Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney are located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is open from 8 am until midnight during the summer months. Disneyland is 30 miles from USC, approximately a 45 minute drive each way. Advanced purchased tickets and reservations are required for entry. July is their busiest and warmest month. Parking costs $35 per car per day. https://disneyland.disney.go.com/ 

Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park located just 13 miles from USC. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. It is home to Super Nintendo World, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Minion Land, City Walk Hollywood and many more. It is open 9 am to 10 pm during the summer and is conveniently located right next to a metro stop. Tickets can be purchased the day of online or in person at the theme park. Parking costs $35 per day per car. It is $10 to park after 5pm. https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/ 

Knott's Berry Farm is a 57 acre theme park located 29 miles south of USC. It is Old West and boysenberry-  themed with world-class roller coasters, thrill rides, a log water ride and Snoopy land. Parking is $30 a day. They are famous for their chicken dinner restaurant that is outside the park in the Knott’s California Market place and requires months in advance reservations.
https://www.knotts.com/ 

The closest beach to USC is Santa Monica State Beach, 14 miles away from campus.

Santa Monica beach is located along Pacific Coast Highway. It is 3.5 miles long and has parks, a pier with carnival rides, picnic areas, playgrounds, restrooms, as well as staffed lifeguard stations, bike rentals, a bike path, and wooden pathways for beachgoers with disabilities. Visitor activities include volleyball, surfing, stand up paddleboarding, and swimming. Smoking at the beach is prohibited. Parking costs between $2 an hour to $25 daily. https://www.santamonicapier.org/ 

Additional beaches within a on hour drive of USC: Venice Beach, Playa Del Rey Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Malibu.
Don't forget your sunscreen. 

The Huntington is located 14 miles from USC campus. The Huntington is a collections-based library and art museum but is most well-known for its 130 acres of botanical gardens containing more than 83,000 living plants including rare and endangered species. The Huntington has more than a dozen themed gardens including an Orchid collection, a Cycad collection and a Bonsai collection. Tickets are $29 for adults and parking is free. Advance purchase of tickets online is required.   https://huntington.org/ 

Dodger Stadium is located 6 miles from USC. July 18-25, 2025, the Dodgers will be playing: The Brewers, The Twins and The Red Sox. Locations of the 2025 games have not yet been released. Alternate transportation is the Express Bus from Union Station https://www.metro.net/riding/dodger-stadium-express/. Stay tuned for more information. Advance ticket purchase of game tickets is required. Parking costs $30 per car. https://www.mlb.com/dodgers 

The Getty is located 15 miles from USC campus. The Getty Museum features pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and photographs from all over the world. In addition, the museum's large central garden includes outdoor sculptures displayed on terraces. The Getty Museum requires a free timed reservation. It is open 10 am to 5:30 pm daily. Parking is $25 per car. https://www.getty.edu/ 

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is within walking distance of USC. It is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its’ collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. It is open 9:30 am to 5 pm daily. Admission is $18 per adult and $18 per car per day. https://nhm.org/ 

The California Science Center is within walking distance of USC. It is the west coast’s largest hands-on science center. Admission is free for their permanent exhibition galleries and there are price charges for special exhibits, educational films, climbing wall and high wire bicycle. It is open 10 am to 5 pm daily and parking is $20 a day per car until 5pm. https://californiasciencecenter.org/ 

The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by Rolling Stone magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distinctive shell, it is set against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills and the famous Hollywood Sign to the northeast. The Bowl is the home to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the host venue for hundreds of musical events each year. It is 11 miles from USC and tickets for their many events can be purchased online. Parking is limited and expensive.  https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/ 

Crypto Arena is located just 1.8 miles from USC campus. It is home to the LA Lakers and LA Sparks sports teams. It hosts world renowned concerts, Monster Jam Truck Shows and so much more. Parking is $40 per event. Tickets to their events can be purchased online. https://www.cryptoarena.com/ 

