Where to take kids on a rainy day in Los Angeles
Los Angeles only gets a dozen or so rainy days a year, but when it rains it rains all day, and the whole city goes looking for somewhere indoors. These work in the rain: children's museums and science centers, libraries worth the trip, aquariums, a puppet theater, a bookstore, and riding the light rail as the outing itself.
For free, start with libraries: the giant aquarium and T. rex at the Cerritos Library, the children's rooms in Arcadia and Glendale, and the second floor of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. To make it an event: Kidspace's indoor half is quiet on rainy days, the kelp forest tank and Discovery Rooms at the California Science Center are free, the Aquarium of the Pacific is fully indoors, Noah's Ark at the Skirball and the little city at Pretend City are built to toddler scale, and the Bob Baker puppet show ends with ice cream. Ride the A Line from Arcadia into Downtown to look at the towers, then take Angels Flight, and a few dollars make a train fan's day.
- 21 places
- 12 free
- 21 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
21 places
Drive times from Arcadia
Arcadia Public Library Children's Room
5.0Arcadia · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free library lot
Ride the Metro A Line
5.0Arcadia · 5 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free Park & Ride lot at Arcadia station (First Ave and Santa Clara St)
Monrovia Public Library and Library Park
5.0Monrovia · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library lot and free street parking on Myrtle Ave
Vroman's Bookstore Kids' Section
5.0Pasadena · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot behind the store (Colorado Blvd and El Molino Ave)
Kidspace Children's Museum
5.0Pasadena · 15 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot (next to the Rose Bowl), different arrangements on Rose Bowl event days
Bob Baker Marionette Theater
5.0Los Angeles · 20 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Street parking on York Blvd (read the signs), not hard on weekend mornings
Glendale Central Library Children's Area
5.0Glendale · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library garage, free for an initial period with a library card (check current rules); the Americana garage also works
Cerritos Library
5.0Cerritos · 30 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free library and Civic Center lots
Angels Flight Railway
5.0Los Angeles · 30 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Take the A Line to Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill or Historic Broadway and walk; if driving, garages around Grand Central Market
Aquarium of the Pacific
5.0Long Beach · 40 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Aquarium garage about $8–10 (with validation), lines after noon on weekends
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
5.0San Pedro · 45 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Beach lot about $1–2/hour (right next to the aquarium), daily cap on summer weekends
Noah's Ark at the Skirball
5.0Los Angeles · 45 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Free lot at the center
Heritage Park Regional Library and Duck Pond
5.0Irvine · 50 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free Heritage Park lot
Pretend City Children's Museum
5.0Irvine · 50 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot
Santa Monica Main Library Children's Area
5.0Santa Monica · 55 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library garage, first 30 minutes free, hourly after that (check current rates)
Los Angeles Central Library Children's Department
4.0Los Angeles · 30 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library garage (524 S Flower St), discounted with library card validation; or take Metro to 7th St/Metro Center and walk 5 minutes
California Science Center
4.0Los Angeles · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Exposition Park garage about $18 per car (Figueroa and 39th St entrances); or take the Metro E Line to Expo Park/USC
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
4.0Los Angeles · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Museum lot about $18 per car (Bill Robertson Ln); or take the Metro E Line to Expo Park/USC
Discovery Cube Orange County
4.0Santa Ana · 40 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot
Getty Center
4.0Los Angeles · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Lot at the bottom of the hill about $25 per car (about $15 after 3pm), then the free tram up
Griffith Observatory
3.0Los Angeles · 30 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Observatory lot about $10/hour and nearly impossible on weekends; better to park at the Greek Theatre lot and take the DASH Observatory bus ($0.50) up the hill
💡 Good to know
- Museums fill fast on rainy weekends; arrive at opening, and book Noah's Ark and Bob Baker ahead.
- Los Angeles rain often comes in bursts: the greenhouse at the Arboretum and the oak woods at Descanso are quiet and lovely in a light rain.