Although winter in Los Angeles and California is not as cold as in many other places around the United States, it is still a festive season that brings about some unique events. Since the weather in Los Angeles stays nice throughout the year, that brings about some awesome outdoor activities that can take place during the winter months! I love the festive spirit that pops up around town and the large number of winter activities that take place. The best part is many of these activities are free or cost less than $20.
Want a guided tour to start out your trip and get acclimated to the city? Then check out Guru Walks for a free guided tour. You can book online to reserve your spot and pay what you wish when you get there. Check out the tours in Los Angeles here.
US Ghost Adventures is an awesome company that offers a variety of guided tours and haunted experiences across different cities in the United States. Visitors can learn the compelling history and stories of the paranormal and the city’s darker side. Make sure to check out the variety of tours offered in Los Angeles here. They are very affordable too!
Disclaimer: Thank you to the Ice Rink at Pershing Square for hosting me on my visit. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no cost to you!
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Transportation in Los Angeles
Many of the best things to do during winter in Los Angeles will require a car to get to, so I recommend renting a car or opt to take a Lyft or Uber. There is also the Metro to get around, which costs $1.75 per ride. However, it does not go to all of the sites included in this post.
Where to Stay in Los Angeles
TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best Los Angeles hotels here!
Los Angeles can be a very expensive place to stay, so expect to pay a minimum of $150 per night. I recommend staying in the Downtown area as it does have a ton of amazing hotels right in the middle of everything.
Some of the best Los Angeles include the following. *means it is one of my favorites.
- Hilton Checkers Hotel
- The Westin Bonaventure Hotel*
- Hotel Figueroa
- Freehand Los Angeles
- Omni Los Angeles
- Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown
- DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown
- Biltmore Los Angeles*
- The Hoxton, Downtown LA
GoCity Pass
GoCity offers a ton of different sightseeing passes for cities around the world. These passes allow you to visit the best of each city for one low price, rather than paying individually for each attraction. I have used it in several cities around the world and would recommend getting a GoCity pass! Check out the options for the Los Angeles GoCity pass here.
Things to do in Winter in Los Angeles
The Americana at Brand
Cost: Free
Hours: Sun-Thurs: 10am-8pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-9pm
One of my favorite malls to go shopping at during the wintertime in Los Angeles is The Americana at Brand. This mall has so many stores and restaurants. During the winter in Los Angeles, from mid-November until the beginning of January, the mall is decorated for the Holidays.
The highlight is the gigantic 100-foot tree, similar to the one at The Grove. There is also a trolly that can take you around the shopping center or you can use it to view all of the decorations. For the young ones, you can take them to see Santa in his workshop at the North Pole.
Candy Cane Lane
Cost: Free
Hours: Dusk until 10pm
Winter in Los Angeles is not complete without viewing some residential holiday lights. Candy Cane Lane is an 8-block residential area that is completely decorated for the Holidays. For the month of December, every house in this community goes all out with decorations and lights. To get here, start at the intersection of Lubao and Oxnard Streets in Woodland Hills. Visitors can drive slowly through the street. Please make sure to be respectful of the community and do not visit after 10pm.
The Grove
Cost: Free
Hours: Sun-Thurs: 10am-8pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-9pm
The Grove is one of my favorite places to go holiday shopping. The entire mall is decked out in exquisite Christmas decorations and holiday music fills the air. Here you can also find one of the tallest Christmas trees on the west coast, standing at over 100 feet tall! The evenings sometimes offer a special light show and it transforms the area into a winter wonderland with snow. Do not miss Santa’s workshop and various pop-ups throughout the mall.
Hollywood Christmas Parade
Cost: Free-$85
Hours: Parade Starts at 5pm
The Sunday after Thanksgiving brings the Hollywood Christmas Parade, a winter in Los Angeles tradition. The Hollywood Christmas Parade began in 1928 as a one-mile promotion of Santa Claus. Throughout the years, it has grown in scale and has become a Los Angeles tradition. The parade route follows a 3.5-mile path in Hollywood along Hollywood Boulevard and loops back along Sunset Boulevard.
