Los Angeles March — Griffith Park trails with green hills and city views in spring

Los Angeles · United States

March

Spring arrives properly — warm days, green hills, and the best hiking conditions of the year.

Best match

#3 of 12 months

March is one of the best times to visit Los Angeles.

Climate

High

21.5°C

Low

10.8°C

Rain

51mm

Sun

8.4hrs/day

30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5

How March scores in Los Angeles

Weather
Excellent
Value
Very good
Crowds
Very good
Events
Very good
Atmosphere
Excellent

What you gain in March

  • March is arguably the best month for outdoor LA. The hills are green from winter rains, wildflowers bloom in the Santa Monica Mountains (Malibu Creek State Park, Point Mugu), and temperatures sit at the ideal 21–23°C range — warm enough for beach walks, cool enough for long hikes. The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, 90 minutes northeast, typically peaks in late March and early April.
  • Coachella-adjacent energy begins building by mid-March with festival preparations and a surge of creative events across the city. The art and music programming at spaces like The Broad, Hammer Museum, and various pop-ups picks up noticeably.
  • Spring break (typically mid-to-late March) brings domestic visitors, but the sheer scale of LA absorbs them better than smaller cities. Theme parks see queues build, but neighbourhood destinations like the Venice Canals, Abbot Kinney, and the Griffith Park trails remain manageable.

What you sacrifice

  • Hotels in beachside areas (Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu) start rising toward their moderate-season pricing. Expect $250–$320/night for mid-range Westside properties, up from $180–$220 in January.
  • Spring break crowds hit Universal Studios and Disneyland hard — waits of 90–120 minutes for major rides are routine in the third week of March. If theme parks are on the itinerary, go in early March or late April.

How March compares to April (best month)

FactorMarchApril
Weather
8
9
Value
7
6
Crowds
7
6

March in other destinations

Lisbon (16.6°C)Barcelona (15.8°C)Tokyo (13.8°C)Bali (30.8°C)Santorini (14.6°C)Paris (11.5°C)New York (9.7°C)Marrakech (22.3°C)Amsterdam (9.2°C)Maldives (30.8°C)Rome (15°C)Bangkok (34.3°C)Istanbul (11.6°C)Vienna (10.3°C)Seoul (9.6°C)Dubrovnik (13.9°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.7°C)Kyoto (14.3°C)Phuket (33°C)Cape Town (25.4°C)Prague (10°C)Amalfi Coast (15°C)Mexico City (26°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (12°C)Sydney (25°C)Iceland (4°C)Tulum (30°C)Dubai (29°C)Singapore (32°C)Hoi An (28°C)Chiang Mai (34.5°C)Miami (26.7°C)Florence (14.8°C)Queenstown (19.5°C)Madrid (15°C)Porto (17°C)Edinburgh (9°C)Copenhagen (7°C)Budapest (11°C)Kraków (9°C)Tbilisi (13°C)Palawan (31°C)Hanoi (22°C)Osaka (14°C)Goa (34°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (27°C)Mykonos (15°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (32°C)Costa Rica (27°C)Cancun (30°C)Krabi (34°C)Athens (16°C)Seville (21°C)Cartagena (32°C)Siem Reap (33°C)Havana (28°C)Split (14°C)Taipei (22°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (17°C)Ho Chi Minh City (35°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (11°C)Dominican Republic (29°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (27°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (24°C)Jordan (17°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Cairo (25.1°C)Kenya (28.5°C)Jaipur (30.8°C)Las Vegas (22.5°C)San Francisco (15.1°C)Madeira (20.5°C)Vancouver (10.5°C)Muscat (31.5°C)Lima (26.4°C)Cinque Terre (14°C)Kotor (14°C)Tel Aviv (21°C)Santiago (27°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (10.1°C)Penang (33.1°C)Lombok (31.4°C)Cape Verde (26.5°C)Fez (19.5°C)Kerala (33°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (21°C)Oslo (5°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Los Angeles, not across destinations. Methodology →