Los Angeles offers something beautiful to see in every season. The city’s weather may be mild, but its landscapes change in stunning, subtle ways throughout the year. In spring, wildflowers cover canyon trails and jacaranda trees bloom across the streets in shades of purple. Summer brings golden hills, long beach days, and misty coastal mornings. Autumn arrives with clear skies and warm Santa Ana winds, while winter transforms the city with crisp air, snow-dusted mountains, and green hills after the rain.

TL;DR

  • LA’s Mediterranean climate means year-round outdoor beauty—each season offers unique scenery and activities.
  • Spring: Wildflowers and jacarandas transform hills and streets in color.
  • Summer: Foggy mornings, bright beach days, and warm, starry nights.
  • Autumn: Clear skies, ideal hiking, and crisp golden light with Santa Ana winds.
  • Winter: Rain-washed air, snow-topped mountains, and whale watching by the coast.
  • Short drives connect multiple landscapes: beach, desert, and mountain in a single day.

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Overview

Los Angeles is one of the few places where you can experience beach, desert, and mountain landscapes all in a single day. The region’s geography and Mediterranean climate create mild, sunny weather year-round, making it a perfect destination for outdoor activities in every season. From the Pacific coastline to the San Gabriel Mountains, each area offers something unique as the months change.

Winter brings clear skies and green hills perfect for hiking, while spring transforms the canyons and deserts with colorful wildflowers. Summer means long beach days, golden light, and ocean breezes, while autumn offers crisp air, clear views, and some of the best hiking conditions of the year.

This guide highlights the best things to do in Los Angeles by season, helping you plan the perfect outdoor experiences, from spring blooms to winter views, and see how the city transforms throughout the year.

Spring Wildflower Blooms in the Hills

Spring’s arrival in Southern California is heralded by explosions of wildflowers across hills and valleys. After winter rains, normally subdued landscapes come alive with color – golden California poppies, purple lupines, yellow mustard and more.

In the Santa Monica Mountains and local parks like Malibu Creek or Griffith Park, slopes that were brown turn green and speckled with blooms. In a good year (especially after heavy rain), you might even catch a superbloom, when swaths of hills are blanketed in continuous flowers – an awe-inspiring sight that reminds us of nature’s resilience.

One famous display is the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve north of L.A., where rolling fields can flush completely orange with poppies. Peak bloom varies with rainfall – often late March into April. Wandering among these blossoming hills is an immersive experience of spring’s renewal and vibrance.

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Check park websites or the Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline in spring for bloom updates. For the best displays, aim for a sunny mid-morning after winter rains (poppies and most wildflowers open in bright light).

Jacaranda Season (Late Spring)

By late spring, Los Angeles’s streets stage a quieter floral show – the jacaranda trees. Through May and early June, these subtropical trees lining neighborhoods in Pasadena, Long Beach, and West L.A. unfurl thousands of lavender-purple blooms overhead.

Entire blocks transform into dreamy tunnels of color, as if a brief purple snowfall has dusted the city. Parked cars might get blanketed in sticky petals, but most locals don’t mind, it’s part of the charm.

This phenomenon is relatively fleeting: jacarandas typically flower between late April and early June. In some years they burst almost all at once; in others the blooming is staggered – but by the first week of June many streets reach their purple peak, soon followed by a soft “rain” of fallen petals.

There’s nothing quite like strolling under a jacaranda canopy at golden hour, with petals carpeting the sidewalk and that sweet, faint fragrance in the air – a signature late-spring experience in L.A.

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Jacarandas bloom for only a few weeks. Late May to early June is usually peak purple season in Los Angeles. For especially photogenic scenes, cruise down streets like Glenarm Street or Del Mar Boulevard in Pasadena, or Second Street in Long Beach, during this time.

Summer Beach Mornings

Summer in Los Angeles means long, sunny days – but along the coast, mornings often start with a soft gray marine layer fog (“May Gray” or “June Gloom”) that drifts ashore. Early on a summer day, the beach has an almost mystical tranquility. The sand is cool and damp from the mist, and waves lap gently with the morning’s small surf.

