Averill Park is a small, dense, unexpectedly enchanting pocket park in San Pedro, which will take you back to the Los Angeles of yesteryear. Named for Averill Weymouth, the land-development company that donated it in 1920, the park has been lovingly maintained. The meandering walkways with heavy chain handrails have a Victorian feel but were actually restored in the 1970s. Ditto the original rockwork, which dates to Roosevelt's New Deal–era Civilian Conservation Corps. Here, time seems to stand still. Squirrels lurk in jacaranda trees. Wild ducks, geese and turtles swim in the man-made pond and waterfall, over which spans a cobblestone bridge that looks like the proper shelter for a troll. On rainy days, teenagers slip and slide down the gentle hills. Elderly locals who grew up in the neighborhood will tell you that they used to catch crayfish here when they were kids. It is a lovely place in which to slip away and forget the modern world. —Gendy Alimurung

1300 Dodson Ave., San Pedro, 90732. (310) 548-7675, laparks.org/dos/parks/facility/averillpk.htm.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.