The best things to do in L.A. and California in 2025

Jaclyn Cosgrove covers the (great!) outdoors at the Los Angeles Times. They started at The Times in 2017 and have written about wildfires, culture, protests, crime and county government. In 2022, they managed For Your Mind, a yearlong mental health project. Cosgrove is originally from rural Oklahoma and is a proud Oklahoma State University graduate. They fell in love with the Southern California landscape when they moved here in 2017. They are always looking for the next adventure and welcome your ideas. If their phone goes straight to voicemail when you call, it probably means they’re in the mountains with their beloved dog, Maggie May.

Jeanette Marantos is a Features reporter focused primarily on plants, gardening and Southern California’s changing landscapes for the Los Angeles Times. She also writes the monthly L.A. Times Plants newsletter, which includes a calendar of upcoming plant-related events. Email calendar submissions or plant-related story ideas to jeanette.marantos@latimes.com for consideration.

Born and raised in California, Christopher Reynolds has written about travel, the outdoors, arts and culture for the Los Angeles Times since 1990.

Deborah Vankin is a Features writer for the Los Angeles Times covering the $6-trillion world of Wellness from a California perspective.