A silvery light bathes the shoreline before the sun breaks through. It’s a perfect time for a quiet walk or jog with just a few seabirds for company. By mid-morning, as the sun gains strength, the low clouds begin to lift and light up the coastline. The beach scene shifts to its lively daytime vibe – umbrellas unfurl, volleyballs fly, children splash in the now-brilliant sunshine.

Those who experience the dawn hours by the Pacific know a secret: summer’s coastal magic is often sweetest before the world fully wakes, when the air is still cool and the only sounds are gulls and the gentle rhythm of the waves.

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Don’t be caught off guard by “June Gloom.” It’s normal for coastal L.A. to be cloudy and cool until late morning in early summer.

Whale-Watching Season

Winter marks the arrival of one of L.A.’s most spectacular natural events: the gray whale migration. From about December through April, thousands of Pacific gray whales travel along Southern California’s coastline during their annual journey between Alaska and Baja California.

This means prime whale-watching opportunities in Los Angeles. On a clear winter day, you can scan the ocean from shore and spot the spouts of whales passing by. Popular vantage points include Point Vicente in Palos Verdes (where volunteers tally whales at the American Cetacean Society’s census) and Point Dume in Malibu. For a closer look, whale-watching boat tours depart from local harbors like Long Beach and Redondo Beach.

Seeing a 30-ton gray whale surface – a misty spout, a broad barnacle-studded back, and the flip of a tail fluke – is an unforgettable experience. Mid-January tends to be peak sighting time (when both southbound and northbound whales are in the area) , but anytime in that winter-to-early-spring window can yield a thrilling encounter with these gentle giants of the sea.

Aside from gray whales, you might also glimpse dolphins, sea lions, or even a humpback or two on these excursions – a reminder of the rich marine life just off L.A.’s shores.

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Dress warmly for whale watching, especially if you’re out on a boat – the ocean breeze can be chilly even on sunny days. Prime gray whale season runs December through March. If you’re watching from land, bring binoculars for a better view.

Autumn Hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains

By the time autumn arrives, the intense heat of inland summer has eased, and L.A.’s mountains beckon with ideal hiking weather. In October and November, daytime temperatures in the San Gabriels and foothills are comfortably in the 70s °F, with crisp, cool mornings – perfect for hitting the trails.

You’ll notice subtle signs of fall: certain canyon trees (like sycamores and cottonwoods) turn golden or rust-colored and drop their leaves, sprinkling the paths. The change isn’t dramatic everywhere, but in shaded canyons and near streams you’ll get a hint of autumn color. More striking are the clear skies and far-reaching views that fall weather brings.

With summer’s haze gone, you can often see dozens of miles from a ridgetop – sometimes from the mountains all the way to the ocean, clear as day. An afternoon hike to a vantage point (say, Mount Wilson or along the Backbone Trail) might reveal downtown L.A. crisp on the horizon and Catalina Island visible beyond. Trails are also less crowded than in summer, so you might have that panorama to yourself.

And as the sun angles lower earlier in the evening, it casts a beautiful golden glow across the hills. For many locals, an autumn hike – breathing in pine-scented air and feeling the slight chill at sunset – is the favorite way to experience a different side of Los Angeles.

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Fall days can start cool and end warm, so dress in layers for mountain hikes. After the first light rains (often in November), dust and smog are washed away, making vistas even sharper. And keep an eye out for seasonal waterfalls reviving after early rains (Sturtevant Falls or Eaton Canyon may start flowing again in late fall).

Desert Glow in Joshua Tree

The Mojave Desert shows off its best colors in the gentle seasons of spring and fall. In spring, if winter brought enough rain, Joshua Tree National Park’s sands are dotted with wildflowers – splashes of yellow, purple, and white amid the cactus and yucca.

Even in drier years, spring offers mild weather and clear mornings, perfect for climbing boulders or wandering among blooming creosote bushes. Fall is similarly inviting – warm days and cool nights without summer’s crowds.

At sunrise and sunset, the desert is breathtaking: jumbo rock formations and spiky Joshua trees are bathed in a soft golden glow, and a peaceful hush falls over the land as the sky turns pink and orange. These golden hours reveal a quiet, otherworldly beauty unique to the desert.

