10 Best Beaches & Coastlines in Los Angeles (Costs & Tips, 2026)

Free beach access along the entire stretch, and the pier at its center — a working amusement park on pilings since 1909 — is the single most photographed spot on the whole LA coastline, ferris wheel included. Parking in the beach lots runs $10-15, but the beach itself never charges admission.

Free-form street performers, tattoo parlors, and the original outdoor Muscle Beach gym — still bolted to the sand where bodybuilders have trained publicly since the 1930s — turn the boardwalk here into as much a show as the actual beach. No entry fee, though the parking structures nearby fill fast on weekends and charge accordingly.

Sea stacks and cave arches carved out of the sandstone cliffs make this one of the most photographed beaches in California without ever being crowded, mostly because a steep staircase down the bluff keeps casual foot traffic lower than the wide, easy-access beaches nearby. About $8 for parking, and low tide is genuinely the difference between a great visit and a mediocre one here.

This is the largest beach in Malibu by far, wide enough that it rarely feels crowded even at capacity, with lifeguard towers staffed year-round and consistent enough waves that it's a genuine local surf spot, not just a tourist stretch. Parking in the county lot swings with the season — roughly $8-15 in winter, $15-20 in summer — though free street parking exists along PCH if you're willing to walk.

Beach volleyball culture runs deep here — this is where the sport's modern American competitive scene largely took shape, and public courts along the sand stay busy with genuinely serious players most weekends. No beach fee, and the pier's small aquarium at the end is free too, a low-key stop most visitors skip.

Tide pools thick with anemones and small crabs sit at the beach's northern end, and sea caves carved into the bluffs are walkable at low tide without needing any real scrambling to reach. Twelve dollars for day-use parking, and an on-site campground makes this one of the few beaches on this list you could turn into an overnight.

A short climb up the headland here puts you on a genuine bluff-top overlook, the best land-based whale-watching spot in the county during the winter gray whale migration, no boat required. A small free lot at the top of the point fills fast; the fallback paid Westward Beach lot below runs about $15, and the beach itself stays noticeably quieter than Zuma just up the coast.

The pier plaza here doubles as a genuine town square, lined with restaurants and bars that spill right onto the sand-adjacent street, which gives this beach a livelier evening feel than most of the others on this list once the sun starts going down. No beach fee, and it's a straightforward walk or bike ride from Manhattan Beach just north.

Wide, flat, and consistently less crowded than Santa Monica right next door despite near-identical sand quality, which makes this the practical choice for anyone who wants beach without the pier crowds. Free beach access, with the historic Will Rogers State Historic Park's polo grounds and ranch house a short drive up into the canyon above.

A working harbor sits right alongside the beach here, with fresh seafood stands on the pier selling straight off boats that docked that same morning — a genuinely different feel from the pure-leisure beaches further north. No beach fee, and the King Harbor marina makes a good stop for anyone who wants a boat view along with the sand.