Silver Lake In Los Angeles

Silver Lake is the in place for the hip crowd, offering plenty of trendy bars and clubs, vegan cafés, indie music venues, coffee shops, boutique shops, and Asian fusion eateries. It's attractive to architecture fans for its modernist buildings. It also offers Silver Lake itself, a reservoir with a dog park, walking trail, and green space where people can go to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

Silver Lake is a neighborhood that fully embraces its hipster lifestyle and community. If you're looking for an exciting food and cocktail scene, you'll find it here. It's become something of a foodie destination in L.A. and offers a strong sense of cultural identity that has made it a very trendy place to be. It's been a cultural destination for at least 10 years, but the latest dining and nightlife additions have made it even more popular.

Silver Lake In Los Angeles - one of the highlights of 10 Most Popular Neighbourhoods in Los Angeles (Read all about Los Angeles here)

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Highlights of Silver Lake

The foodie scene is the biggest reason people travel to Silver Lake. Here you can find the hippest options for food, including ethnic cuisine you won't find elsewhere, like Israeli food, coffee houses transplanted from New York with an industrial-chic vibe, Mexican restaurants situated in a cultured outdoor garden, and world cuisine bistros where you can dine and pick up foods and sauces to take home.

Silver Lake itself is also a major feature of the area. This man-made lake offers a 2.2-mile, heavily trafficked hiking and biking trail that's rated as a great challenge for outdoor adventurers of all skill levels. It's a serene walking area where you can escape from the busy crowds of downtown L.A. and just get back to nature. The reservoir is accessible year-round and is a popular destination with visitors and locals alike for its open green space.

History of Silver Lake

Silver Lake has seen many developments over the years, starting in 1904 when the Fletcher Drive Viaduct was constructed for the Pacific Electric Railway Company—the iconic Red Cars. By the 1930s, Walt Disney had built his first studio here at Hyperion Avenue, which is why the studio uses the term Hyperion in its imprints to this very day. Through the '60s, the area hosted a strong Latino community.

The area is very friendly to the LGBT community and, in fact, was one of the earliest places in the L.A. region where the community could freely express themselves. By the 1970s, it was a hub and nexus of the LGBT community in L.A., one of several such neighborhoods. It was home to Harry Hay, who founded the Mattachine Society and has been a vital presence in the fight for LGBT rights for decades.

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Good to know about Silver Lake

Silver Lake overall is a diverse and welcoming community that's family-friendly. It is also by and large a dog-friendly community, and the reservoir is considered a dog-friendly park. Dogs must be kept on leashes, however, and most businesses won't allow dogs inside unless they are service animals. While the trail around the reservoir allows bicycles, it's primarily used for hiking and jogging, so bikers should be aware of their surroundings.

California is a progressive state as far as making efforts to be disability-friendly, and Silver Lake is no exception. The sidewalks, streets, and trails here are generally wheelchair accessible, and most businesses will make necessary accommodations for those with disabilities. Just contact the business you'll be visiting to ask about your needs. Because this place is a foodie destination, it's a good idea to contact restaurants in advance to see if you need reservations.

This article includes opinions of the Go Guides editorial team. Hotels.com compensates authors for their writing appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.