Okay, for all of y'all coming out here for the first time, and for those who've asked a number of times over the past few weeks, here's some instructions on how to ride the metrorail in Los Angeles to the Rose Bowl. If you're not already on a bus coming from a hotel, this is the best way to avoid the HORRIBLE traffic that goes in and out of the Rose Bowl. First, you need to see what the rail system looks like.......................

Now, that you can see it, we can proceed.......

First, what you need to know is that there is ONE LINE that goes to Pasadena, the Gold Line. They recently re-named the lines with letters and whatnot but the COLORS of each line is still the same. The Gold line you will need to catch from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. There are a number of ways to do this.........

1. Drive to Union Station and park in their underground lot, which cost $8 per day (The underground lot is at the BACK of Union Station off Vignes Street, not the front off of Alameda St!)

2. Ride one of the lines that GO to Union Station, transfer there to the Gold line and proceed to Pasadena

If you choose the latter, the fare to rid is the same, as they don't charge you for each transfer, but your trip will take longer. From Union Station to Pasadena is literally around 30 min ride or less. If you ride the Expo Line, say, from Santa Monica or any neighborhoods near there, the total trip could take you more than an hour. Same if you are staying in Long Beach and take the Blue line. Either way, if you take any of those other lines to Union Station, it makes the trip longer. I generally drive to Union Station, leave my car there and then ride the Gold line. But, you'll have to make the call for yourself.

The fare for metrorail is $1.75 one way, $3.50 round trip. You can't beat it for the cost and convenience. Also riding the trains is easy, and the trains are generally pretty clean. Also, crime is not a major problem, especially riding to Pasadena. I've ridden many rail systems in the USA (Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Bay Area, Houston), and LA's is one of the cleanest and safest I've been on.

Here's a link to show how easy it is to ride metrorail and how you pay your fares........

A Beginner's Guide to Metro

Now, once you're on the Gold line heading to Pasadena, you want to take it to the Memorial Park Station, and get off there. From there you will walk four short blocks to the Parsons Parking Lot B. At the lot there are free shuttles running from about three hours before game time, to the front of the Rose Bowl. At the end of the game, the shuttles take you back to the Parsons lot and run for about an hour after the game. When you get back to the Memorial Station for the Gold Line there may be a crowd. My suggestion is, since you're already in downtown Pasadena, hang out there for a bit to let the crowd die down, and then ride the rail back to Union Station.

Here's some more info about the shuttle and game day in general. Have fun and welcome to my hometown! Oh, and..............

UCLA vs LSU General Game Day Info, Including Shuttle Instructions

This post was edited on 9/4/21 at 9:56 am