La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles: Hours, Address, La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Reviews: 4.5/5
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Explore the world's only active, urban Ice Age excavation site. Inside the Page Museum is where we showcase the best fossils, animals, and plants that have been discovered here - mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and more. Experience the Ice Age come to life with our Ice Age Encounters show. Outside check out the La Brea Tar Pits where tar is still bubbling and our active fossil excavation sites to see what our excavators have uncovered today. Make the most of your visit with our Excavator Tour. Get the behind-the-scenes story and see scientists working on recently excavated fossils, walk around our famous Lake Pit, and visit our live dig site where scientists discover new Ice Age specimens every day. Free with museum admission.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Mid-Wilshire
Best nearby
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Contribute
Popular mentions
4.5
3,177 reviews
Excellent
1,653
Very good
1,160
Average
315
Poor
31
Terrible
19
atlas993
Elk Grove, CA466 contributions
Jul. 2021 • Family
I don’t know what I expected, but it was less cool than I expected. Our kids are 4 and 9 and they weren’t that interested in any of it. It didn’t help that it was hot the day we went, which made it rough dragging them around to look at the different pits. If you’re in the area, I’d take a quick stop to look at the tar pits, but I don’t know if I would pay the money to go into the museum. It wasn’t worth the cost of admission.
Written 22 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
jennifera399
Reading, Pennsylvania, United States142 contributions
Jul. 2021
The park is an amazing site to see areas of bubbling asphalt, hidden asphalt, and other areas of tar to learn how the animals were caught off guard, and what animals they found in each area. The museum itself is a must see as you will learn plenty of what prehistoric life was about native to the area. There is a nice garden to walk around the museum as well as a reasonably priced gift shopt.
Written 18 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Dean A
Sheffield, UK189 contributions
Nov. 2021
Park and Tar Pits are free to wonder around. Museums charge for entry. Definately worth visiting - the park is pleasant enough, but the Tar pits make is special and worth the trip. Plenty of info boards to tell you what it's all about.
Written 12 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Napsterthecat
Huntsville, AL1,069 contributions
Nov. 2021
We had a great time on a Saturday with three adults. We got tickets on line before hand and added the movie which was worth the price. Very educational and enjoyable. It takes 2-3 hours to go through.
Written 23 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
pjmdvm
Atlanta, GA1,821 contributions
Oct. 2021 • Couples
The outside area is situated in a nice city park. The pits themselves are a little underwhelming, but that is part of their story. Who would think one unassuming "tiny" wet area covered by pine needles and leaves could swallow 27 Columbian Mammoths? They excavated over 100 pits, but have 4-5 for you to view. There are a good number of signs and some equipment to further explain how they dug and what they found/find. We viewed the smallish museum first because of time limitations, but think viewing the outside part first might have made the museum, densely packed with fossils, even more impressive. The museum building is beautiful and has a lot of space to move around the exhibits and a decent sized gift shop. They even have a replica of baby Lyuba one of the most complete wooly mammoth specimen (previously frozen in permafrost) about 42,000 years old found near the Yuribey River on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia in 2007. We were unable to view the movie (again due to time constraints), and they were nice enough to refund that portion of our ticket without us asking. I will definitely plan better to see this if we go back. The parking lot was secure and large. Overall, a smallish but modern, well-done museum and park. I wish they would optimize the lighting with all of the glass around the exhibits since it makes it hard to get a decent photo. We walked a mile over to The Grove for dinner afterwards. The LA County museum of art was also near the tar pits-- we would have gone had we had more time.
Written 18 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
JS19772017
Kansas City, KS62 contributions
Oct. 2021 • Family
A unique place that you would never think would exist in the middle of LA. The kids loved this visit. The museum is very interesting and explains how the fossils came to be from animals over many years getting stuck in the natural tar in this area. Highly recommended.
Written 21 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
grangemont
Orofino, ID122 contributions
Aug. 2021
Nice museum and well marked walking path to view the tar pits. The grounds are well kept and the museum offers hand sanitizer.
Very informative
Very informative
Written 10 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Billy Jack
Mesa, AZ8 contributions
Oct. 2021
This was my second visit-- las was about 20 years ago. Loved the "scientists in a fishbowl" concept being able to view the research going on and seeing the actual active pits. around the museum.
