Your guide to lesbian dating in Los Angeles

Are you a lesbian, queer, or bisexual woman looking to explore lesbian dating in Los Angeles? Do you need advice on how to navigate the dating scene in the City of Angels? Whether you’re a Silverlake lesbian on the dating apps or a queer in town for the weekend, we’ve got the insider scoop on everything you need to know about LGBTQ+ dating in Los Angeles. 

Los Angeles is a big queer city with more than 4 million people living within its city limits. LA has long been fabled for its iconic lesbian dating scene made popular by Showtime’s television drama The L Word, which aired in the mid-2000s. 

A lot has changed in the queer dating scene in Los Angeles in the past twenty years.  Check out our ultimate guide to lesbian dating in Los Angeles, including where to find the lesbian bars, queer culture, and LGBTQ+ community. 

Where to meet lesbians and queer women in LA?

The age-old question any queer person asks when they arrive in a new geographic area: where the gays at? Where can I meet lesbians to date in Los Angeles? Of course, you can always swipe right on HER no matter where you are, but this can be a tough question to answer in Los Angeles because queer people are everywhere! 

Los Angeles has several well-known queer neighborhoods, including Silver Lake/Echo Park, West Hollywood (WeHo), and Long Beach (not technically LA, but close). However, there are queer people living in every neighborhood in sunny LA and going about their day-to-day activities. So where can you go to meet lesbians in Los Angeles?

Eastside vs Westside queer guide

Whether you’re new to LA or just visiting, you might notice a healthy rivalry between “eastside” and “westside” queers. Westside lesbians tend to live west of Hollywood in neighborhoods like WeHo, Mid-City, Fairfax, Santa Monica, and Venice. 

For the Westsiders

West Hollywood is one of the most visibly queer neighborhoods, with rainbow crosswalks and pride flags on just about every corner. While WeHo has a long-established history of being a lesbian and gay hub in LA, although these days, it tends more toward cis gay men. Santa Monica and Venice are home to surfer lesbians and beach people who roll out of bed and into the waves. 

For the Eastsiders

Eastside lesbians in Los Angeles tend to live in neighborhoods like Silver Lake, Echo Park, Loz Feliz, and East Hollywood, and northeast spots like Highland Park and Atwater Village. While these neighborhoods might not be giving WeHo’s level of obviousness via street side rainbows, all you have to do is go to a farmer’s market, vegan brunch spot, or a dog park to find flocks of queer women, dykes, and trans folks. 

The further away from Hollywood, the more residential and low-key the queer neighborhoods become.

What is the lesbian dating culture like in Los Angeles?

While there is no one-size-fits-all stereotype, many lesbians in Los Angeles go to bed early, wake up early, drink juice, and hang out in the sunshine.  

Southern California is known for its laid-back and progressive attitude, and this can be found in the lesbian dating scene as well. Many queer women in LA are open-minded and non-traditional when it comes to how they approach relationships. Non-monogamy is commonly accepted in the lesbian scene, as is dating outside of your own race.

The one thing you’ll always hear complain about in Los Angeles is transportation. It can be challenging to get around town if you don’t have a car, and easy to get stuck in traffic if you do. 

Make sure to plan your dates around the general geographical area you live in or are visiting, and don’t get on the I-10 E between 4-7 pm! Ubers and Lyfts will be your best friend in Los Angeles. 

Pro tip: make sure to download both apps and compare the prices between the two to guarantee the cheapest ride.

For the LA nightlife lesbians

While nightlife might be a stretch here, we’d be remiss not to tell you to stop what you’re doing and go to The Ruby Fruit right now. 

The Ruby Fruit is a “strip mall wine bar for the sapphically inclined” on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park and also the only currently operating lesbian bar in Los Angeles. The bar’s name serves as an homage to a book that should be in every lesbian starter-pack, Rita Mae Brown’s 1974 coming-of-age novel The Rubyfruit Jungle. No reservations are necessary. 

Source: The Ruby Fruit

Lesbians, gender non-conforming people, trans and non-binary folks alike are all welcome in this natural wine bar with a delicious comfort food menu. 

Hop over during the day for a lunch or a queer co-working session, or come out at night as the queers spill over onto the street. Think lesbian block party with your ex-girlfriend’s ex they-friend. 

For the sober queers out there, they also have a list of non-alcoholic options, including NA beers, wines, tonics, and spritzes. 

Honey’s is another woman/lesbian-owned bar that just recently opened inside East Hollywood’s cocktail joint, Star Love. Once inside, you’ll be struck by glittering gay speakeasy vibes and a cute menu of cute cocktails, wine, and spirit-free drinks. 