Santa is always the last float in the parade. It is free to watch the parade on TV and it is also free if you want curbside seating. To get the curbside seating, you will need to get to the parade route super early! If you do not want to fight the crowds and want a reserved seat, you can pay $65 or $85 for bandstand tickets.
Ice Skating in Pershing Square
Cost: $20 admission which includes skate rental
Hours: Varies, but in general 11:30am-9:30pm
Just because California winters may be warm, does not mean ice skating isn’t a thing in California! Ice skating is just one of the many fun things to do during winter in Los Angeles. Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles offers a seasonal ice rink. It typically runs from right after Thanksgiving to just after the new year.
Visitors can make reservations online ahead of time and the price includes the rental skates! It does get busy on the weekends, so booking in advance is encouraged. Each session lasts an hour, but you can leave before the session ends and take as many breaks as needed.
The area is decorated with Christmas lights so it makes for a fun atmosphere. Depending on the day, there may be other Holiday activities to partake in such as crafts, sledding, and musical groups.
LA Zoo Lights
Cost: $13
Hours: 6-10pm
In the evenings from mid-November to the beginning of January, the Los Angeles Zoo turns the area into a magical light experience. They create animals out of lights, have beautifully handcrafted lanterns, and tons of high tec interactive displays. This holiday wonderland is perfect for everyone and makes for some great pictures! Make sure not to miss the 225-foot Tunnel of Lights and the Twinkle Tunnel. Plan to spend 60-90 minutes walking through the exhibit.
Visit a Los Angeles Museum
Cost: Free-$25
Hours: Varies by Museum
Los Angeles offers a TON of museums scattered throughout the city. Some of them decorate for the holidays. Museums offer the perfect shelter on a rainy or windy day. For modern art lovers, visit The Broad. The Getty and the Getty Villa are always classics and LACMA has a huge assortment of art. For science lovers, the California Science Center and the La Brea Tar Pits are good options. A newer museum about the history of film, the Academy Museum, is perfect for Hollywood lovers. No matter what, there are a ton of choices to choose from!
Grab a warm beverage from Pitchoun!
Cost: $
Hours: 8am-2pm
Pitchoun, an adorable French bakery and cafe, has some of the best assortment of coffee beverages in the Downtown area. It is the perfect place to pop in a warm-up if it gets a little chilly outside or if it is rainy. They also have great brunch options if you get hungry.
Take in the Shops on Rodeo Drive
Cost: Free
Hours: 10am-6pm
Winter in Los Angeles turns Rodeo Drive into a high-end winter extravaganza. The streets and shops are completely decked out in holiday decorations. Although these stores may be super expensive, it is free to walk around and look at the decorations.
Visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Cost: $16
Hours: 10am-5pm
One of my favorite things to do during wintertime in Los Angeles is to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This museum is dedicated to the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan who was born and raised in California.
During the month of December, the library is completely decked out for the holidays! Every year, there is a collection of Christmas trees, decorated with a common theme. Previous exhibits have included countries around the world and decades throughout the United States. It is so fun to see what new surprises they will come up with each year. If you want to visit everything in the museum, plan on spending 3-4 hours walking around.
Venice Canals Holiday Boat Parade
Cost: Free
Hours: Evening
The Venice Canals in Venice Beach are popular any time of the year, but during winter in Los Angeles, the canals turn into an enchanting display of lights. Bridges and houses are adorned with Holiday lights. Around mid-December, Venice puts on the Holiday Boat Parade. During this event, small boats and sometimes paddleboards head through the canals in decorated boats. It is a smaller event but still a cute sight to see (especially for free).
Walt Disney Concert Hall: Holiday Sing-Along
Cost: Tickets start at $33
Hours: Varies by performance
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is home to the LA Philharmonic. During winter in Los Angeles, they put on several sing-along concerts themed to the holidays. Their typical holiday sing-along is perfect for the family. Throughout the performance, they work their way through a plethora of classic holiday songs. They also put on some other holiday events that vary by season, so check their website for more information.
