A verdant stretch of the Los Angeles River
BOUNDARIES: Los Angeles River, CA 2, I-5
DISTANCE: About 1.25 miles
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Free parking is available at Marsh Park.
Frogtown is the unofficial name of the formerly scrappy, currently up-and-coming neighborhood sandwiched between the Los Angeles River and I-5 north of CA 110. Officially known as Elysian Valley, this area used to be part of the greater Chavez Ravine community before the construction of Dodger Stadium in 1962. The area is now relatively isolated from the surrounding neighborhoods of Elysian Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Atwater Village by freeways and by the river itself, which has led residents to develop their own distinctive identity, largely inspired by artists and conservationists involved with the LA River’s restoration.
In 2014, the nonprofit Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR) opened The Frog Spot, a convenient way station where cyclists riding the popular bike path alongside the river can stop for free ice water and reasonably priced snacks and ice pops. The Frog Spot welcomes noncyclists as well, with free Wi-Fi, maps of the river, docent-led river walks, yoga classes, and live music. It’s open only on weekends in the summer, though, so time your visit accordingly if you want to check it out.
Walk Description
Begin in the parking lot for 
Marsh Park, a beautifully (and drought consciously) designed community park that was expanded in recent years to include a grassy play meadow, a nature trail, and kinetic exercise stations. Plan to spend some time exploring the park, admiring the gorgeous Spanish mission–inspired picnic pavilion and thoughtful landscape design, and maybe even getting in a little workout. (This is also a great spot to use the restroom, as portable toilets are the only option elsewhere on this route, at least as of this writing.) Make your way north through the park, past the restrooms and picnic area to exit through the decorative gate leading out to the Los Angeles River Greenway Trail.
Turn right to follow the path, staying right to make way for cyclists. To your left, the concrete channel wall slopes down to the water. This stretch of the LA River, known as the Glendale Narrows, is a soft-bottomed channel with especially lush flora. It’s a popular stretch for fishing, bird-watching, and even kayaking. If you squint your way past the surrounding concrete, you could almost believe you were on the banks of an unadulterated natural waterway as opposed to a paved flood channel in the middle of the city. This is also a particularly pleasant section of the bike/pedestrian path, as it’s shaded by the sycamores that border Marsh Park. Continue walking past a skate park and a shady pocket park adjacent to Marsh that features colorful play sculptures of a rattlesnake, frog, and turtle.
After walking along the path for about a third of a mile, you’ll come to 
Spoke Bicycle Cafe, a bike-rental/repair shop with a coffee cart and ample comfortable seating. At the time of this writing, Spoke was still in a state of expansion but already has an undeniably hip and artistic feel, with colorful mural art, a fire pit, vintage tchotchkes, repurposed wood furnishings, and lots of liberally tattooed patrons. It’s a strong indicator of things to come—this up-and-coming stretch along the river feels like it’s very much on the precipice of exploding into one of northeast LA’s coolest destinations, with at least some level of gentrification no doubt following on the heels of the growing independent artist community.
After checking out Spoke, return to the pathway and walk another third of a mile, passing another sycamore-shaded green space known as Elysian Valley Gateway Park.
After just under another third of a mile, you’ll come upon 
The Frog Spot (assuming you visit on a summer weekend). Whereas Spoke feels a little edgy and oriented toward locals, The Frog Spot is bright, friendly, and welcoming, luring in cyclists with the promise of ice-cold cucumber water and offering a steady schedule of free public programs during the summer, including the aforementioned yoga classes, live concerts, and nature walks. Wine and beer are served on Saturdays after 2 p.m., and there’s a bocce court and bike-repair stand. This is the final destination of your walk, so after enjoying a cup of coffee, snack, and/or refreshing beverage, turn around and retrace your steps (again, yielding to cyclists) to Marsh Park along the Los Angeles River Greenway Trail, this time enjoying views of Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park and the San Gabriel Mountains to the north.
Frogtown (Elysian Valley)
Points of Interest
Marsh Park 2944 Gleneden St., Los Angeles, CA 90039; 310-589-3200, tinyurl.com/marshparkla
Spoke Bicycle Cafe 3050 N. Coolidge St., Los Angeles, CA 90039; 323-684-1130, spokebicyclecafe.com
The Frog Spot 2825 Benedict St., Los Angeles, CA 90039; 323-223-0585, folar.org/frogspot
