5 LA Adventures That Will Make Your Friends Jealous

Let’s be honest, part of the reason we go out is so we can brag about how great it was to our friends (we’re all suckers for Facebook photo-ops). But native Angelenos and savvy travelers have a dilemma: they already know the obvious hot spots in Los Angeles. As a remedy, we’ve created a list of 5 overlooked adventures, all of them are guaranteed to incite envy.

Bridge to Nowhere

Bridge, Forest

The Bridge to Nowhere, tucked in the San Gabriel Mountains, offers something more unique than most hiking spots: bungee jumping. That’s right, at the end of the bridge (that really does lead to nowhere), you have the option to jump. If bungee jumping doesn’t strike your fancy, you can hike down to the river just below and splash around while other people take the plunge. A hike, a cliff-dive and a splash in the river – a perfect way to spend a day.

Downtown Art Walk

For those with an aversion to the outdoors, there is the uber-urban option, Downtown Art Walk. Held every second Thursday across a few blocks of downtown LA, the walk will take you through sundry vendors peddling homemade jewelry and trinkets, indie and pop art, open galleries and The Last Bookstore (a bookstore/art gallery), ending in a ring of food trucks with just about every type of snack your heart can desire.

Social Pool

Hotel

Imagine a swimming pool hidden in the middle of the desert that can only be found once you’ve spoken to the holder of the key, been granted passage, and given the coordinates. For Alfredo Barsuglia’s art installation, Social Pool, that really is how you have to get there. After visiting the MAK Center for Art to get the key and coordinates, it is a few hours’ drive into the desert and a short walk to your very own solar-powered swimming pool. It isn’t very big, but it’s secluded and it’s hidden. It has the added bonus of being a work of art, so you can literally say you’ve ‘swam in art’ after you’ve completed the treasure hunt.

The Standard's Rooftop Pool

Hotel

The only thing that might be more awesome than a hidden swimming pool in the desert is one on the rooftop of a swanky hotel filled with beautiful people. The Standard seems to be the kind of place that a lot of people in LA know of, but for some reason not nearly as many have actually visited. It has a view of downtown LA, trendy music, a rooftop bar, lounge chairs and (did we mention) a swimming pool on the roof!
The Standard, Los Angeles, CA, USA +1 213-892-8080

Point Break Live

Nightclub

This is an LA oldie (considering how fast things move in LA), but remains an enduring brag spot. Not only do you get to see ’90s cult classic action flick Point Break performed live on stage at edgy Hollywood nightclub The Dragonfly, you could be selected as the special guest performer to play none other than Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves’ breakout role in the film). Watching a play about surfing bank robbers and being asked to play its monosyllabic hero = super jealous friends.