Originating in the 1930s, Original Muscle Beach was like any other park, maintained by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. It hadn't earned its title until the 1940s, as gymnastic and acrobatic exhibitions attracted anywhere from wrestlers and circus performers to celebrities and bodybuilders. Little by little, beachgoers contributed their equipment, expanding the park as a community; equipment including parallel bars, rings, ropes, and benches you can still work out with today!
Just a 15-minute bike ride down the popular and beautiful Santa Monica Bike Path, you'll come across Venice Beach, with more culture waiting to unfold before you. By the time the fitness movement in California took off in 1989, just two blocks north of Venice Boulevard erupted Muscle Beach Venice, where beachgoers could focus more on the barbell, bodybuilding, and weightlifting. Celebrities like Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger have trained in the weight pen, amping the park's popularity.
Aside from the fitness parks, those who choose an edgier form of burning calories make their way to the trendy Venice Beach Skate Park, located conveniently on the Ocean Front Walk area. Known as the birthplace of modern skateboarding, the city of Venice finally built the park in 2009, bringing this community together and creating a buzzing hub for tourists. Aside from skateboarders, you'll also see lots of roller skaters grooving to their music, and if you're lucky, you'll catch a choreographed dance on wheels!
Fall by the shore in L.A. is a perfect time to be outside.