Beaches in LA?

Question

My friends and I are going to be in LA for only 3 days. What are the best beaches to visit?

Answer 1

Lots of choices, here. I'll try to cover them from north to south.

Zuma Beach: Plenty of beach here, and pretty good waves if you want to do a little body surfing.

Paradise Cove, as mentioned by a previous poster, would not be on my list of places to go. It's $25 to park, and not really worth that price.

Santa Monica/Venice: Although these are seperate beaches, I am putting them together because they are connected by a nice walkway and bike path. Santa Monica has a famous pier, which you have probably seen in tv shows and movies, and is one of the most easily accessible beaches to LA. There is also Paradise Park on the pier, as well as Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Venice, just a little further south, has a lot of street vendors and street performers on the Venice Boardwalk. The place is really jumpin' on warm weekends. Between them, just south of the pier, is the famous Muscle Beach, where the governator hung out at one time.

Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo: Likewise, these three beaches are connected by a bike path. Manhattan Beach has world-class volleyball tournaments each year. Redondo has a decent pier, and loads of shops and restaurants along King Harbor. There seem to be more hardbodies at Manhattan and Hermosa than at other LA County beaches, for some reason.

Cabrillo Beach: Has a marine museum, but otherwise avoid this.

Long Beach: I'm not really fond of the city beach here, but i do enjoy going to the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary, as well as the Fisherman's Village.

In Orange County, there are a number of excellent beaches as well.

Bolsa Chica: One of the few beaches left with fire pits, where you can enjoy a nice bonfire into the evening. just north of HB.

Huntington Beach: Surf City, USA. This is a very popular destination. There are a number of surf shops at the end of Main Street by the pier. This is still a classic surf break, and you can see surfers here all year. There is a Ruby's at the end of the pier, which is a retro 50's diner. Be sure to have a shake. If the weather is nice, eat upstairs on the deck.

Newport Beach: Also a nice beach, but not as famous as Huntington. However, a number of celebs live down on the beachfront here.

Balboa: Has a nice pier with another Ruby's, and used to have the Fun Zone.

Laguna Beach: Another famous beach, has its own TV show. Lots of little restaurants and shops. Started as an artists colony.

Hope that helps, have fun!

Answer 2

If you are looking for beautiful, CLEAN beaches choose the beaches in the Long Beach area, or the beaches of Orange County just a little south of the Los Angeles area. More often as not the ocean that surrounds the Santa Monica bay area is closed because of raw sewage contamination from overflow from the local sewage treatment plant.

Answer 3

Huntington Beach! Was allowed to keep it's "Surf City" designation despite arguments from decidedly Bohemian Santa Cruz.

The pier there is awesome.

Answer 4

Good job Obviousman...the only thing I would add is Seal Beach which has a pier and boardwalk and is close to L.A. and actually there are several beaches in Orange county that provide fire pits...

Answer 5

Depends on what they want from the beach. If you just want beach and water then go to Malibu Paradise Beach, If you want noise and fun and people Venice Beach.

Answer 6

Venice, Playa Del Ray and Santa Monica