The Orange County Fair is located in Costa Mesa California, 40 miles south of USC’s campus. The fair is held every July 19-August 16. Advance ticket purchase is required. It is a pure taste of Americana with carnival food, games, rides, vendor shopping, agricultural competitions and exhibits, food demonstrations, food contests, concerts and nightly shows.  It is open Wednesday thru Sunday from 11 am to 11 pm. Tickets are $15 a person and parking is $15 a car. For more information check out their website:  https://ocfair.com/oc-fair/ 

The Citadel outlets are located 12 miles from USC campus. It is built in the style of an Assyrian Castle of King Sargon II. You will find amazing savings at over 130 outlet stores including: Armani, Prada, Gucci, Coach, Kate Spade, Nike and more. It is an open-air setting and is a great place to find good deals on clothes, shoes, luggage and handbags. 
https://www.citadeloutlets.com/

The Original Farmers market was founded in 1934 and is now attached to the Grove outdoor high end shopping. It is 8 miles from USC campus and is full of fresh produce, fresh meats, and over 4 dozen prepared food vendors. Parking is free up to 90 minutes with ticket validation at one of the vendors.
Hours of operation: 9:00am-9:00pm.
https://farmersmarketla.com/
https://thegrovela.com/

Smorgasburg is open every Sunday from 10am-4pm in Downtown Los Angeles and is only 5 miles from USC campus. Each Sunday find over 100 food vendors and food trucks from all over the world and a beer garden. Smorgasburg was featured by Bobby Flay & Sophi on the Coast, and was said to be the best food market in Los Angeles.
https://la.smorgasburg.com/

The La Brea Tar Pits are located 7 miles north of USC. It is open daily from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm. Online reserved tickets are recommended, adults are $18 and parking is $18.  The La Brea Tar Pits is a registered national natural landmark and  paleontological research site.  It consists of many seeping tar pits of crude oil and natural asphalt that has trapped large and small animals and microfosils for tens of thousands of years. It has been nick-named the "richest paleontological site on Earth."
https://tarpits.org/

The Griffith Observatory is located 12 miles north of USC. It over looks most of Los Angeles. It is closed Mondays and is open 12 pm until 10 pm Tuesday thru Sunday.  Entrance is free and most parking is free. Don't be fooled by all the hikers walking up the hill. There is usually parking at the top. Public transportation also runs up the mountain every 20 minutes.  The observatory is split up into six sections: The Wilder Hall of the Eye, the Ahmanson Hall of the Sky, the W. M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda, the Cosmic Connection, the Gunther Depths of Space Hall, and the Edge of Space Mezzanine. Over 7 million people have been able to view through the 12-inch Zeiss refractor since the observatory's 1935 opening; this is the most people to have viewed through any telescope in the world. It is also a beautiful location for a picnic.
https://griffithobservatory.org/

LACMA is located 8 miles north of USC. It is closed Wednesdays and is open the rest of the week 11 am until 6 pm daily.  The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the largest Art Museum in the Western United States, with a collection of nearly 152,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe.  LACMA is a combination of traditional, contemporary and modern art.
Tickets are $28 for adults and parking is $21.
https://www.lacma.org/

The Grammy Museum is an interactive museum dedicated to the history and winners of the Grammy Music Awards. The museum contains interactive touch screens with music artists, recording booths, costumes, instruments, hand-written lyrics, records, audio and video recordings and a massive collection of historical music artifacts.  It is located in L.A. Live just 2.7 miles from USC.  Adult admission is $15 and requires the purchase of a timed ticket. Parking varies in the closest garages from $10 for 2 hours to $40 for the day.
https://grammymuseum.org/

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a film museum located 7 miles from USC. It is the first large-scale museum in the world dedicated to the history, science, and cultural impact of the film industry. It houses over 13 million movie objects including costumes, film reels, posters, props, and screenplays dating back to 1927. Admission is $25 for adults and requires the purchase of a timed ticket. Parking is $20 a day per car.
https://www.academymuseum.org/

L.A. Live is a massive entertainment complex in Dowtown Los Angeles. It features a bowling alley, a theater, the Grammy Museum, dozens of restaurants, and is adjacent to Crypto Arena. It is 2.7 miles from USC and parking rates vary in the closest parking garages from $10 to $40.
https://www.lalive.com/