As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbed and flowed over the last few years, it has been important to find ways to maintain mental health. Food, the outdoors and plants emerged as crucial tools for the maintenance of our collective sanity. The lockdown also revealed how vital it is to connect to the community through new experiences and to support local businesses.
To balance out the typical doom-and-gloom coverage, the L.A. Times has compiled a number of lists to help readers improve their lives. During the intense heat of summer, we provided readers with the best swimming holes to cool off in and the top sun-loving houseplants. For food lovers, we gave a rundown of the best spots to grab a slice and some of the oldest diners in Los Angeles. We also tried to settle the great hamburger debate. For you adventurers, we put together a travel list for the fall and the best shops to visit in Joshua Tree.
Over the last year, we hope that readers made new memories and found refuge in the recommendations we provided in our lists.
Below are the top 10 lists we put together in 2022. Readers spent a total of about 1,189,879 minutes, the equivalent of more than 826 days, reading these.
