{"id":88699,"date":"2026-04-23T06:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88699"},"modified":"2026-04-22T14:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:49:36","slug":"why-does-long-beach-have-a-fake-national-park-thats-full-of-fairies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/why-does-long-beach-have-a-fake-national-park-thats-full-of-fairies","title":{"rendered":"Why does Long Beach have a fake national park that’s full of fairies?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published by LAist<\/a> on April 18, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucked away in Bixby Knolls, you\u2019ll find the iconic parks service sign, a trail and native plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that the trail takes 15 seconds to walk and you can also find fairies and bigfoot\u2019s footprint gives a clue to what this 0.05 acre park actually is \u2014 an injection of whimsy, if technically fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bridge about an inch off the ground. Photo Cato Hern\u00e1ndez\/LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The “woowoo” bear at Bixby Knolls National Park on April 6. Photo by Cato Hern\u00e1ndez\/LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why the \u2018national\u2019 park started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was given a guided tour by Blair Cohn, executive director of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, who\u2019s the mastermind behind this make-believe spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the National Park Service hasn\u2019t reached out about their tongue-in-cheek name, but it\u2019s a tribute to them that takes inspiration from Portland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shhhh, don’t disturb the fairies. Photo Cato Hernandez\/ LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomebody in their backyard had a tiny little sign and they made it their own little national park,\u201d Cohn recalled. \u201cWe said, OK, well let\u2019s take it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of the park started before it opened in 2021. Businesses were struggling because of the pandemic. The association cut programs and was doing what it could to help local shops. But it was facing an uncertain future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning for the worst, Cohn said they wanted to go out with a bang, so they looked at landscaping they could do to help people get back outside. They picked an abandoned lot at Roosevelt Road and Long Beach Boulevard, right near a business corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u200aWe said we\u2019ll do one last thing for the neighborhood and let\u2019s create something fun in this corner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They got the city on board and some funding. But they wanted to do it in a fun and cheeky way, which is when they came up with the tiny, fake National Park idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cohn said the comical take is about giving people a welcome distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left to right: Rusty B. and Blair Cohn explain what creatures are in the Bixby Knolls park on April 6. Photo by Cato Hern\u00e1ndez\/LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u200aThere\u2019s so much bad news,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our combat daily is to do things like this, always sprinkle in a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of BS into the mix because we all could use a laugh and be lighthearted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The association maintains the park now, keeping it clean and ready for visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tiny but mighty sights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During my visit, there was an unexpected visitor: The officially-unofficial park ranger of Bixby Knolls \u201cNational\u201d Park, Rusty B. (He said the \u201cB\u201d is because he\u2019s \u201c\u200alike a bear with no ears.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with all the foolery here, he\u2019s not a real park ranger but played the role quite well with an Australian accent (crikey!). Rusty gave me a tour of all the sites you can see in the tiny park, which include Matilija poppies and other native plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out how the park\u2019s largest inhabitants, a wolf and \u201c\u200awoowoo\u201d bear, sit still to hunt for prey. These totally aren\u2019t statues (wink, wink). We also crossed a bridge over a \u201craging river\u201d of dry gravel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the park\u2019s mountain range mural, you\u2019ll catch some other surprises. \u201c\u200aWe\u2019ve got some mushrooms and we\u2019ve got a couple of leprechauns hanging out there,\u201d Rusty said. \u201cIt\u2019s completely native.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200aAnd watch out as you walk. A fake trap is on the ground that\u2019s there to capture big rodents that come from Anaheim, according to Rusty. Bigfoot\u2019s footprints are also immortalized on the grounds, who was supposedly spotted in the neighborhood around 1918.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donut Rock, aka Angel Food Donuts, is directly across the street from Bixby Knolls “National” Park. Photo by Cato Hern\u00e1ndez\/LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before you leave, make sure to pay a visit to the other places of interest around this tiny spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donut Rock (aka Angel Food Donuts across the street) sells \u201cBixby Bear Claws\u201d and donut rocks (donut holes). There\u2019s also the big blue \u201cFinger Pointe\u201d within eye-shot of the park, which is where they get their \u200aprinting done, and the Bixby Knolls \u201cNational\u201d Park shuttle (aka a standard bus stop wrapped in wood covering).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could explore this area for a while and likely find something new each time, like a light pole giraffe or moose head, but don\u2019t worry about getting lost. The park has a map sign with information about all of the tiniest \u201cnational\u201d park\u2019s best features.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tucked away in Bixby Knolls, you\u2019ll find the iconic parks service sign, a trail and native plants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":88700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32384],"class_list":["post-88699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88699"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88717,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88699\/revisions\/88717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88699"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88699"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}