Sailing Along the LA River

When I'm traveling through foreign countries or other states, I feel driven, or even obligated, to see the sights while I'm there. However, I sometimes forget to explore my hometown. So, when I saw that Hidden LA was giving the last LA River Tour of the season, I thought it would provide a nice opportunity to get out and go exploring.

The LA River itself is something of a joke among locals; people don't think of it as a 'proper' river so much as a concrete scar running through town, often surrounded by industrial blight. The tour provided a corrective to that view, showing the more scenic parts of the river and explaining ambitious plans to restore the river and make it a boon to the surrounding communities.

I checked in at 8:30 in the River Center and Gardens; once everyone had come, the guide gave her introductory spiel and people broke up into carpools (I joined a family of four) and headed in the direction of the first stop along the river.

We started our journey in Yoga Park, along the Glendale Narrows (just south of Los Feliz). This was the most 'naturalistic' site on our tour.

Our tour guide explained that the river was encased in concrete in the late 1930s as a means of controlling the floods that were plaguing Los Angeles. The Narrows are one of the few areas where the river floor is not entirely covered in concrete, and is home to many waterfowl (including some ducks who are rescued from local markets).

Because this was the most picturesque leg of our tour, we spent the most time at this site. After the lecture, the group spent 30 minutes exploring the river and observing the area.

Next, we went downstream to visit Marsh Park, part of a project designed to naturally filter out the pollutants running through storm drains into the river.

After leaving the park, we headed down into the river itself, in the 'confluence' where the LA River meets the Arroyo Seco. At that point, our tour guide discussed plans which were underway to improve the LA River, both by bringing it closer to its natural state and by creating attractive community hubs, such as parks, along the riverfront.

We left the river for a while for lunch in Boyle Heights before meeting at Libros Schmibros, a used bookstore and lending library.

We headed further south, where the river became increasingly industrial. We took another trip to the river basin, exploring the stretch of the river which has become familiar through film and television. The surroundings were more dilapidated, with grafiftti and some garbage along the edges of the river (our group was both amused and mortified when one of the dogs on the tour attempted to play with a ball (s)he discovered in the river).

We even had a run-in with the county police, who found our little tour group suspicious. Fortunately, our guide had the city permits handy, and the cops were on their way.

For the penultimate stop, we visited the Maywood Riverfront Park, a former industrial site which was redesigned as a public place for the local community, which is in desperate need for public and green spaces.


After breaking for raspados, we arrived at our final stop: the Dominguez Gap Wetlands. The manmade wetlands were designed so that the plants could naturally remove toxic elements from the water before diverting the water back into the river.


I had a fun time exploring; by using the LA River as a starting point, it gave me a different perspective on the city. It also gave me some food for thought about the role we all play in shaping the neighborhoods and natural spaces around us, and the steps we can take to make the city more livable.