L.A

When vacationing in Los Angeles, you can truly choose your own adventure.

Those in search of luxury can stay in a five-star hotel, sleeping on a plush bed, soaking in a deep bath tub and lounging on a balcony with sweeping mountain views. But, among the mountains that surround L.A., a different kind of luxury is within reach. There you can sleep above the clouds, swim in deep river pools and watch the sun set over the same mountains seen from those nearby hotel balconies. And often, it’s free.

L.A.’s proximity to public lands offers the unique opportunity to slip away for a weekend backpacking trip with ease. In the same day, you could savor breakfast tacos in Grand Central Market and fall asleep under the stars at your campsite. In fact, in under an hour’s drive, you can start a hike to one of around 20 backpacking sites in Angeles National Forest or the Santa Monica Mountains.

But it can be hard to know where to start. Backpacking, unlike camping, requires you to be entirely self-reliant. If you forget your toothbrush, there’s no 7-Eleven or camp store nearby to save you. It also means leaving behind certain luxuries, like a campground host to sell you firewood or the ability to pack every possible Trader Joe’s snack in your car. Everything you need must fit in your pack.

Not to worry, I’ve put together a comprehensive guide to becoming a competent — perhaps even expert — backpacker. It includes both a list of how to plan ahead to ensure you’re safe and ready, a curated list of backpacking sites near L.A. organized by the difficulty of the hike to reach them and how much “roughing it” each site requires.

I chose these spots, in part, because you don’t have to drive too far, they’re all first come, first served, the roads to reach them are paved and trails to reach each site are generally well-maintained. They’re also delightful hikes on their own, featuring wildflowers, native trees and loads of local birds and other critters. Each spot is isolated enough to make you feel like you’re outside the city without being so devoid of human life that it feels like you’re auditioning for the next season of “Naked and Afraid.”

Before diving in, though, let’s go over how to set yourself up for success when seeking sanctuary in our local mountains.

What to bring | Getting there | Beginner backpacking campsites| Intermediate backpacking campsites | Advanced backpacking campsites

What to bring

Unlike car camping, where you can pack every sweater, blanket and spoon you could imagine needing into your trunk, backpacking requires you to be selective. That is, unless you plan to carry 100 pounds of gear through the forest. What you will need to be self-sufficient will vary, and there are many great lists to guide you in what gear to bring, but I’ll run through the absolute necessities.

First, plan to bring enough calories to get you through your stay in the woods. It is generally recommended to pack between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds of food (2,500 to 4,500 calories) per day. (There’s a handy calculator here to determine your body weight, level of activity and amount of calories you’ll need.)

For the majority of the sites listed below, you will either need to bring your water or treat your water, for which there are several options. When it comes to the amount of water to bring, it will depend on the weather, your body’s preferences and the difficulty of the hike you’re taking to reach your campground. Some suggest one liter of water for every two hours you’ll hike, while others say it’s one liter of water for every five miles you’re traveling.

Campfires are not allowed on federal land in the Santa Monica Mountains. In Angeles National Forest, the fire danger level dictates when and what types of fire and fuel sources are allowed. As of this spring, the risk is “very high,” down from “extreme,” which means burning campfires in established fire pits and using most backpacking stoves is allowed. Before heading out, make sure you register for a California campfire permit, print it and have it on your person. It is required, regardless of wildfire risk.

Lastly, assume you won’t have cell service in Angeles National Forest or the Santa Monica Mountains, where the below campgrounds are located. You should fill out this form and share it with a friend, spouse or family member to ensure someone knows where you’re going. Also be sure to leave a copy on your vehicle’s window in case a rescue team needs to look for you. It’s important that you know where the closest fire or law enforcement station is to your campground — Angeles National Forest has a handful.

You should consider bringing a satellite communicator. Some newer model iPhones and Android devices can connect to satellites to send text messages. It’s best to test this while on a hike before planning to use it on a backpacking trip.

Getting there

Before heading out, check the weather and for road closures. Download your driving and hiking routes on your navigation apps. For example, Google Maps allows you to download a section of a map to use offline.

You should also bring a paper map. You can buy one at an outdoors outfitter or print one from a mapping site like CalTopo. I’ve downloaded a map from CalTopo and then printed it on waterproof paper at a FedEx office store. Having a physical map of the area will also allow you to see and navigate nearby trails, should you want to explore beyond your campsite.

