Can You Charge at Los Angeles’s Top Destinations?

California cities (L.A., San Fran, and San Jose) combined offer nearly 21,000 chargers. According to the L.A. Department of Water and Power, there are now over 10,000 EV charging stations in the city of Los Angeles.

Blink Mobility is a 100% electric car sharing service and part of the City of Los Angeles’s mobility solutions. Blink Mobility is available to anyone over 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license. Members have access to a network of shared electric vehicles 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, at self-service locations throughout central Los Angeles.

Most car rental companies rent by the week or the month. Car sharing is different, offering you the ability to rent a car just for a few hours and only pay for the distance traveled and the time in use.

Blink Mobility stations are on-street, consisting of one self-service kiosk, and 5 parking spots each with an electric charger, where users pick up and drop off vehicles. Blink Mobility is point to point, which means there’s no need to return the car to your starting point or during regular business hours! Cars can be returned to any Blink Mobility location. And best of all, our cars are all electric, so you can drive without having to worry about environmental impact.

Particularly environmental areas, like beach communities, may even offer free parking to EV drivers. Most major hotels, grocery stores, retail chains, movie theaters, and attractions have EV chargers, including the Staples Center downtown. L.A. is also the city famous for installing hundreds of charging stations to streetlights, to charge while parked on the street. Finding places to refuel and charge up is easy on southern California. L.A. is also the city famous for adding

Hollywood

Hollywood Blvd./Walk of Fame

Everyone needs to visit Hollywood Blvd. at least once. Walk along the street, put your hands in the handprints of old Hollywood celebrities, find the stars on the sidewalk for your favorite actors, and tour Mann’s Chinese Theater, which is still the home of a few movie premieres every year.

Also located along the boulevard are a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and plenty of long-time shops selling pictures and memorabilia that are nearly as old as the Golden Age celebrities themselves. This tourist attraction is packed day and night. Save money and go green by driving there in a Blink mobility EV.

The closest parking garage is at the corner of Hollywood and Highland; this structure has 18 EV charging ports, all free, and three green lots. EVSE is also available nearby at Hollywood and Cherokee, 1600 Vine, and more. Finding a spot to charge should be easy. Drop off your EV at many different central city Blink mobility locations.

Beach Communities

Venice Beach

All the beach communities are particularly environmental, and driving an EV is likely to get you a friendly greeting from locals. Venice is a great excursion that will take up about half the day. Venice Beach is comprised of three separate areas: residential Venice, the Boardwalk, and the Skate Park. Venice is named for the small canals that dot the city, inspired by Venice, Italy.

By the shore, walking the Boardwalk is not only good exercise, it’s a chance to people-watch. Home to a small version of Muscle Beach, it’s a great place to observe bodybuilders also. Featured in dozens of movies, Venice is known for romantic strolls on the beach. Venice is a safe and fun daytime destination. Harbor Drive, Solar by Harriman’s, Venice Blvd. and Nissan of Venice all feature easily-accessed EV chargers.

Santa Monica

For the second half the day, drive up the Pacific Coast Highway three miles to Santa Monica. Santa Monica is essentially an upscale, modern version of Venice Beach. It is also comprised of three separate areas: residential Santa Monica, the 3^rd Street Promenade, and the Pier.

Two places on Santa Monica Blvd having charging stations, and one on Ocean Blvd. near the pier. Best of all, in a city with very high parking fees, Santa Monica lets owners of zero emissions vehicles park for free.

Zuma Beach

Zuma, up the PCH to Malibu, is the location for serious swimmers and surfers. This beach is 1.8 acres of wide open space, though it’s pretty busy in the summer. Ocean-goers, their friends, umbrellas, and dogs start to fill up the sand every morning, so head out early. Bring a wetsuit and a jacket if you plan to stay for a bonfire in the evening. With nearly zero humidity, SoCal gets chilly when the sun goes down, even in mid-summer. Malibu Country Market, Pepperdine University, and Leo Carillo Beach all feature chargers, with one supercharger.

Amusement Parks

Universal Studios

Part amusement park, part backlot tour, Universal Studios, located in Burbank, the home of most studios, is a popular all-day attraction. Inside the park itself, wild rides like The Mummy and Jurassic Park keep the whole family entertained while the backlot tour features King Kong, a fake flood, Jaws, and tours of lots as old as the those featured in 1930’s Dracula films and as modern as the Desperate Housewives set.

At Universal Studios, chargers abound, and they feature around 30 different chargers in their many parking garages and one outside the

Disneyland

Not strictly speaking in Los Angeles, Disneyland, an older and smaller version of Disney World, is located about 35 miles south in Anaheim and, like Universal, will require a rental car. While Disneyland features fun, modern rides like Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, it’s also a trip back in history as many of the rides in Fantasyland operate exactly as they did in the ‘50s and look their age, but it’s all part of the experience. Make reservations for lunch at the Blue Bayou, a Cajun restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, featuring a meal in the dark while listening to visitors scream on the ride. The Mickey and Friends Parking Garage has over 50 free charging stations.

If rides aren’t your thing or you’d like something more adult, it’s possible to spend the entire day in Downtown Disney, which features shops, restaurants, and bars. Since you don’t have to pay park prices to get in, locals love it, so make reservations if you go on a weekend. Stations on Disneyland Drive can be used by those not going inside the park.

Arts and Culture

The Getty

Don’t miss the Getty Center for European fine art at your own pace. Try the Getta Villa up the freeway in Malibu for Greek and Roman art. The location, designed to look like the south of France, provides a beautiful landscape that is an attraction all by itself. Ride a lift high to a hilltop in the Santa Monica mountains to find an art museum entirely crafted of 16,000 tons of white travertine marble imported from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy—inside and outside, the walkways, floors, walls, and ceilings, are entirely crafted the matte marble that takes on a beige tone and warm feel from the sun mid-afternoon. The natural light the reflection provides is an unbeatable canvas and the buildings are pieces of art themselves.

The museum is divided into different buildings, each housing art from a different era from Illuminated Manuscripts to Greek statues to European paintings. Monthly traveling exhibitions are popular with local art aficionados. A 5 star restaurant is on site, but bring a picnic lunch and gaze down northwestern L.A. and Mount St. Mary’s University. Admission, as always, is free.

There are 8 Level 2 chargers and 4 Tesla chargers in the Getty parking garage.

The Hollywood Bowl

Located between Hollywood Blvd. and the entrance to the 101, the Bowl is an outdoor auditorium vaguely reminiscent of a smaller Sydney’s Opera House; the curved stage projects onto literally hundreds of seats. The auditorium has been home to shows as rich and varied as a Stravinsky concert to musicals to Star Wars in Concert. Don’t miss a summertime show when you can purchase a box lunch/dinner and bottle of champagne on site for a high-end picnic before show time. The Hollywood Bowl is up the street from the Hollywood and Highland garage, offering a good place to charge before hopping a lift to the Bowl.