1. Rose Bowl Stadium
    Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Ted Eytan
  2. Rose Bowl Flea Market
    Photograph: Michael Juliano
  3. Brookside Park aerial view
    Photograph: trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com
  4. Rose Bowl
    Photograph: Michael Juliano

Review

Rose Bowl Stadium

4 out of 5 stars
  • Things to do | Event spaces
  • Pasadena
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
Michael Juliano
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Time Out says

Tucked into the Arroyo Seco, surrounded by lush hillsides and backed by scenic mountains, this 90,000-seat stadium has been used for World Cup finals, Super Bowls and massive summer tours like U2, BTS, Beyoncé and Oasis. The Pasadena icon is also—for now—home to the UCLA Bruins football team as well as the annual New Year’s Day Rose Bowl Game, which is preceded by the floral-filled Rose Parade. If you’re not interested in any of that big-ticket programming, swing by on the second Sunday of the month for its legendary flea market.

The stadium opened in 1922, and though there have been multiple rounds of renovations over the years, regulars lament the cramped sideline seats and backless benches behind the end zones. And though the outward-facing views from higher vantage points are picturesque, the bowl-style layout and spartan concession areas just don’t measure up to L.A.’s more modern stadiums. You might be willing to forgive most of those shortcomings, but there’s no sugarcoating the Rose Bowl’s notoriously terrible access: Driving and parking are a nightmare, and while the pre-event shuttle from the Parsons parking lot in Old Pasadena is relatively convenient, taking it back at the end of the night means standing in a long, long line and getting stuck in the very same traffic as cars. Our advice? If you still have the stamina, walk from the stadium back to the off-site parking; it’s a mile-and-a-half, mostly uphill walk, but it’ll still be the quickest and least aggravating option.

Details

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What’s on

Rose Bowl Flea Market

Perhaps the Los Angeles area’s most iconic flea market, this event around the exterior of the Rose Bowl is staggeringly colossal—but what else would you expect from a 90,000-seat stadium? The sheer size and scale of this flea market means that it encompasses multitudes: new and old, hand-crafted and salvaged, the cheap and the costly. On the second Sunday of each month, an odd mix of vendors populates the loop around the stadium: for every eye-catching artwork, there’s a ratty $5 T-shirt, and for each elegant craft there’s a competing “as seen on TV” demo. But you may have more luck in the rows and rows of old furniture, albums and vintage clothes and accessories that fill the adjacent parking lot. There are plenty of duds, to be sure, but come out early enough and you may go home with that perfect purchase. This destination flea market attracts bargain hunters, collectors, and antique aficionados from all over the county, so the organizers have instituted an extensive tiered entry/admission system, allowing professional and dedicated shoppers early access at a premium.

Egg Bowl

Search for Easter eggs on one of the most iconic grass fields in the country: the Rose Bowl. The Pasadena stadium hosts its annual Easter celebration—a day before Easter Sunday—with more than 80,000 colorful eggs laid out on the field for kids (up to 12 years old) to find, plus a springtime family festival with free activities, face painting, games, entertainment and arts and crafts just outside the field. Early risers can opt for the ticketed Bunny Brunch, which includes a VIP egg hunt. 

Masters of Taste

Luxury food fest Masters of Taste is back for another year at the Rose Bowl with some of L.A.’s finest bars, restaurants and dessert shops. Chefs Thomas and Vanessa Tilaka Kalb of Agnes host the 2026 event, with about 100 chefs and restaurants participating—including the folks behind spots like Ayara Thai, Harold & Belle’s, Lunasia, Porto’s and Wife and the Somm. All proceeds benefit Union Station Homeless Services.
  • Festivals

Head in the Clouds

Pan-Asian music and media collective 88rising’s music fest once again returns to the grounds outside the Rose Bowl, albeit only for a single-day fest this time around. The 2026 edition’s headliners include KATSEYE (only a few months after their Coachella performance), XG, Dabin.kr, Rich Brian and more.
  • Music festivals

Just Like Heaven

The aughts indie nostalgia shows no signs of stopping, so it’s no surprise that Just Like Heaven—a music fest that’s featured basically every beloved 2000s indie band—is coming back for its sixth edition. The fest will take over the golf course next to the Rose Bowl on August 22, 2026 with a lineup that’s partially pulled from your old iPod: the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem top the lineup, with additional sets from TV Girl, Chromeo, the Rapture, Feist, Twin Peaks, Matt and Kim, Whitney and more.
  • Music festivals
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