(Marie Doazan for The Times)

For the seasoned car camper who’s backpacking-curious (beginner)

At each of these beginner-level backpacking sites, you will generally find water, either from a nearby stream or, in one spot, piped in. Their campsites feature picnic tables and have restrooms (including, in one case, flushing toilets!). The hikes to reach these two trail camps are short and, as a bonus, quite pleasant. You’ll likely spot wildflowers, including lupines and goldenrod, and you’ll be near trails to explore more, should you choose to venture out of your haven in the woods.

Cooper Canyon Trail Camp

The Cooper Canyon Trail Camp in Angeles National Forest.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

The Cooper Canyon Trail Camp is a backcountry group campground shaded by towering old pine trees. It has five sites and features vault toilets, campfire rings, klamath stoves and large picnic tables. And unlike most of the spots on this list, bear-proof boxes are available to store food and scented items.

There is no piped water. Campers can pack in water, or filter water from the seasonal stream that flows next to the campground. Just over a mile east of the campground, this stream meets up with Little Rock Creek, which flows about 17 miles from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Mojave Desert. Cold plunges are optional but highly encouraged.

The trail camp can be reached three main ways:

• Starting at the Cloudburst Summit trailhead, taking the Pacific Crest Trail mostly downhill 2.5 miles northeast to the trail camp.
• Starting at the Cloudburst Summit trailhead, taking the fire road 1.5 miles down to the trail camp.
• Starting at the Burkhart trailhead from the day use parking lot on the eastern end of the Buckhorn Campground. You will hike 1.5 miles north on a downhill path and then turn west onto the Pacific Crest Trail (also a part of the Silver Moccasin Trail). You will travel one mile uphill, gaining about 540 feet in elevation, before reaching the trail camp. (This is the most challenging of the three routes.)

Because it sits along the Pacific Crest Trail, the campground is also used by thru-hikers, including those taking the entire trail from Mexico to Canada. Perhaps you’ll make a new friend!

While at the campground, you could take a side trip to Cooper Canyon falls, or continue exploring the Pacific Crest Trail. Or, simply hang up a hammock and sway to the sound of the stream, songbirds and the gentle swoosh of the wind through the trees. Cooper Canyon has long been a beloved place to spend nights outdoors.

“If there is a moon, the nights are like a sparkling fairyland, and if no moon, one may see a million stars which those in the cities never know,” outdoorsman Will Thrall wrote of the area in 1936 in his Times column, “Your Hike Today.”

L.A. and its surrounding area have substantially more light pollution almost 90 years later, but the skies above Cooper Canyon Trail Camp will still delight any overnight visitor.

Musch Trail Camp

Musch Trail Camp is a small but charming campground in Topanga State Park that recently reopened after being spared by the Palisades fire.

The 82-acre Trippet Ranch, as it is known today, was originally called “Rancho Las Lomas Celestiales” by its owner Cora Larimore Trippet, a founding member of the Hollywood Bowl and once a national officer in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, according to her obituary and the Valley Relics Museum. She was married to judge Oscar A. Trippet.

The Musch Trail Camp is a small but charming site in Topanga State Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

The property’s name translates to “Ranch of Heavenly Hills,” which still rings true today. You’ll hike the moderate Musch Trail from the Trippet Ranch parking lot of Topanga State Park, feasting your eyes on those aforementioned hills. In spring, the area will be dotted with wild blooms of sticky monkey flower, canyon sunflower and golden yarrow.

Unlike every other site on this list, Musch Trail Camp has flush toilets, sinks and potable water. What a luxury! The only caveat is, per a park staffer I spoke with, maintenance staff turns the water on when they know campers are coming. Before heading out, please call the Angeles District of California State Parks at (818) 880-0363 to ask them to have the water turned on.

On top of having potable water, it’s only a mile hike to reach this site. You’ll park in the Trippet Ranch lot in Topanga State Park and pay the parking fee ($10 per night). The trailhead is in the northeast corner of the lot near the small pond. Enjoy the lush flora along the way. Upon arrival, drop your camping fee ($7 per night) in the iron ranger.

While at the campground, I felt a bit like Snow White as I sat quietly observing quail, hummingbirds and moles, and heard something crunching on a leafy meal (probably a deer). Though this little nook in Topanga State Park is likely safe from evil queens.