Honey’s is a queer watering hole with a DJ Booth featuring queer and lesbian speed dating events in Los Angeles, as well as karaoke, trivia, and regular dance nights, including a monthly gender/queer night called Bar Tomboy. 

Other than that, Los Angeles nightlife lesbians can be found at Akbar in Silver Lake, The Virgil or The Abbey in WeHo, or the Sweetwater Saloon in Long Beach. 

You can also check out any of the monthly queer and dyke-centered parties, including Dana’s, GayAsstrology, Lez Croix, Magiq Hour, Lez Croix, Divorce, Girls, Gays, and Theys, Hidden Hearts, or Lesbian Goth Night. For the 30+ lesbians and queers, check out Hot Flash at Palihouse West Hollywood. 

For the LA nature gays 

Not every lesbian date is best had at the club. Beyond its killer nightlife, Los Angeles is best known for its stunning weather and sunny days year-round. If you are more of an outdoorsy lesbian, there are plenty of nature dates for you in Los Angeles.

If you’re looking for a dreamy lesbian date spot in Eastside, look for further than Griffith Park. Griffith Park is an urban hiking oasis bordering the neighborhood of Loz Feliz.

Grab your new favorite queer best-seller from Skylight Books and some vegan tacos around the corner from the Tacos Tu Madre pick-up window and head over to Griffith Park. LA’s Griffith Observatory is the perfect spot date for romantic stargazing and scenic city views. 

If you’re looking to get sweaty on more of an active date, try hiking to the Hollywood Sign via Canyon Drive. You will hike right up to the Hollywood sign and get a 360-degree view of the surrounding peaks and city skyline. The parking lot fills up fast, so consider taking the DASH Observatory shuttle. 

You’ll want to bring lots of water and sunscreen and hike early or late in the day if it’s summer. This hike usually takes around 2.5 hours round trip. You can also follow Queer Hike LA if you’re looking to meet other like-minded queers passionate about nature and hitting the trails.

Not much of a hiking girlie? No problem! Grab your swimsuit and head down to Will Rogers State Beach. “Ginger Rogers” is the unofficially official gay section of the beach between towers 17 and 18, which you can’t miss now that they are painted the colors of the Progress flag. 

Bring a blanket and your rosé and settle down for a sunset on the beach with that new hottie you met on HER.

For the LA sporty lesbians

Are you looking for the perfect place to get your sporty spice on? Los Angeles is full of queers of all kinds who are passionate about living active, healthy, and sport-centered lives. 

There is no shortage of sporty lesbians, from softballers to soccer players to basketball-loving babes. 

Be sure to check out Everybody Gym in Cypress Park if you are looking for a workout buddy or gym bunny date. Everybody is a queer and trans-owned gym that is the perfect queer cruising spot where you might find your new crush or favorite LGBTQ+ micro-celebrity. 

You can also check out local LA sports and outdoors groups like Dyke Soccer or WNBGAY, who offer weekly pick-up games for soccer and basketball, or Dreamteam Society, a queer and trans surfing collective. 

OutLoud Sports hosts many queer sports leagues, including softball, kickball, and tennis. These can be great places to make other  LGBTQ+ friends or meet other hot queers to hook up with. 

If you’re more of a sports fan than a sports player, grab tickets for an Angel City FC match (Los Angeles’ national women’s soccer team) or a Sparks game — if basketball is more your jam. 

You’re guaranteed to see boatloads of lesbians, dykes, and queer women in attendance at any home game this season.

Source: Dyke Soccer

More Los Angeles queer and lesbian events

For the queers out there looking for other lesbian events in Los Angeles, Cuties Los Angeles is your go-to queer event guru. 

Cuties is a black-owned community space that offers events for queer, trans, and BIPOC folks all over Los Angeles from 90028 to 90210. They offer everything from queer cookouts to poetry nights, co-working days, meditation and sound baths, and daytime dance parties at your local juice bar. 

If you happen to be in Los Angeles in June during Pride, head over to Sycamore Grove Park to check out Dyke Day. Thousands of dykes, lesbians, trans, and gender non-conforming people take over the park on Saturday for an afternoon of picnics, puppies, and play. 

At Dyke Day, there are local queer vendors, BDSM workshops, queer food trucks, and hot gay women galore. 

LA is a big and beautiful queer city full of extremely attractive people. 

While navigating the city alone can be a bit overwhelming, we hope this guide points you in the right direction. You never know where you’ll meet the girl of your dreams, so get out there and explore Los Angeles!