Azusa

I have been driving through and visiting Azusa for many, many years and like everything else in Los Angeles County, I can’t believe how much this city has grown. But it’s a nice place to live and I can understand its popularity.

Located along the I-210 freeway, Azusa is approximately 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles. As always, those that live in Azusa and commute to LA face horrible traffic. Unfortunately, public transportation in regards to rail service has been lacking and only now is the city playing catch-up. Construction is starting for Metro stops to make commuting into Pasadena (11 miles away) much easier.

However, Azusa is a popular community for families as it has an excellent school district, good shopping, plenty of dining experiences and nice homes at LA reasonable prices.

The best thing about Azusa is the close proximity to some of the areas best hiking trails in LA if not Southern California. The San Gabriel Canyon offers the challenging Bridge to Nowhere hike that is full of streams, wildlife and some fairly intimidating moments that make you realize this trail is not for the weak. There are other hikes nearby that make this area very popular, especially on nice weekends. When walking along these serene trails, it’s hard to believe that you are only moments from congested freeways and smog.

Azusa also has some very nice parks including Slauson Park and the James Slauson Community Pool. With it’s two story slide and splash zone this is a popular destination for families for those scorcher summer days. I especially like that they offer a recycling incentive for children where you turn in a certain amount of aluminum cans for free admission. Most of the parks offer picnic facilities, sports courts and play areas.