(Marie Doazan for The Times)

Our intermediate sites are a bit farther to reach than the beginner options, and in one case, requires you to bring your own water. They both have picnic tables and tall shade trees where you can rest with a book or journal. They also both have vault toilets and, when I visited, were even stocked with toilet paper. Both allowed me alone time with nature that’s rare to find on L.A.’s more heavily trafficked urban trails. The surrounding hillsides and old trees were excellent company in themselves, and made me feel at peace. I hope you find a similar serenity on your travels!

Valley Forge Trail Camp

The Valley Forge Trail Camp is a refreshing refuge of mighty pines next to the pristine West Fork of the San Gabriel River. It has six group campsites with picnic tables and campfire rings, and has four well-maintained vault toilets. At night, it offers clear views of the starry sky.

One of a handful of sites at the Valley Forge Trail Camp in Angeles National Forest.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

It has all those things. But it does not have piped water. Campers will need to either bring their own or treat the water in the river (when flowing).

To reach the campground, you have the choice of two routes:

• Parking at the Red Box Picnic Area and taking the Gabrielino National Recreation Trail about 2.4 miles down. This moderate hike follows the West Fork of the San Gabriel River and features large oak trees and other gorgeous native foliage.
• Parking at Red Box Picnic Area and taking the Rincon Red Box Road, a fire road, about 3.2 miles down. On the way back, you’ll gain about 1,200 feet in elevation.
• And as a bonus, because both routes start near the Red Box Picnic Area, you can take one up and one down if you’d like a change of scenery on the way back.

The campsite’s name is a reference to the Valley Forge Lodge, which operated in the area in the early 1900s. It was advertised as “the camp with real old Western hospitality” and featured dinner dances, badminton and trout fishing. Its guest list included celebrities like actor Lon Chaney, “the man of a thousand faces,” who in the summer of 1927 was among those lucky enough to catch trout.

The sunset from the trail to reach the Valley Forge Trail Camp.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Even though the lodge is gone, its description in a 1937 advertisement holds true: “Cool and delightfully wooden location” with bubbling streams. These days the trout are few, but you’ll fall asleep listening to the nearby frogs and toads serenading the night from their river homes.

Sulphur Springs Trail Camp

Sulphur Springs Trail Camp sits at 5,300 feet in Angeles National Forest and features about six tent-camping sites. Just off the Pacific Crest Trail, its campsites are shaded by tall pine trees, ideal for hanging a hammock. It has vault toilets but no potable water or bear boxes.

Although the South Fork of Little Rock Creek runs through the campground, the water was, to use a scientific term, kind of gross. Portions of the creek appeared clear, but other parts were full of algae and made me question whether even filtering would make the water safe to drink.

There’s a faucet on the eastern end of the campground where water from the creek is piped, but upon my arrival, the trough where the water came out was covered in thick green algae. A sign next to it reads “Water not tested, Boil for 5 minutes before use.” Although there might be water available in late winter and early spring, I would not expect there to be much come summer. And even then, I will still plan to bring my own water.

The sites at Sulphur Springs Trail Camp in Angeles National Forest feature picnic tables and fire pits, along with tall pine and other native trees.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

To reach the campground, you’ll park at Three Points and cross the street to access the trailhead. There was a large tree blocking my view of the trailhead when I visited in early April, but upon squinting at my map, I found it. I hope it’s cleared when you go!

You’ll take the Pacific Crest Trail about 3.6 miles to reach the trail camp. There are several boulders in the first mile of the hike, including one area where you can scramble about just under half a mile in. Be mindful of rattlesnakes, as it looks like the perfect spot for them to nap.

The trail seems to transverse through an ecotone, a transitional zone between plant communities, switching between high desert and pine forest ecosystems. You’ll pass through patches of manzanita and yucca and then forested parts with Coulter pines, all the while with a view of the valley below.

When I left the trail camp late in the day, the golden sun blanketed the tree-lined mountainsides. I was reminded of just how many shades of green can be seen when one takes time to explore — to escape — into the forest. It was a five-star experience.

(Marie Doazan for The Times)

For those seeking self-sufficiency — and a break from noisy neighbors (advanced)

The campsites below are the farthest hikes on the list, but both of the hikes to reach them are spectacular. One provides tremendous ocean views while the other is a stunning paved path through the dense forest. As a bonus, you can bike to the second site if bikepacking is something you’re into.

