The 10 best ways to make friends in L.A. as an adult

What other city can boast a hike with a full-blown social scene? (We’re looking at you, Runyon.) Lace up a pair of comfortable sneakers and start to climb, and we can almost guarantee you’ll run into some friendly faces taking in the views. But if you want more than a quick wave or “hello,” specifically opt for a group hike.

You don’t need to be in tip-top shape to join a sports leage—in fact, we’d say the quirkier it is the better when it comes to trying to make friends. You’ll find dodgeball leagues in West Hollywood and Eagle Rock, kickball in Venice and pickleball just about everywhere.

As we mentioned up top, bars aren’t always conducive to making new friends, especially if you’re solo. But we’d make an exception for arcade bars. If you’re a product of the ’70s or ’80s in particular, you’re not the only one pining for those glory days of pinball and Street Fighter tournaments; at these spots, you’re sure to find fellow old-school video game enthusiasts looking to get their buzz on and tackle The Simpsons with a partner.

Make like Freddie Mercury and ride your bicycle where you’d like. Meetup has lots of entries for L.A.-area bicycling meetups, with groups for two-wheeling enthusiasts from the Valley to the South Bay.

We Angelenos have lots of reasons to be thankful for living here, but we also have a responsibility to take care of our city—its people, animals, trees, beaches and more. Give back and meet other empathetic, like-minded Angelenos along the way, whether you have time for a one-off cleanup or a regular commitment.

Everyone loves bread (sorry, celiacs) and cheese (sorry, vegans and lactose intolerants), so master both with a cooking class. You won’t be the only one struggling to slice and dice your way through the class, so seize on that vulnerability to get some help from your classmates. Even if you don’t manage to make friends at a class, your cooking skills will certainly come in helpful when it comes to maintaining friendships via a bit of culinary bribery.

If you head to Courage Bagels or Howlin’ Ray’s, there’s one thing for certain that awaits you there (other than delicious carbs, of course): a very, very long line. Take your head out of your phone for the hour that you’re standing there and try to strike up a convo with the person next to you in line who’s just as equally bored.

Learning the art of “yes, and…” is just as useful for conversational skills as it is for improvisational comedy. No matter where you take classes—the Groundlings and UCB are two go-tos—you’re bound to find fellow attention-starved students (we kid, of course). Just remember not to go overboard when it comes to inviting people to see you perform.

This one, of course, requires having a dog already. And if you do, you probably already know that cute pups—which, in our book, is all dogs—are natural conversation starters. Whether you’re on a hike or at a dog beach, you’re bound start talking with other dog parents. If you want to throw some food or a drinks into the mix, consider setting up on the patio at a dog-friendly bar or restaurant.

We know this might sound a little close to the not-always-helpful advice to just “put yourself out there,” but, well, just get out of the house and go to some things. L.A. is bursting with worthwhile concerts, exhibitions and fests practically every night of the week—start going to a few and you’re bound to bump into some interesting people. Don’t expect instant connections at all or many of them, but worst case you’ve at least spent an afternoon or evening out doing something fun.