City guide
Los Angeles
WeHo for the strip, Silver Lake for the dives, DTLA for the warehouse nights, Long Beach for the beach.
LA is a car city with a walkable gay heart: the Santa Monica Blvd 'Rainbow District' in West Hollywood. The Eastside (Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park) has the leather bars and dives, DTLA has the warehouse parties, and Long Beach has its own relaxed scene on East Broadway. Lots of WeHo spots changed names in 2024–26, so old guides are wrong.
Neighborhoods
West Hollywood
$$$$Walkable, polished, touristy on weekends; the bars are all within a few blocks.
Silver Lake / Los Feliz / Echo Park
$$$Eastside dives and leather bars, an older-school, artsy crowd.
Downtown LA
$$$Lofts, Precinct and warehouse parties.
Long Beach
$$Beach-city calm with its own gay corridor on East Broadway.
Rent feel is a rough guide from $ (cheaper) to $$$$ (brace yourself).
Bars & clubs
Also listed: Hamburger Mary's WeHo, Kiso and Animal (DTLA), Mineshaft, Executive Suite and Silver Fox (Long Beach).
Health & PrEP
- Los Angeles LGBT Center Health Services 1625 N Schrader Blvd, Hollywood
PrEP, PEP, testing and primary care. (The WeHo clinic closed in 2025.) - The LGBTQ Center Long Beach 2017 E 4th St, Long Beach
Community programs and testing.
Pride & big events
WeHo Pride is the first weekend of June; LA Pride's parade is on Hollywood Blvd mid-June; Long Beach Pride is in May.
WeHo Halloween Carnaval
West Hollywood, CA · Oct 31, 2026
Hundreds of thousands in costume on Santa Monica Blvd, 6–11 pm. LA's biggest gay night of the year.
Long Beach Pride
Long Beach, CA · Dates TBA TBA, mid-May (2026 parade was Sun May 17)
SoCal beach-city Pride with a parade on Ocean Blvd.
WeHo Pride
West Hollywood, CA · Dates TBA TBA, first weekend of June (2026 was Jun 5–7)
Street fair, the OUTLOUD music festival and the parade on Santa Monica Blvd.
LA Pride
Hollywood, CA · Dates TBA TBA, mid-June (2026 was Sun Jun 14)
The parade on Hollywood Blvd.
Disneyland Pride Nite
Anaheim, CA · Dates TBA TBA (ran Jun 16 & 18 in 2026)
Disney's own ticketed after-hours Pride event at Disneyland.
WeHo Halloween Carnaval
West Hollywood, CA · Oct 31, 2027
The giant costume street party on Santa Monica Blvd.
Moving tips
- Living Eastside or in Long Beach while working Westside makes for a brutal commute. Pick your neighborhood around your job.
- Halloween Carnaval on Oct 31 is WeHo's biggest night of the year.
- Many WeHo venues changed names recently: Heart is now Beaches Tropicana, Rocco's is now Mattie's.
Recently closed
Older guides still list these.
- FUBAR (2022)
- Stache (July 2024)
- Redline, DTLA (2024)
Venues checked against 2025–26 sources in October 2026. Something changed? Post in Los Angeles.
Making friends
Leagues & clubs