LA Active Adventures

OK, here are some things you probably don’t know:

Los Angeles is much larger than you think: 467 square miles -- 4,081 if you take the 88 incorporated cities that make up LA County. It’s packed with 15 million people; gets 24 million tourists each year; rallies as the world’s 18th largest economy, harbors both the world’s third largest airport and the busiest seaport in the United States.

And there is a lot more you don’t know that you stand to learn if you take a very cool and informative experiential tour of the town with LA Active Adventures.

For instance, if you want to see where Marilyn Monroe lies and the spot where Hugh Hefner at her side, LA Active Adventures takes you to a little-known cemetery in the middle of nowhere, hidden by office buildings and condo towers, dating back to the early 1800s and totally out of sight unless you know where you are going. Dean Martin, Mel Torme, Jack Lemmon, Billy Wilder, it’s a who’s who of forever afters in a little patch of green right in the center of Westwood.

If you want to taste wine and watch the sunset over the canyons, LA Active Adventures makes sure you have the best Syrahs and scenery to sip to with a jaunt to Malibu Wines – often preceded by a walk through Venice’s canals and precious hidden “walk streets,” and punctuated by tours of local murals and visits to one-of-a-kind homes in the neighborhood.

If you want to see the most forward leaning gas station in the world, a LEED certified ARCO might be the stop of choice. Unbeknownst to most residents of LA, if not visitors, this futuristic temple of tempered metal is powered by solar energy. The facility collects the gas fumes that normally escape during fill-ups and traps the molecules for recycling back into fuel while releasing the oxygen. It irrigates a rooftop garden with recycled bathroom water, collects rain water, even uses glass reflectors in the ground to send the sunshine back into the universe. The gas is ARCO cheap and the station even passes out free wild flower seeds to stop-and-go visitors for the proliferation of beautiful spaces. Who knew?

LA Active Adventures susses out the best spots for yard sales and flea markets, should that be the interest at hand. It stops at hidden gardens around the city, such as the turtle fountains at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Guests can go tide pooling, hiking, antiquing, even hit a rarely visited Old West set in the mountains and make their own movie.

The guides at LA Active Adventures know Los Angeles as their backyard and provide plenty of time for customized interests as well as popular itineraries. Depending on the tour chosen, the company packs a picnic of holistic foods and organic treats, and there is always plenty of water onboard. Transport is via comfy Ford brand SUV with sunroof and leather interiors. Most tours are intimate affairs of no more than six people, although owner Hargobind “Hargo” Singh can make anything happen for two people to 20 or more in any given tour.

HelloLosAngeles Tip: The tours are priced to be reasonable for any pocket or budget, starting at $45 per person (minimum two people), up to $125 per person for a full day of exploration that heads to the desert dunes of Anza Borrego and up to the coastal Pinot Noir paradise groves of Santa Barbara – and all that comes with lunch! Tour descriptions and a short video can be found by clicking here.

- by Lark Ellen Gould, Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Lark Ellen Gould

Lark Ellen Gould has penned seven books on Las Vegas and Los Angeles as a veteran news and travel writer. Her work appears in the L.A. Times, Elite Traveler, Travel Agent Magazine and other national forums. She lived in Boston for many years, earning her masters degree and then traveling the globe for stories. Today she lives in LA and still travels the world on assignment while filling the pages of her travel site: www.wheredaily.com, along the way.