The hook
A hundred and twenty-seven acres of gardens in Arcadia come with about two hundred and fifty wild peacocks that wander the lawns and scream from the rooftops like they own the place.
01Why it's worth it
They kind of do. The peafowl are descendants of a pair a nineteenth-century speculator named Lucky Baldwin brought over from India in the 1880s, and they've had the run of the grounds ever since, fanning their tails among the flowerbeds and roosting in the trees. The garden around them is a real one: a hundred-plus acres organized by continent, with an aquatic garden, a prehistoric-plant jungle, a stand of native oaks, and Baldwin Lake at the center. On the lake sits the Queen Anne Cottage, a white gingerbread confection Baldwin built for a teenage bride, which you may recognize as the house from the opening credits of Fantasy Island. Come for the plants and stay for the birds strutting through them.
02How to experience it
It's in Arcadia near Pasadena, about six hours from the Bay. There's an admission fee, and a tram if you'd rather not walk the whole thing. The peacocks are loudest and most theatrical in spring mating season. It pairs with the Huntington and Descanso for a full San Gabriel Valley garden day.