Imperial Hill at Los Angeles Airport

Updated: October 2026 – If you talk about plane spotting in Los Angeles, you quickly end up at two names: the In-N-Out Burger on the north side and Imperial Hill in the south. The hill in El Segundo, now officially Clutter’s Park, is where you sit down, unpack your camera and watch widebody jets pass by on the south runways of LAX for hours – with the sun at your back for large parts of the day.

This page explains how the spot works, when it’s best, how to get there and what to combine it with.

A hill between two Imperials

The name almost explains itself: the small hill lies between El Segundo’s Imperial Avenue and Imperial Highway, which marks the southern boundary of the airport. For decades spotters therefore called it Imperial Hill. The city of El Segundo later landscaped the narrow green strip as a park and named it after Jim Clutter, a former city councilman. According to the Los Angeles Explorers Guild, the area is only about 200 meters long and a few meters deep – more a balcony over the airport than a classic park.

The naming has an ironic note. Clutter campaigned against aircraft noise from LAX and, according to the Los Angeles Explorers Guild, initiated an action in 1988 in which a warning was spelled out in letters meters tall on the slope to pilots. It was aimed at everyone who didn’t turn inland only after flying out over the Pacific, as intended. Today, on nice weekends, dozens of people who come for the aircraft often sit right here.

According to the Los Angeles Explorers Guild, the park is equipped with five metal benches facing the airport and four small two-person tables with an inlaid chessboard. The benches are often taken, so a folding chair of your own is no luxury.

LAX at a glance: four runways, two pairs

Los Angeles International Airport is about 29 kilometers southwest of downtown, right on the Pacific coast. It has four parallel runways arranged in two pairs:

Runway pair	Runways	Length	Position	From Imperial Hill
North complex	06L/24R	2,721 m	far north	only in the distance
North complex	06R/24L	3,318 m	north side inner	only in the distance
South complex	07L/25R	3,939 m	south side inner	clearly visible, behind
South complex	07R/25L	3,382 m	far south	right in front of you

So Imperial Hill is a spot for the south complex. What happens on the north side you see at most as distant silhouettes. For the north runways, the In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda Boulevard is the right place.

The airport opened in 1928 and is operated today by Los Angeles World Airports. With over 73 million passengers in 2025, it is among the busiest airports in the world. Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines operate large hubs here, plus cargo carriers like Atlas Air.

Runway direction in use: when the hill is best

During the day LAX preferably operates in west flow. That means: departures go out toward the Pacific, landings come in from the east over the city. For departures, the inner runways are preferred, so in the south complex 25R. Landings accordingly often use the outer 25L – exactly the runway directly in front of the hill.

For you that means: in normal west flow, landed aircraft roll out in front of you on 25L, while behind them on 25R departures accelerate and lift off. Spotters therefore describe Imperial Hill mainly as a spot for takeoffs. If you want landings on final approach from below, you’re better off on the north side at the In-N-Out.

Configuration	What you see at Imperial Hill	When	Recommendation
West flow (normal case)	Takeoffs on 25R, landings rolling out on 25L	during the day, mostly	Hill is first choice
Night operations over the ocean	Landings from the west, a completely different picture	midnight to 6:30 a.m.	Park is closed then anyway
East flow	Takeoffs toward the east, landings from the ocean	with east wind, Santa Ana, severe weather	worthwhile, but allow for different perspectives

Between midnight and 6:30 a.m., LAX uses a noise abatement procedure in which landings also come from the Pacific. Since the park opens only one hour before sunrise, that hardly matters for you. East flow occurs mainly with Santa Ana winds from inland and in bad weather. How to estimate wind and runway direction in use in advance is explained in the guide Understanding runway direction in use at airports.

Light and photography

The big advantage of Imperial Hill is its location south of the runways. You look north, and in Southern California the sun is in the south for most of the day, so behind you. The aircraft are therefore cleanly lit on the side you photograph. Spotter guides especially praise the afternoon and early evening.

There is one limitation in midsummer: then the sun rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest. Very early in the morning and shortly before sunset the light therefore comes from the front or from the side in front. In winter this problem hardly occurs, because the sun then rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest.

On focal length, a telephoto zoom in the range of about 100 to 400 mm covers almost everything. 25L is close enough that widebody jets fill the frame even at medium focal lengths. For aircraft on the far 25R and for frame-filling registrations you need more reach. You can read more on choosing a lens in the article Which focal length for plane spotting?.

On warm days heat haze is the biggest problem. The air shimmers over the long concrete, and aircraft on the far runway get soft. Concentrate then on the aircraft on the near 25L and photograph departures only once they’re in the air.

