With a virtually limitless list of activities and natural wonders, Los Angeles is increasingly being recognized as a destination that welcomes the entire family.

“Everyone knows about our incredible weather and terrain,” said Jack Bierman, editor-in-chief of L.A. Parent magazine. “Yet Los Angeles also offers a tremendous amount of entertainment and enrichment for families who can find everything from movie history and science exhibits to theme parks and the great outdoors.”

AWESOME AMUSEMENTS

Theme parks are a thrill-seeking magnet for many families visiting Los Angeles. Collectively, L.A.’s three largest amusement parks possess some of the world’s most exciting rollercoasters, as well as special enclaves with games and rides designed for the younger set.

Six Flags’ Magic Mountain, for example, is a rollercoaster enthusiast’s paradise. Its action-packed rides include the Colossus, Ninja and Viper. New this year is Superman The Escape, which has been billed as the tallest, fastest and most technologically advanced thrill ride ever built.

In addition to more than 100 rides, live shows and adventures covering 260 acres, the park also offers special children’s attractions, such as an animal farm and petting zoo.

Nearby, the related Six Flags Hurricane Harbor offers a perfect place to cool off. The water park features 14 water attractions, including tube and speed slides as well as a wave pool.

Knott’s Berry Farm is another theme park offering a number of rides and entertainment. While older children will dash to goose-bump sparking rides like Bigfoot Rapids, Boomerang and Jaguar, the younger set will prefer Camp Snoopy, the official home of the “Peanuts” cartoon.

And then there is the famed, magical Disneyland, the world’s first theme park that continues to delight children of all ages. The latest addition to the 65-acre park is the highly publicized Indiana Jones Adventure thrill ride. Another new attraction is Mickey’s Toontown, where families can interact with Mickey Mouse and friends. This is also the last season to catch Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade. This captivating event will leave the park for good this fall, with its well-known giant electrical snail headed for the Smithsonian.

MOVIE MAKING MAGIC

Widely recognized for its thriving entertainment industry, it is no surprise that many families travel to Los Angeles to see a taping of their favorite show or catch a glimpse of a famous star.

Universal Studios Hollywood is the outgrowth of Universal Studios, the world’s busiest and biggest motion picture and television studio. This season, the park opens its widely publicized and highly acclaimed Jurassic Park_the Ride, which will feature larger-than-life

dinosaurs and a water-ride drop of 84 feet. Families can also phone home with E.T. and take a thrilling journey Back to the Future in addition to touring historic sets and special-effects stages. After a day at the amusement park, visitors can shop, eat and catch a movie at Universal CityWalk. This plaza contains a number of unique specialty shops as well as some of the area’s best-known restaurants.

Another movie giant, Warner Bros. Studios, offers unstaged tours. Guests can enjoy a different experience every day, depending on what is currently being filmed. Stops may include recording stages, the prop shop and the costume department. Children must be age 10 or older to participate.

BEACH PARTY

With 72 miles of coastline along the western edge of Los Angeles County, L.A.’s sandy stretches are ideal for sunning, beach volleyball and building sand castles. In addition, families can in-line skate, bike or simply stroll along the boardwalk that stretches along the ocean for more than 20 miles, beginning in Palos Verdes and ending in the Pacific Palisades.

Highlights along the coast include Venice Beach, which provides a continuous fanfare of comedians, jugglers, bodybuilders, musicians, mimes, skaters and zany performers that make the boardwalk a nonstop people-watching parade.

Next door to Venice is the Santa Monica Pier, one of the last great pleasure piers that now boasts an added attraction_an amusement park. Pacific Park offers 11 rides, including bumper cars, a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel that towers nine stories high, offering sweeping ocean views.

TREASURES AT SEA

Los Angeles visitors can easily see the ocean and sail upon the water. But it is not always quite as easy to examine the world that lies beneath the gently rolling waves.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro introduces visitors to the mysterious world of marine life. The giant aquarium features interpretive exhibits and glass tanks brimming with fish and plants from nearby marine environments. A special favorite of children and adults alike is the tide pool touch tank, where visitors can actually touch starfish and other sea life.

Nearby is the Ports o’ Call Village, a shopping/dining center that resembles a quaint fishing community. Here, families can enjoy a meal in a nautical environment before embarking on a harbor cruise (year-round) or seasonal whalewatching trips (January through April).

ZOO-PENDOUS ADVENTURES

More than 2,000 exotic animals call the Los Angeles Zoo home. Located in Griffith Park, the facility boasts one of the largest walk-through aviaries in the country. Families will especially enjoy Adventure Island, a 2.5-acre educational playground where live animals, computer wizardry and hands-on, interactive exhibits help children and adults discover and learn more about the regions diverse offerings of flora and fauna.

MUSEUM MANIA

Los Angeles boasts more museums per capita than any other city in the world. From paintings and furniture to nature and psychology, L.A. has a museum for it.

The Autry Museum of Western Heritage, located next to the Los Angeles Zoo, takes guests back to the wild, wild West. Exhibits trace the rich history of the West from the 16th century to the present.

The Los Angeles Children’s Museum, in the heart of downtown, offers hands-on exhibits that encourage children to learn in an entertaining environment. For example, “City Streets” allows children to be police officers, bus drivers, passengers going to work, truck drivers or firefighters. In addition, the museum offers several workshops on a variety of subjects, such as how to recycle paper, construct art projects with recycled materials and operate a lock-and-dam system.

At the California Museum of Science and Industry in Exposition Park, exhibits help demonstrate such scientific wonders as the workings of electricity and the impact of earthquakes. Especially popular here is the museum’s IMAX (Image Maximizing) Theater, which shows educationally themed 45-minute movies on one of the world’s few fivestory-high, flat screens.

Also located in Exposition Park is the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, where young visitors can try on costumes from around the world, inspect water drops under a microscope and watch live creatures such as tarantulas, fish and lizards.

Not to be missed is the Museum of Tolerance, which teaches guests about the psychology behind hate and prejudice_and about the Holocaust_through high-tech, interactive displays.

PICK A PARK

There are more than 350 parks throughout Los Angeles, all with grassy areas, flowers and hiking trails galore.

As the largest municipal park in the United States, Griffith Park offers 4,000 acres with 53 miles of hiking trails, an equestrian center, horse trails, pony rides, tennis courts, an Olympic-size pool, golf courses, playgrounds and a vintage carousel. Other attractions include Travel Town, a display of antique locomotives and miniature trains; the Greek Theatre, an amphitheater that presents classical and pop performances throughout the summer; and the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium, which offers opportunities to gaze at stars of a different variety_the celestial kind.

Of special note is Will Rogers State Historic Park in the Pacific Palisades. Once the private estate of humorist Will Rogers, the 187-acre park features a polo field, stables, tours of Rogers’ former residence, and miles of hiking trails that lead into the Santa Monica mountains.

Just down the coast is Palisades Park in Santa Monica, a narrow strip of grass, palm trees and park benches that boasts one of the most sweeping ocean views in town.

With such a diverse array of educational and recreational opportunities, it is no wonder that Los Angeles is becoming an increasingly popular destination for families. After all, in a town that has it all, the words “I’m bored” will never be an issue.

Liz Badras is Director, Tourism Marketing for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau