pit with a statue of a woolly mammoth struggling to free itself from a sticky pool of crude oil which still produces large black bubbles. The Lake Pit has a pungent sulfuric smell due to a massive underground oil reserve. Visitors are captivated by sights and smells that seem out of place in modern-day Los Angeles.
The La Brea Tar Pits also feature a Pleistocene Garden with plants that flourished in the region nearly 40,000 years ago. If you’re curious what Los Angeles looked and smelled like before traffic jams, urban sprawl, and exclusive nightclubs were a thing—an afternoon spent exploring the La Brea Tar Pits can transport you back to the days when your greatest concern would be how to avoid getting eaten by a saber-toothed tiger.
Address:
5801 Wilshire Blvd,
Los Angeles,
CA 90036
UnusualPlaces Field Notes
- Location
- La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Coordinates
- 34.0632232, -118.3563873
- Access
- The George C. Page Museum and indoor exhibitions are closed for renovation after July 6, 2026; full-campus reopening is anticipated in 2028. The operator says Hancock Park remains open with phased partial closures, and select outdoor areas and excavation sites are accessible. Stay out of construction areas and check the current project update before visiting.
- Admission
- There is no public museum admission while the Page Museum and indoor ticketed experiences are paused for renovation. The separate Insider Tour is a limited paid offering: the operator lists $125 adult / $105 child ($100 / $80 members), with limited dates and spaces. Its current page says tickets are available through November 1, 2026 and tours will return soon; check checkout for dates. Do not treat the paid tour as general park admission.
- Time needed
- The operator does not state a standard duration for visiting the currently open outdoor areas. The separately ticketed Insider Tour page also provides no duration. Check the selected date’s ticket details before planning; do not rely on a generic museum-visit estimate while the museum is closed.
- Best season
- The operator does not identify a preferred season. Outdoor areas remain open in phases during renovation; tour dates are limited and weather-dependent. For the current construction status and specific accessible areas, check the project notice before setting out.
- Opening hours
- The Page Museum is closed for renovation, with full-campus reopening anticipated in 2028. Hancock Park remains open during construction, with some closures phased over time; the operator’s pages do not give one daily schedule for every currently accessible area. Insider Tours are listed Fridays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., but schedules may vary; current tickets are through November 1, then tours will return soon. Verify current access and ticket dates.
- Location checked
- 2026-10-02
- Facts checked
- 2026-10-27
Location
Use the zoom buttons or pinch to zoom. Use arrow keys to pan when the map is focused.
Interactive map loads when in view.
Explorer Passport
Next badge: Trail Scout
Unlocked after exploring 5 different unusual places.
0 of 5 places explored
Discover more from Unusual Places
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
