Looking for the best drive up spots in Los Angeles to watch the sunset? This guide will take you to some of the region’s most spectacular overlooks where you can park nearby and enjoy unforgettable views as the sun drops below the horizon.
Each destination offers something different, from panoramic city skylines and mountain vistas to dramatic ocean cliffs, making it easy to find the perfect place for your next evening outing.
This guide features some of the best drive up sunset overlooks in Los Angeles, along with helpful tips to make the most of your visit. Discover peaceful ocean vistas, dramatic mountain scenery, and elevated viewpoints overlooking the city, plus practical information on parking, nearby attractions, and the best times to arrive before sunset.
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1 – Jerome C. Daniel Overlook (Mulholland Drive)
Description:
High above Los Angeles along the famous curves of Mulholland Drive, the Jerome C. Daniel Overlook offers some of the most impressive panoramic views in the city. This drive-up viewpoint makes it easy to experience the Hollywood Hills without a hike.
Simply pull into the overlook, step out of your car, and take in sweeping views across the Los Angeles Basin, with Downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Mountains, and other familiar landmarks visible on clear days.
The overlook is one of the best places in Los Angeles to watch the sunset and stay for the city lights afterward. As the sun sinks below the horizon, the sky shifts through shades of gold, orange, and pink before thousands of lights begin to illuminate the neighborhoods below.
The change from daylight to night creates two completely different views from the same location, making it easy to spend an hour or more here.
Jerome C. Daniel Overlook is also one of the best places along Mulholland Drive to photograph the Hollywood Sign and the surrounding hills. The spacious overlook provides plenty of room to set up for wide-angle landscape shots or frame the skyline with the Hollywood Hills in the foreground.
Because it is one of the most popular stops along the Mulholland Scenic Parkway, the parking area often fills up around sunset, so arriving a little early gives you the best chance of getting a space.
Location: 7036 Mulholland Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068
2 – Hilltop Park (Signal Hill)
Description:
Hilltop Park at Signal Hill offers one of the broadest panoramic views you can find anywhere in Los Angeles County. From the summit, the landscape extends in nearly every direction, creating a fantastic 360 degree viewpoint that few other sunset destinations can match.
On clear evenings, you can see Downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, and the Port of Long Beach from the same hilltop.
Sunset transforms the view as warm light spreads across the coastline, city skyline, and harbor. The elevated location gives you an unobstructed perspective as the sun drops toward the horizon, followed by the gradual appearance of lights across Long Beach, the port, and surrounding communities.
The contrast between the natural landscape and the working waterfront makes this overlook different from many other sunset viewpoints around Los Angeles. It’s easy to see why it is so popular with Long Beach locals.
Street parking is available along Skyline Drive just below the park, followed by a short walk to the summit. The open grassy hill and paved pathways provide plenty of space to enjoy the changing views from different directions, making it easy to spend time here before and after sunset.
Also, Hilltop Park is only a few minutes from many of Long Beach’s best restaurants, making it easy to pair an evening at the overlook with dinner afterward.
From upscale waterfront dining to authentic Cambodian, Thai, and Mexican restaurants, there are plenty of options nearby for extending your sunset outing.
Location: 2351 Dawson Ave, Signal Hill, CA 90755
3 – Marilyn Ryan Sunset Point Park
Description:
Perched along the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Marilyn Ryan Sunset Point Park offers one of the most peaceful oceanfront sunset views in the Los Angeles area.
The small park overlooks the Pacific Ocean from a dramatic bluff, providing an unobstructed western view that is ideal for watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon. Benches, walking paths, and landscaped gardens create a quiet setting that feels removed from the city’s busy streets, despite being only a short drive from Los Angeles.
Sunset is the main attraction, but the surrounding coastline makes it easy to extend your visit. Just a few minutes south, Point Vicente offers another spectacular viewpoint with rugged cliffs, panoramic ocean scenery, and opportunities to spot migrating gray whales during the winter months.
Many visitors enjoy watching the sunset from one location and then stopping at the other to experience a different perspective of the Palos Verdes coastline.
For a more relaxing evening, continue just a few minutes to Terranea Resort after your visit. The oceanfront resort features several excellent restaurants where you can enjoy dinner with coastal views after sunset. If you have extra time, consider booking a spa treatment before heading to Marilyn Ryan Sunset Point Park.
Spending the afternoon at the spa and ending the day with a Pacific sunset is one of the most relaxing experiences on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Location: 1 Trump National Dr, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
4 – El Matador State Beach
Description:
El Matador Beach in Malibu is best known for its sea caves, towering rock formations, and sandy coves, but the drive up blufftop parking lot offers a spectacular sunset experience all on its own.
Perched high above the Pacific Ocean, the overlook provides sweeping coastal views without requiring the steep walk down to the beach. From the edge of the bluff, you can watch waves crash against the rugged shoreline while the sun gradually sinks into the horizon.
Sunset is the highlight here as the golden light reflects off the sandstone cliffs and offshore sea stacks, creating one of the most photographed stretches of coastline in Los Angeles County.
The elevated perspective allows you to appreciate the dramatic landscape from above before deciding if you want to make the hike down to the beach.
Even if you stay at the blufftop overlook, the scenery is well worth the visit.
The parking lot at El Matador Beach is relatively small and fills quickly on weekends and clear evenings, so arriving well before sunset is recommended.
If you have time, consider enjoying the sunset from the overlook first and then walking down the staircase afterward to experience the beach during the softer light of dusk.
The combination of rugged cliffs, sea stacks, and uninterrupted ocean views makes El Matador Beach one of the most distinctive coastal sunset stops in the Los Angeles area and one of the crown jewel beaches in Malibu.
Location: 32350 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265
5 – Angeles Crest Highway Turnouts (San Gabriel Mountains)
Description:
Angeles Crest Highway offers one of the most dramatic drive up sunset experiences in Southern California.
As the road climbs into the San Gabriel Mountains, a series of designated scenic turnouts and paved overlooks reveal sweeping views across rugged peaks, deep canyons, and the Los Angeles Basin below.
Depending on the weather, you may even find yourself looking down on a blanket of marine clouds as the sun sets beyond the distant skyline.
For some of the best sunset views, head to the designated paved overlooks along the lower section of Angeles Crest Highway above La Cañada Flintridge.
Scenic pullouts such as Angeles Crest Scenic View 1, Valley Overlook, and the Georges Gap Trailhead parking area provide plenty of space to park completely off the roadway and enjoy the changing colors across the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles Basin.
As daylight fades, the mountain ridges fall into shadow while the city lights gradually begin to illuminate the landscape below.
Visitors looking for higher elevation views can continue to the Mount Wilson Observatory area via Mount Wilson Red Box Road.
The paved parking lots provide a safe place to leave your vehicle before walking to nearby overlooks with expansive western views.
Before heading into the mountains, fill your gas tank, check current road conditions, and arrive well before sunset so you have time to find a designated parking area.
By choosing established overlooks instead of roadside shoulders, you can enjoy one of the region’s most memorable sunset drives safely while taking in the spectacular mountain scenery.
Location: CA-2, Tujunga, CA 91042
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