How to get to the Dodgers World Series parade with LA Metro

The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions and, for the first time in nearly 40 years, the team will be celebrated with a parade through the heart of the city.

Decades of anticipation for a championship parade — the team's 2020 World Series win never had one due to the COVID-19 pandemic — will surely mean packed streets, bumper-to-bumper traffic and shoulder rubbing on sidewalks along the parade route Friday.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. near Los Angeles City Hall, traveling for about a mile before coming to an end at the intersection of 5th and Flower streets.

For Dodgers fans wanting to experience the city's first World Series title parade since the Reagan Administration, driving into downtown L.A. might be a warzone, so city officials are encouraging use of other means of transportation.

Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to take LA Metro rail and avoid streets altogether.

Here's how to use LA Metro to get to the Dodgers World Series parade:

In the San Gabriel Valley, riders can hop on the Metro A Line to travel all the way to downtown Los Angeles. The A Line's northernmost stop is in Azusa and it travels through Monrovia, Pasadena, Highland Park and Chinatown (with stops in between) before arriving at Los Angeles Union Station.

A Line riders won't need to transfer at Union Station, instead, they can remain on their train car until they reach the Historic Broadway Station and get off there — or, if you would rather meet up with the parade near the end, you can disembark at 7th Street/Metro Center and walk four blocks. The middle of the parade will also come close to the Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill station.

The A Line also extends all the way to Long Beach, passing through Historic South Central and South Los Angeles. Riders traveling north can hop on one of the dozen-plus stops south of downtown and get off at either the beginning or end of the parade route.

The C Line, which connects Redondo Beach to Norwalk, meets with the A Line at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station in Willowbrook. Riders can transfer at that station and take the A Line to downtown.

The underground B Line can take Angelenos in the San Fernando Valley to the parade.

Beginning in North Hollywood and ending at Union Station, B Line riders can get off near the parade's start at the Civic Center/Grand Park Metro station and cross the street to City Hall. They can catch the middle of the parade near the Pershing Square Metro Station or meet up with riders of the A Line at the 7th Street/Metro Center to catch the tail end.

For those further out in the San Fernando Valley, the G Line Bus Rapid Transit service connects to North Hollywood to Chatsworth with stops in Canoga Park, Reseda and Van Nuys along the way. The G Line uses an exclusive bus lane for its entire route, meaning you'll avoid surface street traffic. You can then transfer to the B Line in North Hollywood and follow the same directions.

The other underground subway, the D Line, connects Koreatown at the Wilshire/Western station to Union Station. Riders on the D Line can utilize the same stations as the B Line to jump off and reach the parade.

Those in East Los Angeles or as far as Santa Monica in the western part of the city can take the Metro E Line to downtown L.A. and use the same stops as A Line riders. The E Line also stops in Palms, Culver City and the USC Campus in the west and Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights in the east.

The E Line also connects with the K Line at the Expo/Crenshaw Station in Jefferson Park. The K Line services Jefferson Park, Inglewood and Westchester. Residents in those neighborhoods would need to transfer onto the E Line to get to downtown.

For Dodgers fans who live outside the city in neighboring counties or neighborhoods without direct Metro rail access, Metrolink is available to take them to Union Station where they will have options to connect to the A, B or D lines.

Six Metrolink lines terminate at Los Angeles Union Station: the Ventura Line, Antelope Valley Line, San Bernardino Line, Orange County Line and the 91/Perris Line.

Metrolink riders can transfer for free to Metro trains with their Metrolink tickets.

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, which goes as north as San Luis Obispo and as south as San Diego, also stops at Union Station for any wayward Dodgers fans dead set on making the parade.

Several Metro bus lines that service downtown will be detoured due to the World Series parade; riders should check the latest bus schedules to make sure they aren't affected.

At least one Metro bus will most assuredly be unavailable for the parade.

A ticketed celebration taking place at Dodger Stadium will also happen Friday. Metro will be operating the Dodger Stadium Express, a direct bus route to the ballpark from Union Station, beginning at 9 a.m.

The Dodger Stadium Express bus is free with proof of event ticket. The Dodgers organization said parking at the stadium will be "extremely limited" and it will not be feasible for fans to attend both the parade and the stadium event.

For more information on Metro routes and schedules, click here.