The only amenity both offer is a picnic table. One site does have a single vault toilet.

That said, these two sites are a true escape, and you’ll likely see wildlife like mule deer and hear the howls of coyotes.

La Jolla Walk-In Campsite

The La Jolla Walk-In Campsite is a small campground in dense chaparral in Point Mugu State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains. It has three small sites featuring a picnic table with a metal box attached for food and scented items. There is a seasonal stream, but it’s often dry. Campers should plan to pack water in. There are no fires allowed and unfortunately dogs are not invited to join. It costs just $10 per night, a fee campers prepay at the La Jolla/Ray Miller parking area.

The campground is half a mile off the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, offering an overnight option for those wanting to tackle more of the iconic trail than can be accomplished in a day.

You can reach the campground by parking at the lot off Highway 1. Although it’s possible to leave your car outside the park for a day hike, parking isn’t allowed on the shoulder daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The campsites at La Jolla Walk-In Campsite are rustic but provide privacy and clear views of the night sky.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

You’ll start at the Ray Miller Trailhead, named after California State Park’s first official campground host, and take the route, also known as the Backbone Trail, about 4.6 miles before turning west onto the La Jolla Valley Fire Road, which will take you the half mile to the trail camp.

The scenery along the way is stunning and diverse. For the first 2.5 miles of the hike, you’ll be rewarded with better and better ocean views as you gain elevation, including two miles in when you can see a gorgeous stretch of coast line.

You will transition from the Ray Miller Trail to the Overlook Fire Road — all still the Backbone Trail — about 2.6 miles in. At this point, you’ll mostly lose the ocean view but be greeted by a diversity of local plants, including wildflowers like spreading phlox, and varieties of poppies, lupines and paintbrushes.

This trail camp is also reachable by starting at the Chumash Trail, but given that trail’s steepness, this reporter isn’t advising that as an option for backpackers. (Even if it is a shorter route to reach the campground.)

Glenn Camp Campground

The Glenn Camp Campground is a 10-site forested haven next to the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. It is open year round and features picnic tables, grills and fire pits.

There is no piped water. Campers will need to either bring their own or filter water from the nearby river.

The Glenn Camp Campground in the San Gabriel Mountains in Angeles National Forest.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

The restrooms are, unfortunately, closed until further notice. You’ll need to relieve yourself ideally 200 feet from the river, especially when you have to — hey, let’s just say it! — poop. You’ll want to bring a trowel, and have a plan for toilet paper. (This how-to video is worth watching before heading out) The best practice is to pack it out. If you plan to use natural elements for wiping, make sure you know what poison ivy and other unfriendly plants look like. Not something you want to explain to the doctor at urgent care!

A deer stands on the bank of the West Fork of the San Gabriel River near the Glenn Camp Campground.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

This campground was previously open only on the weekends because of nearby construction, but that restriction has ended.

To reach the campground, you can either hike or bike the seven-mile West Fork National Scenic Bikeway. You will gain just over 500 feet in elevation as you travel along this mostly paved path that runs parallel to the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. After a good rain, waterfalls run down the hillsides next to the path. Yes, it is as heavenly as it sounds.

The campground sits next to the river and is shaded by old-growth trees, including at least one you could climb into and read a book. Yeah, that’s freedom!

Remember

In a world where our phones can quickly provide us with anything we’re willing to pay a delivery fee for, backpacking can offer a necessary reset for our over-reliance on technology. Stepping away into the L.A. mountains, you’ll be greeted with a sound bath from crickets and birds as the smell of pine, sage and bay laurel fills your nostrils. It is an opportunity to be present with yourself and those around you, and worry yourself only with questions of whether someone should throw another log on the fire. Deep bathtub be damned, that sense of presence is the greatest luxury of all.

Perched high above the Cahuenga Pass, the 24-story Hilton Los Angeles Universal City Hotel is positioned to be a prime gathering spot for visitors arriving for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sun Hill Properties Inc., which manages the 495-room hotel, has already signed a “room block” agreement with the LA28 organizing committee, reserving hundreds of rooms for Olympics fans. The City Council recently approved a plan to let the Hilton add a second, 18-story tower, which would open just in time for the Olympics.

