Griffith Park & Southern Railroad

If you have children this is a great place to enjoy a small train ride and have the children take a ride on a pony. The train ride is short but any small child will love that they are riding in a train and they have great views to horses and a small Littlel village.
The pony rides are great at 3 dollars and they will ride around twice on the path way.
There is also a carousel were children 3 and up can enjoy a ride…
Over all great place will visit soon again.
A great place to have lunch bring some sandwiches or buy some snacks at the snack bar in the park.

Took my 2 year old here for his pre birthday weekend surprise! He had such a great time! He loved the train ride. Wait time was reasonable (5 – 7 min)
We rode the ponies, ate popcorn!
He had such a great time.
Perfect for the whole family. We had grandma and grandpa with us and everyone was pleased!

great fun for kids. the train in the holidays is nicely lit, the price is ok, there is a line but not too bad. there’s also pony rides nearby which are also fun.

As a father of a toddler, my Unilocal reviews are now trending toward the family-​oriented endeavors that parents do with kids. I’ve now become an aficionado of trains. Griffith Park and Southern Railroad sits off the Los Feliz entrance next to the pony rides so it’s a good place to take a kid. The train is a larger gauge train that runs on propane. The cars are sit in style and not sit on style like LA Steamers. The props and ride are okay but not as elaborate as some. This one is not as fun as the other trains down the road.

I bring my kids here every once in a while, and they have a blast every time! But this review is specific to our visit a week ago for my daughter’s birthday. We got there before the afternoon rush so we were able to snag a train ride all to ourselves. A big shout out and THANK YOU to Juan for making our daughter feel so special. He gave a special dedication for my daughter over the P.A. The look on her face was priceless!

I love this place! I’ve been coming here since I was a child and now I have the chance to bring my own. My little guy enjoyed the ride! It’s definitely a great place for your family to enjoy a short time out. The train ride is very cheap and affordable. They also have horses that the kids can ride. Great for family time!

I found this place on Unilocal and thought we’d take the little guy there. He loved it. A couple of bucks per person for an okay train ride. I wasn’t expecting Disneyland, but they could hide the roads or do a little more to decorate.
The real excitement was the subsequent pony ride. For $ 3, your kid can do two laps on a pony and these guys go pretty fast. He loved it though. They also let your kid stay on the pony for as many times as you want to feed them tickets. This makes the line go slower, but seemed to work at least during the time we were there. We did not wait long.
Get there when they open at 10am! We always do and got on the train right away. When we left the park around 11:30am, the train line was big.

I love this place and I will ALWAYS love this place. This is something we must keep in our community. I’ve been coming here since I was about 3 years old and getting on the train is as much fun now as it was then.
Free parking, great staff and only $ 3.50 per person. Bring the kids here and I suggest the horse ride as well for them! The simulator is old school but just as fun!

I’m always looking for my sons to enjoy nature. To appreciate the simpler things in life with family is always the best way not to only create memories but for my boys to bond (being different ages, 7,5 & 4) can be hard to find something they will all experience.
Getting there was super easy. There are plenty of signs to direct your way, and if you happen to miss the huge sign to your right (I did ^_​^) keep to your left and simply be directed back again right on your way to their parking lot.
As we get near my sons began to get excited about everything they saw. the train was blowing its whistle, but the ponies far away caught their undivided attention.
It is cash only, and three dollars per ride. (I suggest buying at least two rides per kid in advance, otherwise you’ll be going back and forth as I did he he!) There are two speeds: slow for kids under three years of age, and medium, which is a bit faster, for older kids up to a hundred pounds limit.
They were exhilarated!.. to say the very least. laughed as they were «galloping off into the sunset» haha! Which it really was three mini laps in a very well staffed place.
The staff members take your ticket and ask the children on which lane they’re going to ride. And off they go! They take and securely strap them to their respective horses. And once there’s a good enough of a little group, they run alongside the children riding the ponies, always making sure every kid is not too scared, or if the straps were (god forbid) to become lose. It never find happen and my sons were laughing their little faces off through and through every single ride (this is the part where I remind you of buying several tickets for each kid in advance ;)).
We also rode the little train, they enjoyed it so much that they rose their little hands as the train would go under trees. the one complaint I guess would be that, and this is on their own words «charles:this train is too slow. Jeramee: the ponies were faster right!?. To what Noah said: dude! Mama drives waaaay faster than this» hahaha!!! After laughing I only could respond that:” that’s the downside of having a Mexican Mom :/​” (Haha!!)
It was a magnificent experience. they’re still talking about it and asking «when will they be back?!“w

