Elysian Park, Los Angeles, CA

Elysian Park is both a neighborhood and the second largest park in Los Angeles, a 575-acre spread of ridges and canyons with Dodger Stadium tucked into Chavez Ravine at its center. Living here means having the city's oldest public park as your immediate backyard. Housing is limited to small pockets along the park's edges, such as Solano Canyon and the streets near Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Street. Blocks near Chinatown and Echo Park feel more urban, while the canyon streets are quieter. The Portola Trail loops about five miles through the grounds, Angels Point gives a wide view over Dodger Stadium and downtown, and the Chavez Ravine Arboretum has old specimen trees and open fields. There is also a disc golf course, the Elysian Park Recreation Center on Academy Road, and the steep Baxter Street steps. A small cluster on Alpine Street handles food. Baby Bistro serves a six-dish tasting menu with natural wine in a cottage, and Perilla, in the same space, is a Korean lunch counter known for its banchan and garden patio. Eastside Italian Deli makes sandwiches just down the block. For groceries and errands, most people head into Chinatown or Echo Park, both a short drive away. The 110 and 5 freeways skirt the park's edges, which makes downtown commutes quick when traffic cooperates. The big tradeoff is baseball. On Dodger game nights, Stadium Way, Sunset and the surrounding streets clog with cars, and parking disappears. The rest of the time Elysian Park is so green and quiet it is easy to forget downtown sits just over the ridge.