CITY & ITS PEOPLE
The LA beach town guide | Same Pacific, so why is every beach town different?
In LA, asking 'which beach do you go to?' tells you more than someone's star sign. North to south, one town per page: its personality, how to explore, what to eat, where to park, where to catch sunset, and a story that's all its own.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- Before you get in the water · The rules: Swim between the orange flags; if a rip current pulls you out, swim parallel to the shore first.
- Before you go, check water quality and PCH: Stay out of the water for 72 hours after rain; PCH still has rotating lane closures.
- Marina del Rey: On summer weekends the WaterBus loops the harbor, $1 a ride, cash only.
- Newport＋Balboa: Worth a ferry ride for one ice cream.
- Laguna Beach: The tide pools are a marine protected area, so don't flip rocks or take anything home.
Full text
Before you get in the water | The rules
LA County beaches: no alcohol, glass bottles, smoking or dogs, and no lingering from midnight to 6 a.m. Swim between the orange flags; if a rip current pulls you out, swim parallel to the shore first.
Before you go, check water quality and PCH
Heal the Bay 2025–26: the Santa Monica Pier made the Beach Bummer list for the fifth year in a row, and Bluff Cove is LA County's only beach with A+ grades in all conditions. Stay out of the water for 72 hours after rain; PCH still has rotating lane closures.
Malibu
It's not one town; it's a long stretch of coastline along PCH. El Matador has big boulders and caves, Zuma is a wide sandy beach; the Point Dume beach parking lot closed in August 2026 due to erosion, but the headland trail is still open.
Santa Monica
LA's living room by the sea: the pier, the 1922 carousel, and where Forrest Gump ran to before turning around. Take the E Line to the end; the water by the pier has been the worst for five years running, so walk farther away if you want to swim.
Venice
The Ocean Front Walk has skaters and street performers, and Barbie shot around here; walk a few blocks inland and you're at the quiet canals. 'Lively by day, quiet when you get home.'
Marina del Rey
A sailboat harbor with no waves and flat water, great for kids and SUP. On summer weekends the WaterBus loops the harbor, $1 a ride, cash only.
Manhattan Beach
Volleyball nets, a beachfront running path and a pier. In 1912 the Bruces opened a beach resort here for Black beachgoers, which the city later seized; nearly a century later, in 2022, California returned the land to the Bruce family.
Hermosa Beach
The Lighthouse Cafe at the end of Pier Ave has been playing jazz since 1949, and shows up in La La Land. Walk from the Lighthouse to the pier at dusk, and when the lights come on, it's just like that scene in the movie.
Redondo Beach
The most harbor-feeling beach town: at Quality Seafood, pick your fish from the tanks and have them cook it on the spot. Winter to spring is gray whale season, and whale-watching boats head out from here.
Palos Verdes
No busy beaches, just cliffs and a lighthouse, and Point Vicente counts gray whales every winter. The ground at Portuguese Bend is still sliding, and Abalone Cove beach has been closed since July 2024.
Long Beach
Like a city that lives by the sea, with a breakwater out front, so the water's calm. Stroll the Naples canals and 2nd St in Belmont Shore; take the A Line from DTLA to get there.
Huntington Beach
It calls itself Surf City USA; the old building at the end of the pier is now Broad Street Oyster Co., and Main St has a surf museum. 'Surfing is the language here, and the pier is the living room.'
Newport＋Balboa
The Balboa Island Ferry has run since 1919, fits just three cars per trip and leaves about every five minutes; the Fun Zone across the water opened in 1936. Worth a ferry ride for one ice cream.
Laguna Beach
A town grown by painters: the first gallery opened in 1918, and in summer there's the Festival of Arts and the Pageant of the Masters. The tide pools are a marine protected area, so don't flip rocks or take anything home.
Which beach town are you?
Malibu likes finding its own empty cove, Manhattan Beach has finished its run by 6 a.m., and Laguna always has a sketchbook in its bag. 'They're all great; you just happen to be one of them.'
Two-city mirror
In Taiwan, sunset at Tamsui, sand at Fulong, summer vacation in Kenting: going to the beach is an outing. In LA, after work, you drive 20 minutes and run on the beach. 'The ocean is a neighbor who's there every day.'
Places in this story
- Point Dume
- Zuma Beach
- Malibu Pier
- Neptune’s Net
- Santa Monica Pier
- Venice Boardwalk
- Venice Canals
- Abbot Kinney Boulevard
- Gjusta
- Gjelina
- Great White
- Manhattan Beach Pier
In this series
- The LA hiking trail guide 2026 | Which mountain do Angelenos climb on weekends?
- Where do you catch LA's night view? | The LA night view & rooftop map 2026
- Before the Getty closes, which LA museums should you see? | The LA museum guide 2026
- DATALAND | The first time art looked back at me
- In the city of movies, seeing a film can be an event | The LA special cinema map
- Where do celeb wardrobes come from? | The LA boutique map 2026
- The LA vintage map
- The LA independent bookstore map
- The LA date map (insider edition)
- LA rainy-day backups
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).