Best LA Beach Spots

Here are the Los Angeles beaches worth the drive, for locals and visitors after a pier day, people-watching, surf or a bonfire. They stretch from Malibu through Santa Monica and Venice to Playa del Rey and Manhattan Beach in the South Bay.

Santa Monica State Beach is the easiest start, with wide sand beside the pier and the Marvin Braude bike path. Venice Beach pairs Ocean Front Walk with Muscle Beach, a skatepark and basketball courts. Manhattan Beach has volleyball courts all along the sand and a 900-foot pier. In Malibu, El Matador's sea stacks, arches and tide pools make it a favorite sunset beach, and Zuma offers nearly two miles of lifeguarded white sand. Dockweiler has around 70 first-come fire pits, so arrive early on weekends, and plan El Matador around low tide since a steep path leads down.