Silver Lake earned its reputation the slow way, through decades of architects, musicians, and painters who moved east of Hollywood because the rent was cheap and the hills gave them room to build strange things. Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler both left buildings here in the 1930s and 40s, and the neighborhood never really lost that experimental streak. What you get now is a walk that mixes Case Study houses tucked into hillsides, a reservoir that used to actually supply the city's drinking water, and a stretch of Sunset Boulevard that's been rewritten by every wave of Angeleno who's passed through since the 1920s.
This route runs from the reservoir's east side down through Sunset Junction and into the commercial spine of Silver Lake Boulevard and Sunset, where the murals, record shops, and taco counters do most of the talking. It's a walk built for looking up as much as looking ahead — porch details, hand-painted signage, the occasional Neutra roofline peeking over a hedge. The Mosey app plots the stops in order and gives you walking directions between them, so you're not toggling between a map and a guidebook while a burrito goes cold in your hand.
Budget around two and a half hours if you want to actually stop and read the plaques, eat, and not just power through it. There's some elevation change around the reservoir and near the hillside streets, nothing brutal, but enough that flip-flops are a bad call. This isn't a museum tour — it's a neighborhood that happens to have a lot of history sitting in plain sight, and the walk is built to make you notice it.
The Route: Reservoir to Sunset Junction
"The reservoir was built in 1907 as part of the city's early water infrastructure, named for Herman Silver, a city council member who pushed for its construction. It held drinking water for decades until the Department of Water and Power drained the main basin in 2015 after new state regulations required covered storage. What's left is a meadow and walking path around the water, which the city redeveloped as public green space rather than fill it in entirely."
Walk the path along the east side rather than trying to loop the whole reservoir — it'll eat your morning. Look for the dog park and meadow area near Van Pelt Pl, a good spot to sit if you got here early and want to watch the neighborhood wake up.
"Richard Neutra built this house at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd in 1932, funded partly by Dutch industrialist C.H. Van der Leeuw, whose initials give the house its name. A fire destroyed most of the original structure in 1963; Neutra and his son Dion rebuilt it by 1966 with an added upper story and reflecting pool. It's now owned by Cal Poly Pomona and opens for docent-led tours on select Saturdays."
Check the Cal Poly Pomona website before you go — it's only open to the public a few Saturdays a month, roughly 11am to 3pm, for a modest admission fee. If it's closed, you can still see the exterior and the pool reflection from the sidewalk, which is most of the photo anyway.
"This stretch where Sunset Blvd bends to meet Santa Monica Blvd was a streetcar transfer point in the early 1900s, which is why it developed into a commercial strip while the surrounding blocks stayed residential. By the 1970s and 80s it became a center of LA's LGBTQ community, and the Sunset Junction Street Fair ran here from 1980 until 2011, when rising costs and permitting disputes ended it. The intersection still carries that layered identity in its storefronts."
Slow down here and look at the building facades above the current storefronts — several retain their early 20th-century brickwork and signage ghosts. Skip trying to find remnants of the old street fair; nothing physical marks it beyond the community's memory of it.
"Intelligentsia opened its Silver Lake location at 3922 Sunset Blvd in 2007, part of the wave of third-wave coffee roasters that helped define this stretch of Sunset in the mid-2000s. The space is a converted mid-century building with an open patio that became a de facto neighborhood living room for the local creative crowd. It's still one of the better-known coffee names to come out of LA, alongside Stumptown and Verve."
Order at the counter and grab a patio seat if one's open — mid-morning on a weekday is your best shot. It's not cheap by LA café standards, but it's a fair stop to sit, people-watch, and recheck your route on Mosey before the next leg.
"The blocks of Sunset between Silver Lake Blvd and Edgecliffe Dr have carried rotating murals for years, largely on the sides of independent shops and old commercial buildings that never got swallowed by chains. Much of this mural culture traces back to LA's broader Chicano muralist movement of the 1970s, which used wall space across the Eastside as a substitute for gallery access. Silver Lake's contribution is smaller-scale than East LA's landmark murals but part of the same lineage."
