This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.
As a native Los Angeleno, there’s actually a lot of “typical” L.A. things I still have never done. This past summer I interned in Hollywood so I was lucky enough to finally walk the Walk of Fame and pass the Chinese Theater and Pantages on way to lunch daily. And I just recently went to Runyon for the first time to watch the sunset and view over L.A. (it was GORGEOUS by the way) and also to Venice Beach for a roommate bonding night before we got swamped with school responsibilities. Also for the first time ever—and to get into the Halloween spirit—my friends and I bought tickets for the L.A. Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park.
While the atmosphere was fun and spooky—complete with creepy music, macabre theater, scary-go-round, fog machines and psychics—it was missing one of the most important aspects of a “haunted” hayride: monsters. While there were plenty throughout the hayride itself, there were only three monsters in front of the park and they were unfortunately more comical than scary. This was pretty disappointing considering that the majority of our time (about an hour and a half) was spent waiting in line for the only 20-minute hayride.
The hayride itself was pretty entertaining, but it was much too short and seriously uncomfortable considering they sardined more people in the back than the tractor could comfortably carry. I unfortunately cannot comment on the haunted mazes considering they were at an added cost.
While the Haunted Hayride is great for those faint of heart, if you are like me and seeking a real scare, I would recommend Knott’s Scary Farm or Halloween Horror Nights. At least this is another thing I can cross off my L.A. Bucket List!
Next up on my list is a hike up to the Hollywood sign!