Teacher Tip: Check for sales and discounts as sometimes they have cheaper options. Also buying them directly at the box office will save on fees as well!
Christmas at Universal Studios Hollywood
Cost: Tickets start at $99 for a day
Hours: Varies
Although not a cheap option, you can also celebrate the holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood. During winter in Los Angeles, Universal is adorned with Christmas decorations and offers holiday-themed food. The Grinchmas area offers a unique tree, Who-tacular festivities, and if you are lucky you might even meet Max and the Grinch!
With Christmas at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Hogsmede is transformed into a winter wonderland complete with decorated buildings and a lit-up castle. In the evenings, there is a short light show at the castle with projected lights and images onto Hogwarts Castle.
Other Things to do in Los Angeles
No matter what, Los Angeles is such a fun city to visit. There are fun things to do at any time of the year. Winter in Los Angeles offers some unique experiences that can also be budget-friendly. Want to learn more about Los Angeles? Check out these posts about the fun to be had in Los Angeles all times of the year.
- Best Things to do on your First LA Visit
- Cheap Things to do in Los Angeles
- Date Ideas in Los Angeles
- Best Places to Eat in Los Angeles
- Fall in Los Angeles
- One Day in Downtown Los Angeles
- Things to do in DTLA
- Things to do in Hollywood
If you want to extend your Los Angeles vacation outside of Los Angeles, these posts may interest you.
- Best Day Trips from Los Angeles
- California Road Trips
- The California Central Coast
- Central California Itinerary
- Channel Islands National Park
16 thoughts on “Winter in Los Angeles: 12+ Fun and Cheap Things to do During the Holidays”
You now have me so excited for the holidays this year! All of these Christmas activities sound like so much fun. I experienced all of the holiday fun at Disney and Universal in Orlando last year and it was so magical. Looks like i’ll have to make my way out to the LA area in the future during December. 🙂
The holiday season can be so fun and different depending on where you are. Winter in Los Angeles is fun for sure!
These all sound so fun! I really hope we can travel again normally by this holiday season. I would love to spend the holidays in LA as I have never been somewhere during the holidays where it doesn’t snow over Christmas and I think it would be such a cool experience!
I miss being able to travel normally so much. It is weird not to have snow for the holidays.
It would be amazing to experience Christmas in Los Angeles, it sounds like a unique experience! Also, when you mentioned about being warm, I totally get that! I normally spend Christmas at home (Southern Spain) and it’s completely different from Christmas in the UK or other European countries.
I would love to experience Christmas in Europe one year!
I find it kind of difficult to wrap my head around Christmas decorations and ice skating when it is actually warm (not that it is crazy cold and snowy in London for the holiday Season). But I guess LA makes up for it with loads of lights and elaborate decorations? It sure sounds like something one should experience once in a lifetime
Even though I have grown up in California it is always weird to me to have a warm Christmas. It is very different then a London Christmas.
The Holiday Season is my FAVORITE!! We have experienced many of theses activites first hand and can attest to how stunning the city looks during the holidays. The Grove and the tree are beautiful. We love to get some Macaroons from Laduree and people watch. Will look into Pershing Square this year 🙂
I LOVE the Holidays too. I want to do the ice skating in Pershing Square.
This made me start thinking about the holidays. I can’t imagine Christmas without snow but some of these things look really fun. A boat parade and a Grinch Christmas tree would be favs.
This is why I always travel east in December because I need the snow for the holidays! But LA does offer some fun things!
Never thought of spending Christmas in LA but it looks really fun!
It is definitely a bit different since it can be super warm around the holidays.
I never new LA did much for the holidays. I’m a huge sucker for christmas lights so I’ll have to get out there to see Candy Cane Lane!
Right!? I’ve recently started to discover some of the awesome things these past couple of years. LA continues to surprise me with how many cool things there are to do.