Favorite Places for Sunny Meals on the Lawn

Picnicking can be fancy, with an Abercrombie & Fitch fitted hamper if you like. On the other hand, drive-through burgers and shakes will do. The point--lest we forget--is simply to get away from it all for a few hours. To see green instead of red. Two pieces of advice: Always bring a blanket so you won’t be limited to the official picnic area if it’s too crowded, and make sure barbecuing is permitted before you start out.

Here is just a sampling of Southern California’s delightful picnicking spots--wonderful weekend getaways, and even better for picnickers who can sneak away during the week. Unless noted, parks are open daily during daylight hours.

Bouquet Canyon Recreation Area, Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus Ranger District, Angeles National Forest, (805) 296-9710. Here the shallow stream runs all year, and picnickers are not above planting their lawn chairs midstream for maximum effect. There are campgrounds that welcome picnickers (although some close on a rotating basis), but the joy here is finding a spot away from civilization--pulling off the road when the feeling strikes. This is the perfect place for picnickers who don’t like to be confined to a traditional picnic ground. Barbecues not permitted along the stream until the end of the fire season (December). Barbecues permitted in designated sites in campgrounds, but there is a campground fee of $5 per car.

Douglas Park, 1155 Chelsea Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 458-8311. Sometimes you love a park because it’s huge and you can get far away from civilization. Well, you can’t at Douglas Park. It’s only four acres. But for families with young children, Douglas is a treasure. It’s easy to toss a blanket near the playground, and there’s a former wading pool that’s a perfect race course for toddlers on trikes. There are a few well-placed hills and a small fish pond, and the park has a nice cozy feeling. You may bring a hibachi, but make it small.

Huntington Central Park, Talbert Avenue and Central Park Drive, Huntington Beach, (714) 536-5281. This is the best-looking landscaped city park in the Southland, a wonderfully varied landscape. A marsh land, thickets of trees where kids can hide, inviting lawns, meandering lanes that encourage strolling. The lake with its bankside willows, ducks and reeds is a dream centerpiece (fishing is permitted). Picnic tables have been placed throughout the park. Barbecuing is permitted in the designated picnic area only.

Lacy Park, 1485 Virginia Road, San Marino, (818) 304-9648. To non-San Marino residents (aren’t we all?), the entrance fee is $3 per person Saturdays only. Children under 4 are free. No entrance fees during the week. And it’s closed Sundays! Now for the good news. Being at Lacy feels like sneaking onto the grounds of an old San Marino estate. It’s an exceptionally well-tended and shady paradise that is green, hilly and shady.

There are sycamore-shaded tables, plenty of walking paths and a playground. No barbecuing permitted.

Peter Strauss Ranch, 30000 Mulholland Highway, Agoura, (818) 991-9231. If the best picnicking spots inspire wishes of staying there forever, Peter Strauss is at the top of the list. The stone farmhouse with the broad porch sets city slickers daydreaming about a place in the country. This is a lazy-Sunday-afternoon kind of park. The broad lawns are great for kites and kids. There’s plenty of shade (important in this neck of the woods) plus hiking trails and a cactus garden. No barbecues permitted this time of year. Free concerts are scheduled at 2 p.m. on the first Sunday of August and September.

Placerita Canyon Nature Center, 19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, (805) 259-7721. Because this is a wildlife refuge, picnicking is limited to the designated picnic grove. But you won’t mind too much because it is under a divine oak grove. This is an old-fashioned just-like-when-we-were-kids place; great smells from huge stone barbecue pits, baseball games on the grass, big groups of people lazing away the day. Hike up the hill to where the stream is still running. The nature center is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., with a wildlife show (live animals) at 1 p.m. on weekends. The parking lot closes at 5 p.m., and if you stay later, you’ll have to move your car outside the park.

Shoreline Aquatic Park, 205 Marina Drive, Long Beach, (213) 435-4960. A change of pace from country parks, Shoreline is set in the middle of Long Beach Harbor, an exhilarating place with views, in turn, of the Queen Mary, the Spruce Goose dome, the Long Beach skyline and the ocean. The park itself is modest, with very little shade (go prepared) but the setting is top-notch. The sea breeze keeps everything cool and kites seem to fly effortlessly here. Bring your own grill for barbecuing.

UCLA Sculpture Garden, North Campus, Westwood, (213) 825-1461. Most picnicking spots are more crowded on Sundays. This one is less. Not too many pesky students and faculty to distract you, especially in summer. Set between Bunche Hall and Dickson Art Center, the sculpture garden is a treat for art and garden lovers. Like in the rest of the campus, the lovingly planted trees are labeled with species names. Set among them are works by Moore, Lachaise and Noguchi. No barbecues, of course--just a blanket, cold food and--definitely--some good summer reading. Parking is $4.

Will Rogers State Historic Park, 14253 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, (213) 454-8212. Not only is this a swell picnicking spot, you get free polo games and films of Rogers doing roping tricks (more interesting than you’d imagine). The house, open for tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is a picture of Southwest style. The polo games are held Saturdays at 2 p.m., Sundays at 10 a.m. There are picnic tables only under the trees near the parking lot. No barbecuing is permitted. A two-mile hiking trail loops around the park. Parking is $3 per car.

William S. Hart County Park, 24151 Newhall Ave., Newhall, (805) 259-0855. Neither as glitzy nor as crowded as Will Rogers, this is another park that owes its existence to a generous cowboy. Hart’s house, at the top of the hill, is open Wednesday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for docent-led tours. Good Western art. The park has broad lawns lined with shade trees and picnic tables. Barbecuing is permitted if you bring your own grill.