The vibe
Northeast LA, or NELA if you want to sound like you've lived here a while. Highland Park and Eagle Rock sit in the hills between Downtown and Pasadena, all Craftsman bungalows, old storefronts, taco trucks and the low brown ridge of the San Rafael Hills behind everything. If you're hunting for things to do in Highland Park or some solid Eagle Rock food, this pocket packs a lot of personality into a few long streets.
Highland Park runs along York Blvd and Figueroa Street, two main drags with very different moods. Figueroa feels older and more lived-in. York is where the coffee shops, record bins and newer bars cluster. Up over the hill, Eagle Rock stretches along Colorado Blvd, a little sleepier, a little more suburban, and home to the actual eagle rock (a big boulder with a shadow that looks like a bird, if you squint).
The secret weapon is the Metro A Line, the old Gold Line. It has a stop right in Highland Park, which means you can sesh at home, ride up from Downtown or Pasadena, and step off steps from Figueroa. Most LA neighborhoods would kill for that.
Highland Park and Eagle Rock munchies
Highland Park munchies are about the trucks and the old-timers.
Highland Park
- Galco's Soda Pop Stop is a wall of glass-bottle sodas from all over the country, hundreds of flavors, many you've never heard of. Walking those aisles a little toasted is pure childhood. Grab a mixed six-pack and call it dinner (not really, but kind of).
- Highland Park Bowl is an old bowling alley restored with the wood, the pinsetters and the old-time lighting intact, and there's food. Dinner and a lane is a perfect night.
- Carnitas Michoacán in nearby Lincoln Heights, down Broadway on the way back toward Downtown, is the late-night carnitas institution. Get a ride over.
The real Highland Park eating is on the street. Taco trucks line Figueroa and York at night, each with its own fan club. There are old Mexican bakeries, birria spots, and the kind of family-run counter where the menu is three items and they've perfected all of them. Hot take: the best taco in NELA is whichever truck has the longest line of guys in work boots. Trust that line over any list.
Eagle Rock food
Casa Bianca Pizza Pie on Colorado Blvd is the legend. Old-school red booths, dim lighting, and the eggplant and sausage pie that people drive across the county for. The wait can be long and it's worth it. Order the eggplant, don't argue.
Colorado Blvd also has a stretch of strip-mall gems: Filipino spots (Eagle Rock has a big Filipino community), boba shops, a few great noodle houses, burger counters with neon signs. Wander and pick. Lucky Boy in Pasadena, a short ride east, does the giant breakfast burrito that'll knock you flat. Check hours before heading out, and see the LA munchies guide and the late-night LA guide for more.
Things to do baked in Highland Park and Eagle Rock
The Chicken Boy statue on Figueroa is a giant fiberglass guy with a chicken head holding a bucket. That's it. That's the attraction. It's one of the most perfect things in Los Angeles, and seeing it lifted is a spiritual event.
Highland Park Bowl also counts as an activity, obviously. Sycamore Grove park along the Arroyo is a shady old picnic ground, and Debs Park has trails winding up the hills with a little pond at the top and a surprising amount of birdlife for being right next to the 110. Eagle Rock itself (the boulder) is fun for a look from the pullout off Figueroa just north of the 134. Galco's counts too; you can spend an hour in there and leave with a root beer you'll never find again.
Mostly, the joy here is the walk. Stroll York, hit a used record bin, peek into galleries in old storefronts, end up somewhere with food. More ideas in things to do high in LA.
Movie and music spots
Vidiots is the gem of Eagle Rock: a nonprofit video store and movie theater living in the old Eagle Theatre on Eagle Rock Blvd. Rent a physical movie like it's the old days or catch a screening of something weird and wonderful. It feels like the town's living room.
Live music lives in the bars along York and Figueroa, a lot of small rooms with local bands and DJ nights. Walk the strip and follow the noise. And Highland Park Bowl often has music in the background to bowl to. The movie theaters for stoners guide covers the rest of LA.
Sunset and chill spots
Debs Park at golden hour, with Downtown on one side and the San Gabriels on the other. Climb a little and sit.
Sycamore Grove in late afternoon, shady and quiet under big old trees.
The Eagle Rock pullout for a look at the rock catching that warm last light.
On clear winter days after the Santa Anas, the mountains look close enough to touch from the hills here. Keep the sesh at home and the chill in the park; see the where to sesh guide and chill outdoor spots in LA.
The good and the annoying
The good: The A Line stop is a real gift. You can get here and around without a car, which in LA is close to a miracle. The food is honest and delicious, with a truck on every corner and Casa Bianca anchoring Eagle Rock. Galco's and Chicken Boy are the kind of weird local treasures that make a city worth living in. And it still feels like a neighborhood, not a theme park.
The annoying: The heat. NELA gets hot in summer, hotter than the coast by a mile, and those hills hold the heat into the evening. Parking on York on a weekend night is a scramble. The 110 (the Arroyo Seco, a curvy old parkway built for much slower cars) and the 2 are your only real highway links, and the 134 gets jammed at rush hour. Everybody you meet will tell you about how it used to be. And Casa Bianca waits will test your love of eggplant.
Next door
- Silver Lake and Echo Park: down the 2, for the lake, the reservoir and Sunset cafés.
- Downtown and the Arts District: a quick A Line ride south, for Grand Central Market and the Broad.
- North Hollywood and Studio City: over the 134, for the Valley, Ventura Blvd and NoHo.
See all LA neighborhood guides or check the LA by season guide.
