The Best Plane Spotting Location At LAX Los Angeles International Airport Is Clutter’s Park
November 24, 2023
Plane Spotting Clutter’s Park Location At LAX
The highlight of my 2023 vacation in Los Angeles, California, was visiting Clutter’s Park, located just south of LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) in the El Segundo neighborhood. I discovered this park through the L.A. Flights YouTube channel, where the energetic brothers Josh and Peter regularly share their plane-spotting adventures multiple times a week. As an aviation photographer, I couldn’t pass up the chance to experience it myself. Finally, I had the opportunity to visit what is undoubtedly the ultimate plane spotting location at LAX—a truly unforgettable experience for the #AVgeek.
Bat Bridge Plane-Spotting LAX Location
“Bat Bridge” on the north side of LAX is on Westchester Parkway and not near anything else. There is NO close parking. This location is isolated and is near the LAX airport police station. Plane spotting here allows you to see the first 1/3 runways 24R and 24L directly in front of you. Arrivals will land directly in front of you, but departures are only about half way to V1. Due to its isolation and lack of any parking, this is not a great location for plane spotting. It was fun to try, however.
Economy Parking LAX Location
The economy parking lot just east of Los Angeles International Airport offers a fantastic vantage point for watching takeoffs and landings on runways 24L and 24R. The multi-level parking garage sits directly in the approach path of 24L, offering incredible opportunities to capture underbelly shots of aircraft just seconds before touchdown. Check out my economy parking plane spotting page linked above.
Clutter’s Park – By Far The Best Plane Sptting Location At LAX For Departures
Clutter’s Park is a small sidewalk park perched atop a hill with a panoramic view of LAX. It’s an ideal spot for photographing planes taking off and landing on runways 25R, 25L, 7R, and 7L. Positioned almost perfectly at the midpoint east to west, the park offers excellent views of every departure on the southernmost runways. 25R is used for departures while 25L is used for arrivals. Due to several cargo buildings blocking the view, you can’t see many arrivals touching down from Clutter’s. You can see many of them as they slow to taxi speed, however.
Clutter’s Park give you a bird’s eye view of LAX. You can see from the east end near Economy Parking all the way to the sandy mounds to the west of the runways. Directly in the middle is Tom Bradley’s International Terminal and the LAX west gates. Both are home to the largest passenger aircraft in the world. To the east are the domestic terminals. To the west are giant hangars owned by American Airlines, Qantas, and others.
The views of the airpot and aircraft are spectacular here. I suggest trying different times of day to find the lighting you like the most. While dusk makes it hard to photograph planes, it is cool to see the thousands of airport lights come on. Night departures and arrivals are always incredible.
There is plenty of free street parking available on Imperial Avenue, often directly behind the park. There is also a 7/11 within 1/4 mile. Although, there are no public restrooms nearby.
In-N-Out Burger LAX Sepulveda Boulevard
The In-N-Out Burger at the northeast corner of the airport is an ideal lunch or dinner spot for aviation enthusiasts and plane spotters. Although it’s one of the busiest In-N-Out locations, it’s well worth the visit. Parking can be limited around the restaurant, and expect heavy foot traffic from nearby hotels and the airport. Just across the street, there’s a small park located directly beneath aircraft landing on runways 24L and 24R, offering a prime spot for plane watching.