Walk the north side of Sunset here, since that's where most of the wall space and murals face out. Don't expect a fixed roster — pieces get painted over or replaced, so what's there in August 2026 may differ from photos you've seen online.
"Silverlake Wine opened in 2002 at 2395 Glendale Blvd, one of the early independent wine shops to bet on Silver Lake before the neighborhood's current density of restaurants and shops existed. It built a reputation for small-production, low-intervention wines at a time when that was a harder sell in LA than it is now. The shop runs regular in-store tastings, usually on weekend afternoons."
If you're doing this walk on a Saturday, check their tasting schedule — a few dollars gets you a pour of something you won't find at a regular wine shop. Otherwise it's a five-minute browse, worth it if you're picking up a bottle for later.
"Salazar sits at 2490 Fletcher Dr, in a former auto body shop the restaurant converted into an open-air dining space with a wood-fired grill built into the courtyard. Chef Esdras Ochoa opened it in 2016 focused on Sonoran-style mesquite-grilled meats, and it's since become one of the more consistently recommended restaurants on the Eastside. The lot backs up to the LA River bike path, which gives the patio an unusually open, industrial feel for a neighborhood spot."
Order the carne asada or the al pastor tacos and split an order of the elote if you've got room. It's a walk-up counter with patio seating, cash and card both fine, and weekend evenings get a wait — early dinner around 5:30 or 6pm is your best bet to skip it.
Planning Your Silver Lake Walk
Best time to walk: Los Angeles is dry most of the year, but Silver Lake has real sun exposure with little shade around the reservoir loop. Mornings before 11am or evenings after 5pm avoid the worst of it, especially June through September.
Shoes: Flat, comfortable walking shoes. There's a moderate hill climb between the reservoir and Sunset Junction, and sidewalks in spots are cracked or narrow.
The narration: Mosey surfaces the architect, year, or documented event tied to each stop as you arrive, so you're getting context instead of just a pin on a map.
Walk Silver Lake with Mosey
Get turn-by-turn directions and on-location history for every stop on this route, right on your phone.
Download on the App Store — FreeFrequently asked questions
Is Silver Lake walkable without a car?
Yes, the core stretch between the reservoir and Sunset Junction is walkable, roughly a 2-mile loop with sidewalks throughout. Some streets near the hillsides lack proper sidewalks, so stick to Silver Lake Blvd, Sunset Blvd, and Glendale Blvd for the easiest walking. Rideshare or the DASH bus covers gaps if you want to shorten the route.
How long does it take to walk Silver Lake's main sights?
Plan for about two and a half hours to cover the reservoir, Sunset Junction, and the mural and shop stretch along Sunset Blvd, including a meal stop. Add 30 to 45 minutes if you want to tour the Neutra VDL house, which only runs on select Saturdays.
What is the best time of day to walk around Silver Lake Reservoir?
Early morning, before 10am, or early evening after 5pm, avoids the strongest sun and the midday parking crunch. The reservoir path has little shade, so summer afternoons in Los Angeles can be uncomfortable by 1 or 2pm.
Where should I eat after walking Silver Lake?
Salazar at 2490 Fletcher Dr is a solid finish, known for mesquite-grilled tacos and an open-air patio next to the LA River bike path. It's counter service, so there's no reservation needed, but weekend evenings get busy after 6:30pm.
Are the Silver Lake murals still there in 2026?
Some are, some aren't. Sunset Blvd between Silver Lake Blvd and Edgecliffe Dr has carried rotating murals for years, and pieces get painted over or replaced without much notice. Treat any specific mural as temporary rather than a fixed landmark.
Is the Neutra VDL house open to the public?
Only on select Saturdays, typically a few per month, run by Cal Poly Pomona which owns the property at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd. Check the university's website before visiting, since hours change and it's not a walk-in attraction. The exterior is visible from the sidewalk anytime.
More LA Neighborhoods Worth Walking
If Silver Lake's mix of architecture and food worked for you, Mosey has similar self-guided routes through Echo Park, just south, where Angelino Heights' Victorian houses meet the lake and its own set of murals, and through Highland Park, further east, which has its own wave of independent shops and a more Arroyo Seco-driven history. Both pair well with Silver Lake if you're building a longer Eastside day.