Take a ride on these 9 miniature railways in and near L.A.

Griffith Park’s railroad petting zoo is full of all sorts of historic rolling stock that you can visit every day of the week for free. But in addition to those full-size trains, you can (for $4, or $3 for kids 11 and under) hop aboard a miniature one that takes two loops around the grounds’ half-mile track, about a 10-minute ride altogether.

Just past Travel Town, you’ll find the entrance to this one-day-a-week attraction along Zoo Drive. Lovers of things that go choo-choo should head here on Sundays, when the folks at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Museum drive a handful of model trains around the grounds ($4 suggested donation). Unlike the full-sized, shaded seats at Travel Town, you’ll straddle the miniature trains here (and need to be able to do so for up to 20 minutes). There’s an old Western town theme to part of the route—which is covered in Halloween decor during the seasonal Ghost Train. LALS also sits next to Walt’s Barn, the late Disney founder’s model train workshop that’s open every third Sunday.

The Los Feliz/Atwater Village-adjacent cousin to Travel Town’s Valley-situated railway, this other Griffith Park train ride will take you through a tunnel, along a small Western town facade and past the pony rides in the park’s southeast corner. You’ll board one of two uncovered trains ($4, kids 17 and under $3) that follow a mile-long track, which takes about eight to ten minutes. Look our for lights along the route during the holidays.

What started as a 1940s backyard gathering in Beverly Hills for train enthusiasts has since evolved into this free, public-facing series of rides in Torrance. On the first Sunday and third Saturday of the month, you can take a free ride (though donations are accepted) on a miniature railroad attached to Wilson Park. The volunteer-run rides are about 15 minutes long and mostly stick underneath the canopy of a cluster of trees (believe it or not, this was a vacant lot until late ’80s).

This La Cañada botanical garden offers horticultural magic for adults, but kids will be most enamored by the miniature railway. The straddle-seating cars cover a quarter-of-a-mile section of the gardens near the promenade over the span of about six minutes. Tickets cost $5, though that’s on top of garden admission ($15, kids $5, under four free). In July, the garden will roll out a new train experience, decorated with model trains and historic depots along the sides of the electric railway.

Tucked into the foothills of the Santa Ana mountains, this OC attraction offers daily rides ($7), with seasonal makeovers for Easter, Halloween and Christmas. The roughly 10-minute ride is part of a much larger park full of amusements, including paddle boats, pony rides and a zoo.

On the third full weekend of the month, Orange County Model Engineers offers free miniature train rides in Fairfview Park. The mile-plus route will take you across a bridge and along a golf course, though do note there’s practically no shade on the ride (and that seating is straddle-style). Though admission is technically free, the volunteer-ride service suggests a $5 donation per group.

Open on weekends only, this tiny theme park in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park squeezes together a railroad, carousel, buggy ride and gold panning. The nearly 15-minute train ride loops around the leafy corner of the park and includes a short trip through a strobing mine shaft. The pricing model here is somewhere between a theme park and dedicated railway: You’ll need to pay a $5 admission fee into the park (kids 13 and under are free, though), plus use three ride tickets per person for the train (available starting at $25 for 10 tickets). So figure for a two adults and a young kid, you’re looking at $35 plus parking, which puts this on the expensive end of the spectrum for a train ride.

Speaking of expensive, you’ll find train rides at a couple of theme parks, including the Castle Park Railroad at Riverside’s Castle Park and the steam-powered Calico Railroad at Knott’s Berry Farm—which of course means you’ll need to pay theme park prices to get in. That said, we do feel they’re still worth mentioning, in particular the classic Disneyland Railroad (which at 5/8-scale stretches what we’d consider “miniature”). Get on or off at any of the park’s four stations, or take the full 18-minute loop around the park. It’s an oddly scenic, easygoing staple of the park, a mix of transportation and an attraction in itself; the leg between Tomorrowland and Main Street takes you through the Grand Canyon diorama and dinosaur-filled Primeval World.