Now, the future of the $250-million expansion is in doubt. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council is set to vote on a requirement that hotels with 60 or more rooms pay their workers at least $30 per hour by 2028, along with a new $8.35 per hour healthcare payment.

If the council approves the proposal without significant changes, Sun Hill “absolutely will be pulling out of the room block for the Olympics,” said Mark Davis, the company’s president and chief executive. The hotel’s investors will also kill the 395-room expansion, he said.

“Our board was very adamant that if [council members] go forward with this nonsense, that it’s dead,” Davis said. “They’re going to move the project somewhere else.”

The council voted 12-3 last year to instruct City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto to draft the package of minimum wage hikes, which would apply not just to hotels but also private companies at Los Angeles International Airport, such as airlines and concessions. The minimum wage would be the highest in the country, according to Unite Here Local 11, the hotel and restaurant workers union, which has championed the proposal.

Mark Davis, president and CEO of Sun Hill Properties, said a proposal to hike L.A.’s minimum wage for hotel workers would kill a plan for a new 18-story hotel tower unless it is reworked.

(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)

Backers of the higher wage say L.A.’s tourism workers are struggling to pay for food and rent, and deserve to benefit financially from the Olympics just as much as private corporations. They dismiss the hospitality industry’s dire warnings, including the notion that increased wages will scuttle the development of new hotels.

City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez said the Sheraton Universal Hotel, a nearby competitor of the Hilton, has already been paying a higher wage to its unionized workforce. The real threat to the development of new hotels, he said, is higher interest rates and the economic uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s trade policies.

“So, I just don’t buy it,” said Soto-Martínez, a former hotel union organizer, as he referred to Davis’ warning.

Under the city’s proposal, the hotel and airport minimum wage would reach $22.50 on July 1. It would jump to $25 in July 2026, $27.50 in July 2027 and $30 in July 2028. On top of those increases, the $8.35 per hour healthcare payment would go into effect on Jan. 1.

Business groups point out that two hotels have closed in the past year — Four Points by Sheraton next to LAX and Mama Shelter in Hollywood, for a loss of 270 jobs. They say Trump’s trade wars are driving down tourist activity from other nations, with visitors from Canada especially lagging.

Once the increases are in effect, business leaders say, hotels with on-site dining won’t be able to compete with non-hotel restaurants, which will have a much lower minimum wage.

Jon Bortz, chairman and chief executive of the Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, said his company is already looking at scaling back restaurant operations at two of its Southern California properties — the Kimpton Hotel Palomar and the W Los Angeles West Beverly Hills, both in Westwood near UCLA.

The Palomar will likely offset the cost of the higher minimum wage by converting its restaurant into a self-service breakfast operation, while the W will probably close at least one of its two restaurants, Bortz said. “We have to change the business model of these properties to have any hope of surviving,” he added.

Bortz said the proposed wage hikes, along with other hotel regulations approved by the City Council in recent years, have spurred Pebblebrook to look to other markets for new hotel projects.

“Frankly, the [L.A.] market, from a broad-based buyer perspective, has been crossed off the map by investors,” he said.

Hotels in other parts of L.A. are considering similar reductions. An executive with Lightstone Group, which owns the 727-room Moxy + AC Hotels near the Convention Center, told City Council members last year that the minimum wage proposal would likely result in the closure of Level 8, a collection of restaurants on the hotel’s eighth floor.

Mark Beccaria, a partner with the Hotel Angeleno near the 405 Freeway, said in a separate letter to city leaders that he would have to shutter not just the hotel’s restaurant but also its valet parking, eliminating 39 jobs.

“Common sense says you cannot raise wages over 50% in a year when revenues are down,” he said.

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, accused the hotels of fear-mongering, saying they are misrepresenting the potential impact of the planned wage hikes. Hotel owners, he said, “act like the sky is falling every time they have to share profits with their workers.”

“This ‘Chicken Little’ stuff has got to end. Every single time, hotels cry poverty, and then a day later, they’re doing fine. It’s always the same routine,” Petersen said. “What’s not falling is rent and healthcare. What’s not sustainable is workers not earning enough to live in Los Angeles.”

The hospitality industry issued similar warnings a decade ago — when the council approved the current hotel minimum wage — only to see tourism flourish in the years that immediately followed, said Víctor Sánchez, executive director of the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy, a pro-labor advocacy group that produced a report on that phenomenon.