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“At sunset, the desert’s silence and golden light make the world feel sacred.”

Post-Rain Skyline Views

When winter storms roll through Los Angeles, they leave a special gift: crystal-clear skies and brilliant views. After a good rain, the usual gauzy haze lifts, and suddenly you can see for what feels like forever.

Snow-capped mountains gleam beyond the downtown skyscrapers – a stunning juxtaposition of city and nature. It’s common to spot details 40, 50, even 70 miles away with unusual clarity. On such days, everyone heads to their favorite overlook to soak it in.

You might stand at Griffith Park or Baldwin Hills and see the Hollywood Sign, the entire skyline, and Santa Catalina Island off the coast, all in one sweep of the eye. The visual contrast is breathtaking: palm trees and city streets in the foreground, gleaming white peaks in the background. After a rain, Los Angeles feels freshly scrubbed and sparkling.

And as a bonus, sunsets following storms tend to be spectacular – with less dust in the air, the sky often ignites in vivid oranges and pinks reflecting off those distant snowy summits. Los Angeles in winter may not have blizzards, but with a rain-washed atmosphere and frosted mountains on the horizon, it puts on a show that rivals anywhere else.

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The day immediately after a rainstorm is the best time for jaw-dropping vistas. Drive up to a high perch like the Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Hills, or Kenneth Hahn Park and bring your camera. The air is unusually transparent, and you might capture that bucket-list shot of L.A.’s skyline against a backdrop of snow-covered peaks.

Night Sky Watching in Summer

Warm, clear summer nights inspire Angelenos to seek out the stars. While the city’s lights drown out many stars in the urban core, you can find darkness not far away.

Drive up into the Santa Monica Mountains or out to the desert, and you’ll see a surprising number of stars overhead – perhaps even the Milky Way on a moonless night. Even within the city, observatories and astronomy clubs host star parties (Griffith Observatory offers public telescope evenings) to help people glimpse planets and the Moon up close.

Through those telescopes, you might catch Saturn’s rings or the craters on the Moon, all while the glow of L.A. glitters below. There’s nothing quite like gazing at a distant cluster of stars or a passing satellite while Los Angeles twinkles in the background – it reminds you that even in this bright metropolis, the universe beyond still calls to us.

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For better stargazing, check the moon phase (darker skies during a new moon) and head to a known dark-sky spot like Malibu Creek State Park or up Angeles Crest Highway. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. You’ll be amazed how many more stars pop out after a short time away from city lights.

Seasonal Farmers Markets

One tasty way to mark the seasons in L.A. is at its farmers markets. The offerings evolve through the year: spring brings sweet strawberries, cherries and tender greens ; summer overflows with tomatoes, corn and juicy stone fruits; autumn offers pumpkins, apples and persimmons; winter brightens with citrus – oranges, tangerines and lemons – at their peak.

Thanks to Southern California’s climate, markets run all year, but those seasonal highlights show that even in Los Angeles, nature’s calendar is on display in every market stall.

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Each market has its specialties. Arrive early for the best selection of seasonal favorites (like the first peaches of summer or the sweetest mandarins in winter), and chat with the farmers. They’ll happily tell you what’s best that week and what crops are coming up next.

Santa Ana Winds

Southern California’s notorious Santa Ana winds often arrive in autumn – hot, dry gusts blowing out from the desert. They bring extremely low humidity and can dramatically raise wildfire danger, but they also scrub the air clean.

During a Santa Ana, the sky turns a brilliant blue with endless visibility , and by evening, the sunsets are especially intense and fiery. It’s an eerie yet exhilarating seasonal phenomenon unique to L.A.’s fall.

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If Santa Ana winds are blowing, be cautious with any open flames or BBQs. On the upside, it’s a great time to visit a vista point (like a beach bluff or mountain overlook) because the air is exceptionally clear and views are stunning.

Winter Snow Play at Mount Baldy

One of L.A.’s winter delights is that snowy mountains are just a short drive away. Mount Baldy (10,064 ft) and the surrounding peaks often receive a dusting of snow in winter.

