4 spots to howl at the moon during Sunday’s lunar eclipse

To get a good look at the supermoon and total lunar eclipse Sunday evening, find a dark place to watch.

If you don’t know where to go, the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority can lead the way. The agency is hosting free night hikes Sunday in Malibu, Beverly Hills, West Hills and even downtown Los Angeles to see what’s also called the blood moon eclipse.

But first, here’s what you need to know about watching the eclipse:

— The moon will seem extra bright and extra large Sunday because it’s full and it’s also at the closest point in its orbit to the Earth.

— It coincides with a lunar eclipse that will reach totality at 7:11 p.m. Sunday.

— Unlike a solar eclipse, it’s safe to look up and watch with the naked eye.

Now that you know what you’re looking for, join one of these two-hour park events.

Rangers leading a moderate hike starting at 7 p.m. will take visitors to a high point above Malibu at Charmlee Wilderness Park in the Santa Monica Mountains (2577 S. Encinal Canyon Road). The group meets at the main parking lot.

Visitors to Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in West Hills take a half-mile hike to a viewing platform. The event starts at 7 p.m. and meets at the park’s Victory Boulevard trailhead (take the 101 Freeway and exit Valley Circle Boulevard and turn left onto Victory Boulevard; the park is about a mile in).

Franklin Canyon Park (2600 Franklin Canyon Drive) in Beverly Hills has great views of the sky and the city. You can join a moderately strenuous hike that begins at 6:30 p.m.

And for urban sky-gazers, swing by Vista Hermosa Natural Park at 100 N. Toluca St. (near West 1st Street) in downtown L.A. for a program in English and Spanish. It starts at 7 p.m.

Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park hosts a free Star Party starting at 2 p.m. Sunday when telescopes will be in place. Then from 6:30 to 9:45 p.m., pianist Ray Ushikubo will be playing Beethoven sonatas as part of the L.A. Philharmonic’s “Immortal Beethoven” program.

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