Comments on: Where do I go to drive through the LA River &/Or Glendale Narrows?

Question: Where do I go to drive through the LA River &/Or Glendale Narrows?

Wanderer7 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:05:32 -0800

Where do I go to drive through the LA River &/Or Glendale Narrows?

I've lived in LA about four years now and it's time I drive through those iconic scenes in movies. (Drive, Grease, Terminator 2 etc...) Does anyone have EXACT directions on where I can go to drive down that area even if it's for just a half mile? I know it's somewhere along the LA River or Glendale Narrows but I don't know where to begin. Feel free to share your experiences if it was at night or during the daytime.

Also, I'd be willing to settle for a bike ride but it has to be down below in the concrete riverbed and not along the edges. Thanks!

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:44:44 -0800

I'm confused- you want to drive your car in the riverbed?

You can't do that in real life. Yes parts are mostly dry in the summer, but it's a river.

By: erst

erst — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:55:02 -0800

It is neither legal nor smart, but it apparently it's possible.

By: BlahLaLa

BlahLaLa — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:06:49 -0800

Arrange your bail money beforehand.

By: erst

erst — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:14:12 -0800

*cough*

By: carsonb

carsonb — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:23:55 -0800

It's really easy and not (AFAIK, which isn't far) as illegal to get down to the riverbed on a bike. Park at the zoo or somewhere near the I5/134 interchange and get on the bike path next to the river. It's mostly concrete from there 'til you get to about Los Feliz Blvd. then it switches to the greenway and navigating the bottom gets tricky. There a cool rickety footbridge just south of LFB too. They're also doing construction as you get closer to the Fletcher bridge as of a few weeks ago, which could mean one of two things: getting chased away by construction workers/security/police (where 'away' means 'back up on the bike path buddy!') or seeing crazy weird dams set up to redirect the water flow right up close. The greenway is home to some people, be warned.

The path ends at the 110, as does the greenway, and it's pretty easy to get a bike down to the concrete channel from there. Alternatively, and this won't really help you relive the semi chase in T2 but, you can sign up for kayak tours and bike tours and walking tours of the LA River at the FoLAR website.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:27:03 -0800

Oh and mandymanwasregistered has hosted an LA meetup along the river in the past. We pretty much did the route I described and back, finishing with a huge lunch at India Sweets & Spices. We should do it again!

By: WasabiFlux

WasabiFlux — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:46:14 -0800

For the Terminator 2 wash chase, start here, go west.

By: mandymanwasregistered

mandymanwasregistered — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:51:33 -0800

Yes, drive your car under the 6th St bridge. The cops are never there patroling the area for random people who want to drive into the river for their photoshoot.

You really don't want to bike in the glendale narrows. Unless by bike you mean swim/wade through mud and plants.

As for the concrete bottomed areas, go for it. It's bumpy and flat. Yes, you are trespassing. Yes the water moves a lot faster than you might think--the concrete hardly impedes the flow. So stay away from the water.

Why don't you just walk down in there once it's dark?

The thing about urban exploration is that you can't just ask the internet for explicit instructions, you have to go figure it out for youself.