Love the friendly staff here. It’s $ 2.75 for kids and adults. Senior is $ 2.25. So that’s why I tell my mom to take the kids. 18 months is free. They also have a simulator for $ 3.00.
Train ride is about a mile long and about less than 10 minutes. They also have a eating place here if you like.

We came here to bring our 2 year old for a train ride before going to the Griffith Observatory. We checked the website and it says that they close at 4.15pm during winter.
We got there at 3.45pm and we were lucky to get the last train tickets. The ticket counter closed at 3.50pm and the last train ride ended at 4.10pm. They really have to get their timing right coz it’s very confusing. Stating that the last ticket have to be bought BY 3.50pm would be helpful for those like me who thinks the last train is at 4.15pm. Pff.
I’m just glad our son got a ride. Happy son happy mommy!

First of all, make sure you exit Los Feliz from 5 South, veer right (very close) to enter on Crystal Springs Road — note its a one way street. You will see pony rides to right and the train station is next door after refreshment stand. This place is cash only rides for about $ 3 and food $ 4 – 7.
Train rides are located here and other side (Travel town) of park. I preferred this because more scenic route and a good mile or so. You pass green landscapes, over a bridge and see ponies. The travel town you see more locomotives but goes around twice including view of museum.
My son and I enjoyed the ride very much. We were there for couple of hours, walked around, observe ponies (son wouldn’t sit still and clingy so he didnt ride), and they also have wagon rides. My friends son rode the slow pony by himself, almost 2 years old. Impressed!
Nice inexpensive place to enjoy outdoors. Nicer if you bring picnic, we brought snacks. Also come early to avoid crowds although plenty of parking.

Very fun place. Train ride and horse riding. My son loves both. I wish they didn’t charge the parents to ride with a child that under 4 or anyone that is mentally challenged. At 3, they can ride by themselves, but you just don’t trust them yet. So you have to get a ticket to ride with them. The parent doesn’t care about the train ride, they just want the kid to be safe. It should be a judgement call thing. As the train operator, you can tell which kids or mentally challenge person needs someone to ride with them, you should just let them on for free.

«Come on, ride the train,
Hey, ride it, woo woo.» — «C’mon Ride It (the Train), Quad City DJ’s
Having some time to kill before boarding the shuttle to the Greek, I thought a thrilling ride on the Griffith Park choo choo sounded just right.
Prices are cheap for a 9 minute ride.
My caboose hardly fits in the caboose
The signs says to keep hands & feet inside cars. Doesn’t specify other body parts ;p
And, a-​here we go!
Oh, this ride isn’t too bad
Wait, whu? Oh Gawd, we’re going too fast!!!
AAGH! We almost hit that structure!
Oh no! I’m claustrophobic! Let me off, let me off!
Please! Please! No more!
Whew! We made it!
Quite a fun ride! A cheap way to entertain the kids (big & small). I only pee’d myself a lil ;p The horse/​pony rides were closed for the day, so I didn’t get to check it out this time.
Gracias, Señor conductor!

