Kick off summer in L.A. with these activities

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, June 22. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Things to do around L.A. this summer
• Post fire becomes California’s largest wildfire of the year
• Seven delicious Jamaican patties for a taste of the island in L.A.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Things to do around L.A. this summer

The first day of summer was Thursday. Hello, more sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Those cool nights with 50-something degree temperatures will soon be a thing of the past. Get ready for highs in the mid- to high 80s during the day and lows in the mid- to high 60s at night.

Warmer weather makes me want to sit in front of my portable air conditioner every day until it cools down again. But that’s not realistic or economical, so I’ll find activities to do around L.A. instead.

Lucky for us Angelenos, my colleague Christopher Reynolds put together a list of 24 things to do around L.A. this summer. They’re outdoorsy and indoorsy, free and pricey, old and new, and all in L.A. or within easy day-trip reach.

Here are five highlights from Christopher’s roundup:

Paddle a swan boat in Echo Park Lake

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Beat the heat with a soothing ride on a swan boat at Echo Park. The swans are powered by foot paddles but the pedaling is easy because you’re at a leisurely pace. You can either ride during the day by doing a circuit of the lake or ride at night when the swans light up.

The small boats can seat two adults and two children under age 10. Larger boats can seat up to five people. Hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily through Sept. 2 and rentals are $12 hourly per adult, $7 for those under age 18.

Behold the universe, or the skyline, from Griffith Observatory

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Take a hike or drive up to Griffith Observatory — the architectural star of 4,210-acre Griffith Park — one of L.A.’s most recognizable landmarks, with its green copper domes, choice views of the Hollywood sign and bust of James Dean.

Besides its public telescope and shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium (32 to 35 minutes each; $6 to $10 per person), the observatory offers a variety of free indoor exhibits, plus presentations in its Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater. The observatory is closed on Mondays.

Parking is hard to come by and pricey ($10 per hour), so Christopher suggests hiking up from the Greek Theatre or Fern Dell.

Listen under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl

(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Picnic before or during shows at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. Its summer lineup will include performances from the L.A. Philharmonic, Chris Stapleton, the Roots, Harry Connick Jr., Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and more.

One of my favorite things about the Hollywood Bowl: You can bring your own food and drink to shows. You’re also allowed to bring beer or wine to some shows. Read up on what you can, and cannot bring, in advance.

Try the island life on Catalina

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Skip Hawaii and head to Catalina for an island escape this summer. The ferry ride is about an hour and you may encounter playful dolphins on the way. Round-trip ferry rides for adults with Catalina Express to Avalon from Long Beach, San Pedro or Dana Point cost $92 to $96.

You might consider spending a weekend, as there are too many options to fit in one day: submarine tours, snorkeling, miniature golf, cycling and the Catalina Zipline Eco Tour that will set you zinging above eucalyptus trees.

Hide out in remote Jalama Beach County Park

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

If you’re looking for a secluded getaway, Jalama Beach is just for you. It’s in the middle of nowhere at the end of a gorgeous 14-mile country road that veers west from Highway 1, which splits off from U.S. 101 at the Gaviota Pass near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County.

At the end of Jalama Road, you’ll find a 107-site campground on a beach with seven rentable cabins. You’ll also find the Jalama Beach Store, whose Jalama Burgers are, as Christopher writes, “one of Santa Barbara County’s principal assets.”

The week’s biggest stories

President Biden and former President Trump face off in their first debate of this presidential campaign on Thursday on CNN.

(Associated Press)

Politics

• Nonstop attacks about Trump’s and Biden’s mental acuity loom over the first presidential debate.
• AA meetings in the White House? Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a recovering addict, says it’s just one of the changes he’d make.
• The Supreme Court rules againsta Los Angeles couple denied visa in part over husband’s tattoos.
• Biden and Obama raise more than $30 million at glitzy L.A. event.
• The Supreme Court rejects gun rights for people accused of domestic violence.

Stabbing on USC’s fraternity row

• USC student felt ‘imminent threat’ when he killed alleged car burglar, D.A. says in declining to press charges.
• A USC student with a knife, a suspected car burglar and a deadly confrontation on fraternity row.

Sports

• JJ Redick will be Lakers’ next coach as long search ends where it started.
• It goes beyond LeBron and a podcast: Why the Lakers decided to hire JJ Redick.
• Ex-Laker Darius Morris died of heart disease; drugs played a role, medical examiner says.
• Angel Reese says Caitlin Clark gets ‘special whistle.’ It blew after Reese’s blow to Clark’s head.
• L.A. 2028 Olympics add SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome to revamped venue plan.

More big stories

• Donald Sutherland, stately star of ‘MASH,’ ‘Ordinary People’ and ‘Hunger Games,’ dies at 88.
• Disney told L.A. residents to move to Florida for a planned campus. They did, it was canceled and now they’re suing.
• Alzheimer’s drug’s potentially fatal side effect, ARIA, obscured by “soothing acronym,” doctors say.
• Why the family behind this iconic Arby’s finally decided to hang up its hat.
• Willie Mays, known for ‘The Catch’ and by many as baseball’s best of the best, dies at 93.
• Forget the graffiti. L.A.’s most notorious skyscrapers have a much bigger problem.
• Angered by an email, an Orange County bishop sued a parishioner for libel. The cost? Millions.
• An L.A. teen got a second chance from Gascón after killing. Now he is accused in a new homicide.
• Popular L.A. bar Molly Malone’s Irish Pub closes after fire.
• Rainbow Family Gathering, “legacy of the original hippies,” is returning to NorCal. Not everyone is feeling the love.
• California jobs picture brightens in May; unemployment drops for first time in many months.

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Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times)

A canine rescue group became a favorite of Hollywood celebrities. But were the dogs really “rescues”? Little-known Wagmor Pets got famous by adopting dogs to stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Sandra Bullock. The issue? Along with a predictable assortment of mutts, Wagmor seemed to have a lot of puppies, purebreds and popular doodle mixes, the kind not always found in shelters.

More great reads

• This Cancer season, give into the comfort your heart is yearning for.
• We spoke to Bloofy and Pouchy: How “Inside Out 2’s” breakout characters happened.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

Going out

• 🏖️Santa Monica Pier attracts an estimated 10 million tourists a year. But there’s more to the city than that 1,651 feet of wood jutting out into the Pacific Ocean.
• 🍽️ Seven delicious Jamaican patties for a taste of the island in L.A.

Staying in

• 📖 Synchronized swimming is even more impressive when you learn its history.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Sycamore Kitchen’s chocolate chip rye cookies.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz

(Times staff and wire photos)

Which Los Angeles sports team got spiffy new uniforms? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor

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