In Long Beach, where residents voted to raise the hotel minimum wage last year, revenue per available room was up 15.7% in March compared with the same month the prior year, said Sánchez, citing data from the real estate group CoStar.

L.A.’s political leaders have enacted a number of wage laws over the last few decades. The hotel minimum wage, approved by the council in 2014, is currently $20.32 per hour. The minimum wage for private-sector employees at LAX is $25.23 per hour, once the required $5.95 hourly healthcare payment is included. Then there’s the minimum wage for nearly everyone else in L.A., which is $17.28 per hour — 78 cents higher than the state’s.

The hourly minimum wage for hotel and airport workers was already slated to go up this year, as part of regularly scheduled increases in the city’s wage laws. Once the council showed interest in the much larger increases, business leaders began warning that hotel developers would take their business elsewhere.

Few were as dramatic as Davis, who told council members that their proposal, as drafted, would “likely kill” the Universal City Hilton’s 395-room expansion.

Davis, whose company has hotels in Simi Valley, Colorado Springs, Colo., and the greater Denver area, said his board instructed him last year to look at acquiring property outside of California, in markets that “make more sense financially for an investment of $250 million.”

“The owners investing this money, they have to look at the numbers,” he said in an interview. “Any project survives only by its numbers.”

The Universal City Hilton already pays most of its workers more than $25 per hour, while also offering healthcare coverage, Davis said. If those health plans have a financial value lower than the $8.35 per hour, the company will need to make up the difference, he said.

Davis said he, too, is looking at scaling back restaurant operations, which would likely require layoffs.

At one point, Davis’ project drew support from the city’s political leaders.

The Universal City Hilton reached an agreement early on with construction trade unions, promising to pay a higher prevailing wage to the estimated 1,000 construction workers who would work on the new tower.

In August, the council voted unanimously to seek an economic analysis that would determine whether the city should provide taxpayer assistance to the project. The analysis, requested by Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Soto-Martínez, would have explored whether to allow the hotel to keep a share of the tax revenues generated by the new tower.

Raman, whose district includes a portion of Universal City, did not respond to questions from The Times about the project — or the potential impact of the higher tourism wage.

In recent days, the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles has been appealing directly to Mayor Karen Bass, purchasing digital ads that ask her to intervene on the minimum wage issue.

Bass, in an interview earlier this year, said she wants hotel workers to “make a decent living” while also ensuring that their employers “are able to survive.”

“We have to make sure that we can address both — that we can address the needs of the workers without crippling the industry,” she said.

Some advice: If you love something, set it free — even the Miu Miu heels.

This was the notion that two friends, Quinn Shephard and Francesca Goncalves, were discussing in a sun-kissed setting (a “pool somewhere,” Shephard recalls). They wanted to barter their old clothing, but that was a sticky prospect in Los Angeles — the scene is riddled with suspicious stares from thrift store employees and digital cold wars with teenagers on Depop. There’s pomp and circumstance at every turn.

Kristen Vaganos and Kate Mansi help a shopper try on some shoes.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

“So many people are like: I go to Wasteland or Crossroads and I get $3,” Shephard explains. “They’re not nice to me.”

Shephard and Goncalves wanted to start a closet sale that felt more like a fun hangout with friends. So one day last summer, Shephard and Goncalves hit the streets of Silver Lake, asking small businesses if they’d host an event that they were calling Outfit Repeater L.A. Shephard jokes that Goncalves is the “mayor of Silver Lake” — the kind of Gatsby-like woman who makes Los Angeles feel like a small town, chatting with strangers with an endearing openness. Finally, they arrived at Constellation Coffee, a contemporary, sleek coffee shop. To their surprise, the manager agreed to host Outfit Repeater L.A. that upcoming Sunday.

“She’s used to indie filmmaking, where you have to go up and ask people for things, and there’s power in that,” Goncalves says of Shephard, the director of TV shows including the Hulu drama “Under the Bridge.” Goncalves works in Stanford Medicine’s genetics department.

With their event fast approaching, Shephard and Goncalves created a blitzkrieg of advertisements across social media and posted fliers on lampposts throughout the neighborhood to drum up excitement. “We literally put up fliers until 2 am. It’s so funny because Quinn doesn’t do anything unless it’s 100%, and I’m like that too,” says Goncalves.