This is all about the young and the young at heart and a fun and quick way to hop on a ride in the middle of Griffith park. It’s directly adjacent to the Pony Rides and there is usually ample and free parking.
It’s a relative bargain for the $ 2.75 to hop on this somewhat large scale kiddie train. This is perfect for the 2 to 6 year old range as the train chugs along at a very slow and steady pace.
The train ride makes a large loop that takes you past the Pony rides and the stables.
The route itself used to be dotted with an Indian village and tee pees that are no longer present. The western ghost town diorama is in the process of being renovated but it appears it has been stalled for sometime. The scale model of the water tower is still front and center near the station as are some scale buildings and
a smattering of remnants from a bygone time.
I would not go out of my way to take a little one but if you are already enjoying the day at Griffith Park or the L.A. Zoo, it is certainly worth a go. It would be nice to see the city pump some money into the grounds to refresh this former hidden gem to it’s past heyday glory.

Cool place to bring the kiddos and enjoy a couple hours of exploring. I remember when my mom used to bring me here as a kid, now I’m bringing my child here, now that’s consistency! Fun for all ages, kids small and big, even senior citizens were riding the train.
I came on a Sunday afternoon with my daughter, we decided to have a mommy/​daughter date. Parking was a breeze, lots of available parking even on a holiday weekend. First stop was the train, the tickets were super affordable, around $ 2.75 a piece to ride the train, you cant get prices like that anywhere these days. The train goes in a relatively large circle, all the employees are super nice and the line went fast.
Next, mini me wanted to ride the ponies, they have ponies for young and older kids. My lil brat is 7 years old so she went on the big ponies. The pony ride was also affordable, about $ 3-​$ 5 a ride. The workers are guiding the horses and making sure that the kids are directed to their parents right after.
I love this place, and so did my daughter. In the vicinity of the pony rides and train there are concessionaires set up for little afternoon snacks. Also, a little down the road there is a Merry Go Round. Griffith Park has so much to offer for families.

This is the closest thing my son could experience locally to Thomas the Train. I had to sell him on the fact that the train was one of Thomas’s friends which he was pleased with.
I was expecting it to take a long to get on the train ride with my son but it was surprisingly very quick. The people were very pleasant and helpful. The cost for the ride is $ 2.75 if your child is above the age of 18 months. Great experience, and it’s right next to the pony rides. My son had a blast and the entire process was very simple and smooth from parking to the actual train ride. Highly recommend it to any parent.

I hate to admit it but it was a longer ride, and cheaper, and possibly better, than my beloved kid’s train ride outside the San Diego Zoo.
It’s not quite as scenic as the Zoo/​Balboa Park train and the landscaping could use a refresher but overall, it’s a lovely, relaxing ride and great fun for kids and adults.
And that’s all that I have to say about that.

For my 700^th review!
3 generations of my family have enjoyed the trains (and pony rides) from my parents, myself and now my son. What’s not to love, what’s not to dedicate your 700^th 5-​star review to the Griffith Park & Southern Railroad.
$ 2.50 for adult or child and $ 2.00 for seniors. What’s not to love about the prices for a 10 minute trip down memory lane and to wave at all jerks in their cars coming off the freeway that are crowding up Los Feliz Blvd (I can say that cause I’ve lived in the Los Feliz area all my life).
On this weekend, one of the trains broke down and the conductors were able to roll out a 3^rd train to operate for the busy weekend crowds (they had 2 continuously running). We waited about 10 mins for the conductors to bring in the replacement. The conductors (they were actually young gals and guys) were really nice and looked like they actually enjoyed operating the trains. The lines were long but moved pretty fast. Good stuff!
A must do for the young, old and in between! BUT… don’t expect anything special… it’s just a nice relaxing ride around the pony rides and part of the park.

Even as adult and even as a soon to be adult my 17 year old nephew was Tia let’s go on the train, He had and I still think does have an obsession with choo choo’s. He first words weren’t’ even mom, They where Choo Choo… so when my nephew suggested we go for a trip somewhere (since they always tell you where apparently your train is taking you too. we where headed to Arizona) I was more then pleased to say okay since I have such fond memories of bringing him here all Thur his youth and also mines.
I can’t recall the prices back then, but I think $ 2.00 and some change is really reasonable.
I cant’ wait to carry on the tradition of this place with my own children.
The simplest things to put a smile on your face are as simple in life as a choo choo ride!