Written 2 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
CHRIS L
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK461 contributions
Sep. 2021
this museum is interested, wierd to see a tar pit right in the heart of LA! tar pits are amazing and the museum was cool. lots of bones and info on animals of the past.
musuem is pretty small and doesnt take too long, there is a 3D movie to watch, but most of the fun is outside at the tar pits.
musuem is pretty small and doesnt take too long, there is a 3D movie to watch, but most of the fun is outside at the tar pits.
Written 25 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mamjensen
Modesto, CA465 contributions
Aug. 2021 • Friends
We had a great time at the museum and park. It is amazing what they have pulled out of the ground here and are still extracting! The museum is excellent and small enough to visit in an hour or so. Very worthwhile to come here - and right in the middle of downtown LA!
Written 29 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Kelly J
United States76 contributions
Does the outside portion have different hours than opening at 9:30 a.m. like the museum?
Inspire787185
Dallas, TX1 contribution
Are all areas wheelchair and walker friendly
Statenali
Westminster, CO64 contributions
If I remember correctly, most areas are.
Chantelle M
Melbourne, Australia4 contributions
besides the farmers market, is there a cafe inside or close by that we can grab some lunch within a short walking distance?
motorcar1
Dublin, Ireland7,926 contributions
There is a nice Starbucks down the street and many others cafes and coffee shops. The Petersen Auto Museum has a real nice coffee shop and it’s nearby.
Chantelle M
Melbourne, Australia4 contributions
how much time should i allocate to see the pits and museum?
John F
Auckland Central, New Zealand196 contributions
Depending on the age of the group I suggest 2 hours plus. If you take part in any of the guided activities or watch the movie then allow more. For food we recommend going up Fairfax Ave for a few blocks to the LA Farmers Market. This is a real gem, has plenty of fantastic food, handmade ice cream and lots and lots of shade.
volcanogirl
Texas13,121 contributions
I was reading some of the reviews online and saw photos of an open pit with bones that you can look down into. It looked like an active dig site. Is that still open? Where is it? We just visited and never saw anything like that even though we took the guided tour. We saw Project 23, but everything was in boxes there.
Roberta P
55 contributions
We were there first week in July we saw open digs not sure why you didn’t!
janine m
New Plymouth, New Zealand53 contributions
hi - does anyone know if there is free wifi @ the tar pits - thank you
Robert O
Los Angeles, CA98 contributions
I don't think so -- I didn't see any signs for free wifi and it's not referenced in their site. On that note my cell phone reception at the museum was a bit slow - with text messages delayed.
ElizabethGT
Dublin, OH188 contributions
Is there any problem getting a parking space in the lot? We will be going around 10 a.m. on Saturday. Thanks for any advice!
JandAinAZ
Chandler, AZ57 contributions
There is a large parking lot behind the museum. It is not free to park in it though. I think it was $12. You can also park on the streets around it but it is tight around there and there are meters. There is no time limit to park in the parking lot, just until the museum closes. There are also another museums or two next to the pits so if you wanted to look into them you could leave your car in the lot and just walk to them as well.
Carol/Joe
Wilmington, Delaware12 contributions
We have a 9 hour layover in LAX, actually less after going through customs, and we would like to see La Brea Tar Pits during that time. About how much could we expect to spend for a Uber or Taxi ride there from LAX, (it's 10 miles). Also, are there lockers at LAX for us to stow our carry-on bags, outside of security because we'll be coming from the international terminal and we would want to stow them before we go through security at the domestic terminal. We don't land until 11:40 so figure it takes us 1 hour minimum to get through customs, we wouldn't leave the airport until probably at least 1:00 and they close at 5:00, would that work?
sgathright1
Spring, TX59 contributions
Hi Carol/Joe,
Not sure on the lockers at LAX, but being such a big airport, I bet they have something available. Might check the airport website on that one.
As far as the Tar Pits are concerned, I think you should have plenty of time. LA traffic is unpredictable, but you've given yourself a big enough window to do the Tar Pits and LACMA, if you wanted to (next to each other).
Frequently Asked Questions about La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is open:
- Sun - Sat 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
- We recommend booking La Brea Tar Pits and Museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 15 La Brea Tar Pits and Museum tours on Tripadvisor
- According to Tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience La Brea Tar Pits and Museum:
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- (0.03 km) The Counter Miracle Mile
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