That means you can spend the morning sledding or throwing snowballs in a mountain village and be back in the city by afternoon. The contrast is magical: picture downtown Los Angeles or palm-lined streets with gleaming white peaks as a backdrop. Locals love taking quick trips up Angeles Crest or to Mt. Baldy Resort after a storm – it’s a chance to enjoy real winter cold and snow, then return to mild weather below.

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If you head to the snow, go early (roads and parking fill up on weekends) and carry tire chains if required. Also, check road conditions before you go, especially after storms .

Suggested Seasonal Routes

  • Spring in Bloom: Griffith Park (wildflower hike) → Pasadena (jacaranda streets) → Malibu hills (poppy fields).
  • Summer Coastline Escape: Venice Beach (foggy dawn walk) → Malibu’s El Matador Beach (sunny midday) → Topanga Overlook (sunset views).
  • Fall Clarity Day: Eaton Canyon (morning canyon trail) → Mount Wilson (panoramic afternoon) → Downtown L.A. rooftop (clear night vistas).
  • Winter Contrast: Mount Baldy (snowy morning play) → Descanso Gardens (green afternoon) → Palos Verdes cliffs (Pacific sunset).

Each of these mini-itineraries strings together seasonal highlights so you can experience L.A.’s contrasts in a single day. In what other city could you start with a wildflower hike, then walk under blooming trees, and end by the ocean, or play in snow in the morning and watch a beach sunset a few hours later? Los Angeles truly lets you chase the essence of each season in the span of a day.

The Takeaway

Los Angeles doesn’t show off its seasons, but they’re always there for those who take the time to notice. Each one adds a new layer to the city’s landscape. Spring covers the hills in green and wildflowers, summer stretches long and golden by the ocean, autumn brings clear skies and soft light, and winter refreshes everything with crisp air and snow on the distant mountains.

Experiencing Los Angeles through the year means watching the city change in subtle but beautiful ways. You’ll see jacaranda petals scattered across sidewalks in May, sunlight glowing warm and low on fall afternoons, and rain-washed streets shining under winter skies. Every season leaves its own quiet impression.

May not have four dramatic seasons, but it has hundreds of small ones, shifts in color, texture, and light that make the city feel alive and ever-changing. Paying attention to these details reveals a truer version of LA, one that moves gently through time, always familiar yet always new.

FAQ

Q1. Does Los Angeles actually have seasons?
Yes, subtle but distinct. Expect wildflowers and green hills in spring, fog and warmth in summer, clear air in fall, and snowy peaks in winter.

Q2. When do jacaranda trees bloom in LA?
Late May to early June. For peak purple streets, visit Pasadena, Long Beach, or West LA around Memorial Day.

Q3. When is wildflower season near LA?
Late March to mid-April, depending on rainfall. Antelope Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains often show poppies and lupines.

Q4. What are the best winter activities in LA?
Whale watching (Dec to Apr), snow play at Mount Baldy, and clear post-rain views from Griffith or Baldwin Hills.

Q5. What causes the summer “June Gloom”?
A coastal marine layer with low clouds that blanket beaches in the morning and burn off by midday, softening early light.

Q6. How do Santa Ana winds affect LA weather?
They arrive mainly in fall, bringing dry desert air, brilliant visibility, and fiery sunsets, along with high wildfire risk.

Q7. What’s the best time for hiking in Los Angeles?
Autumn and late winter offer cooler temps, clear air, and sharp views after light rains.

Q8. When can I see snow from the city?
After winter storms, look east from LA’s hills or beaches to spot snow-dusted San Gabriels behind the skyline.

Q9. Can I visit Joshua Tree year-round?
Yes, but spring and fall offer the most comfortable temps and best golden-hour light. Summer can exceed 100°F.

Q10. Where’s the best place for stargazing near LA?
Malibu Creek, Angeles Crest, and desert areas near Joshua Tree, or attend Griffith Observatory’s free public telescope nights.

Q11. What’s in season at LA farmers markets year-round?
Spring brings berries, summer has peaches and tomatoes, fall offers apples and persimmons, and winter brings citrus, plus year-round greens and avocados.

Q12. Can you experience multiple climates in one day in LA?
Absolutely. Snow in the morning, desert sun by noon, and a beach sunset in the evening, all within a two-hour drive radius.