Carlin G Smith Recreation Center

This review is strictly for the preschool. VERY VERY unsafe. I won’t be surprised if a child ends up disappearing from this pre-​school. My two year old child was found outside on the road.

This park is really great. Stunning. They do not have swings if that’s what you’re looking for.

One of my son’s favorite places to go. Tucked in Mt. Washington is a great neighborhood rec center. The center is small, but cozy and the staff very friendly and personable. There are two playgrounds there, and one is rather new and fun for smaller kids. For the older bunch, there is a decent Basketball court where the nets are actually usually on, and a steep walking trail down Rainbow Canyon. Not too long, but due to its steepness you don’t want it very lengthy. For the healthier bunch adjacent to it is also the Mavis Stairs where one can add some stair stepping if desired. The center also offers some recreational classes there for adults and children. I took a Tai Chi class there once. Great place, but you’ll need to drive up some steep narrow curvy lanes to get there (gps recommended)

Another ‘hidden gem’ in Los Angeles. Well. it is for me at least. It’s a nice little surprise to find in the Highland Park /​Mt. Washington area of LA, that’s for sure.
As a youngin’, my parents would drop my sister and I off at the day camp that was being ran up at Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center. This place basically helped me map out Los Angeles as a kid. We went on local field trips every other day and almost 1 weekly ‘big’ trip (Raging Waters, Knott’s, Universal, etc.).
The local field trips were more or less to the free pools throughout LA or a beach. basically something with water involved. From the Griffith Park pool to the OG Echo Park pool right by the freeway entrance. Zuma Beach to Huntington to Santa Monica and every beach in between.
It’s very picturesque with plenty of shade /​trees and you can find a lot of various creatures (humans and animals alike) occupying the habitat. The park is ‘layered’. no real flatness to it other then the 3 sections it contains. from the very bottom you walk up a steep little trail to the first level. which has a simple basketball court and in a sandbox sits a stand-​alone nothing else around it tire swing! Yeah!
Walk up some stairs to the the next level which has plenty of shade along with a decent sized playground. This level was more or less a litter box for all the wildlife up here. somewhat regularly a child walked out of the sandbox with poop attached to his or her shoe or smudged somewhere on their clothes.
Finally the third and last level of this little world has an actual recreation center which is two stories along with another decent sized playground.
I remember the bus that would come pick us up couldn’t fit up Avenue 46 so it’d wait at the bottom of the hill for the entire camp to walk down. Same would happen after a trip, we’d get dropped off at the bottom and have to walk up through bushes, trees, rocks, sand and dirt in sandals and swim trunks. Good times. I recall drinking lots of water and sweating both up and down this thing, so if you want a good workout. this is your place bruh!
Anyways, the entire park itself isn’t «huge», yet walking up through each level you’d swear you just went through Runyon Canyon. Not really. but with less crowds, wide open spaces and a tranquil environment. Carlin G. Rec Center and the park it resides in are a place to check out, hike, bring your dog or just relax. Peacefulness in LA is hard to find. So I went and found it for you. You’re welcome.

I love this park. It slopes up pretty dramatically from bottom to top. There is a basketball court, lots of beautiful trees, benches and wildlife. This is not a «let’s go and picnic with the kids» kind of park. It’s a sit on your ass and think deep thoughts kind of park. Lots of wildlife sightings: Coyotes, racoons, squirrels, hawks, falcons, bats, owls, ravens, snakes and, unfortunately, people. D’oh!