Clockwise from left: A shopper looks at a skirt. Seller Samantha Rose and Liv Hoffner. Outfit Repeater L.A. co-founder Francesca Goncalves talks with seller Mitch deQuilettes. (Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

The first Outfit Repeater L.A. event was a success, drawing a crowd of fashion enthusiasts and women who wanted to sell their beloved wardrobes directly to buyers, bypassing the intermediary of a thrift store. Women attendees eagerly inquired about selling their own clothes at the next event, offering up locations and contacts. “New coffee shops wanted to host us, and new girls wanted to sell,” Goncalves says. “It snowballed into this thing where it’s just getting bigger and bigger, completely by accident.”

Since then, Outfit Repeater L.A. has garnered a reputation as the Eastside’s hippest trading post for “it” girls, creatives and fashion trendsetters. Sellers have included independent film darlings like Geraldine Viswanathan and Francesca Reale, as well as fashion influencers with enviable style, such as Macy Eleni.

Despite its newfound fame, at its core, the closet sale is inclusive and accessible to people of all income levels. “I wanted to keep it very accessible. I charge a seller fee that’s so low, just to cover expenses. It’s not just vintage resellers or influencers that can afford to sell,” says Goncalves.

Outfit Repeater L.A. co-founder Francesca Goncalves.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

Goncalves attributes the success of the event to a hunger for social events that offer an alternative to the monotony of bar hangs. “People are tired of the bar scene,” she says.

Shephard explains that the appeal is simple: “It’s like going to a party with your friends for the day, plus you make money.”

At a recent Outfit Repeater L.A. event at Lamill Coffee in Silver Lake, actor Kate Mansi was selling her wardrobe after discovering the event through a friend’s recommendation. “I’m always selling stuff on Instagram,” Mansi says. “It’s nice to do it face to face. Clothes have a story. It’s nice to hear the story of the piece you’re inheriting.”

Kate Mansi in front of her closet rack.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

Mansi adds, “I have a very Virgo system with my closet where I turn the hanger backwards if it’s something I haven’t worn, and if in a year, I still haven’t worn it, it must go.” On this Sunday, one of those items was a well-loved blue polka-dot romper with puff sleeves, which Mansi found at a vintage store years earlier, and she sold it for $20. Another was an All Saints trenchcoat, priced at $40, and a gray A.L.C. blouse, for $30. A classic denim Levi’s jacket found a new home for $30.

Mansi parted ways with a black dress by Jonathan Simkhai, one of her favorite designers. To the woman who bought it, Mansi wisely prescribed that she wear the dress casually with flats or boots.

At a time when fashion retail has shifted online due to the pandemic, an in-person thrifting event has been warmly received by the community. “I’m focused on each sale being a unique thing that people walk away from, having gotten a cool piece and making a few new friends and maybe a lover or boyfriend,” says Goncalves.

Alena Nemitz, who has been creating social media content for Outfit Repeater L.A., met her partner of five months at one of the events. “I was selling, and they were walking through and introduced themselves to me,” she says. “Now we’re dating, which is so cute.”

Eleni, who wrote a book on thrifting called “Second Chances,” was one of Outfit Repeater’s earliest sellers and champions. Growing up with a single mother in Dayton, Ohio, Eleni explains that she was bullied for thrifting during her childhood and is overjoyed to see a new generation embrace it. She believes some of the newfound eagerness for thrifting comes from an increased awareness of the devastating impact of fast fashion. “When I was a teenager, I wasn’t seeing videos on my phone of the inside of a Shein factory,” she says. “The curtains have been lifted, and there’s no way to claim ignorance as to where things are coming from anymore.”

Outfit Repeater L.A. has built a community of shoppers excited about clothing, Eleni explains. “Everyone is gassing each other up about how fabulous they look,” she says. “I love seeing people’s faces light up over other people’s things that they’re ready to be done with. It’s less [about] people trying to flip a profit and more people just trying to swap their clothes, share their clothes with each other.”

Goncalves describes the endearing experience of spotting items she sold from her closet on other women around Silver Lake. The world suddenly feels smaller and warmer. “I think clothes are so personal, but they are fleeting in a way,” she says. You love something and you want to pass it on, but it’s still your life and your ecosystem, even if it’s not right for you anymore.”

A furry friend passes through the event.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)