Day Trippin' › California › From Los Angeles › Balboa Park
The drive from Los Angeles to Balboa Park takes about 1 hr 56 min (southeast of Los Angeles), by real roads from ZIP 90012. Along the way we found 92 stops within a short detour: 17 coffee shops, 7 bakeries, 23 ice cream and treats and 24 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from Los Angeles) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
Museum
A huge park with Spanish-style buildings, gardens and more than a dozen museums.
Heads-up: Some museums close on Mondays. Free parking is limited on weekends.
First third Middle third Last third Balboa Park
About 1 hr 56 min by road, heading southeast from the middle of ZIP 90012. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Anaheim Packing House (Anaheim). The page lists 34 in all, in driving order.
Yum Yum Donuts in Montebello, Village Cafe & Dani_Macaron in Buena Park, Cream Pan in Tustin and Sunmerry Bakery/ Happy Lemon in Irvine. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Ozzie's Diner in Commerce, Anaheim Packing House in Anaheim, Tacos La Calle in Orange and Curry Do in Tustin.
Sproul Museum in Norwalk, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin in Neff, Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana and Giant Wheel at Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.