What you get to see at LAX

LAX is a spotter’s paradise because traffic from all directions comes together here: transpacific to Asia and Australia, transatlantic to Europe, connections to the Middle East, Canada and Latin America and an enormous domestic network. Among others, these carriers fly to Los Angeles – individual routes are seasonal, so check the current schedule beforehand:

• US airlines: Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines shape the picture at the fence, plus Alaska Airlines. That means a lot of Boeing 737-800, 737 MAX 9 and Airbus A321neo.
• From Germany, Austria and Switzerland: Lufthansa connects LAX with Frankfurt and Munich, Swiss with Zurich. Austrian Airlines and Condor are present seasonally.
• Other Europe: KLM, Air France, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, Finnair, SAS, Aer Lingus and ITA Airways.
• Middle East and Asia: Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
• Canada: Air Canada and WestJet.
• Cargo: FedEx Express, Atlas Air, Cargolux and AeroLogic from Frankfurt.

The range of types is huge. On long-haul you see the Boeing 777-300ER, the 787-9 and 787-10, the Airbus A350-900 and A350-1000 as well as the A330-900. At LAX, several operators of the A380 were guests at the same time for years, but which airline is sending the superjumbo at any given moment changes with the schedule – a look at the flight tracker is worthwhile. Among freighters, the chances of jumbos like the Boeing 747-8 and the 777F are good – a flight tracker shows you which types are currently in use. How to recognize freighters with confidence is explained in the article Recognizing cargo aircraft.

All three big alliances are strongly represented at LAX: Star Alliance with United and Lufthansa, oneworld with American and British Airways and SkyTeam with Delta, Air France and KLM. The differences are explained in the article Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.

Getting there: car, Metro and hotel

By car or rental car, Imperial Hill is easiest. You drive to El Segundo to Imperial Avenue and find a spot on the street in the area. The park has no parking lot of its own. On weekends it’s full, and according to the Los Angeles Explorers Guild, on Mondays and Tuesdays street cleaning with a parking ban applies in parts of the neighborhood. Read the signs carefully; towing and tickets are not uncommon in California.

By public transit it’s more laborious. The nearest Metro station is Aviation/Imperial on the C Line on Aviation Boulevard, which got its current name in June 2025 with the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center. From there it’s about three kilometers west along Imperial Highway by map. Whether a suitable bus runs you best check beforehand in the Metro trip planner.

An alternative is a hotel: south of the airport are several hotels from which you can walk to the hill. According to Airportspotting.com, for example, the Embassy Suites LAX South is within easy walking distance. If you’re staying overnight in Los Angeles anyway, this saves you the parking search.

How a good day at Imperial Hill goes

What else belongs in your camera bag is in the equipment checklist for plane spotting. If you’re completely new, the guide Plane spotting for beginners helps you get started.

Fallback spots and additions at LAX

Because Imperial Hill covers only the south complex, a second spot is worthwhile. The obvious partner is the In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda Boulevard: a lawn next to the restaurant lies directly under the final approach to the north runways 24L and 24R. There the aircraft pass low over you – a completely different experience from the runway perspective at the hill. All details are in the guide to the In-N-Out Burger at LAX.

West of the airport, Dockweiler Beach and the small Vista Del Mar Park offer takeoffs with a coastal backdrop, because departures in west flow lead right over the beach and out to sea. On the south side is also the Flight Path Museum on Imperial Highway with exhibits on Southern California aviation history and a DC-3 – a good complement if you’re looking for some variety. Check opening hours before your visit.

Imperial Hill is rightly on many wish lists. Which other spots worldwide belong there is shown in the article Spotting spots worldwide: the bucket list – with classics like Maho Beach on Sint Maarten and Myrtle Avenue at London Heathrow.

Rules at the hill

Imperial Hill is a public park of the City of El Segundo. To keep the relaxed coexistence between spotters, residents and the airport, a few simple rules apply.

Consideration also applies toward the neighbors: around the park are residential streets. Don’t park in driveways, be quiet in the evening, take your trash with you and let others have the benches sometimes too. Part of the scene is a regular here, and some even livestream the operations for hours – a friendly tone makes the hill more pleasant for everyone.

Verdict

Imperial Hill is one of the most pleasant major-airport spots in the world. It offers a legal, elevated vantage point with benches, light from behind for large parts of the day and a traffic mix you won’t get at any single airport in Europe in this density. If you know the runway direction in use and have a car, you can easily spend a whole afternoon here.

Its limits are quickly listed: hardly any facilities, scarce parking, difficult access without a car and a focus on the south complex. With the In-N-Out on the north side as a second spot, the visit still becomes a complete LAX day.