Santa Monica Beach

Los Angeles, California Travel Guide

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Santa Monica Beach

Overview: When you think of Los Angeles, you probably think of sun and surf. Santa Monica Beach gives credence to this perception as it exemplifies the complete southern California beach experience.

What makes Santa Monica Beach so special is that it’s a beach for everyone and, to my mind, it is the liveliest of all Los Angeles beaches. At any given moment, you’ll see groups of roller bladers, cyclists, skaters and people in wheelchairs rolling along the Santa Monica Bike Path, which is the beach’s boardwalk. The boardwalk runs north and south in between the sand. On the beach are endless volleyball courts, football games and frisbee tossing. There is also a section near to the Santa Monica Pier of gymnasium apparatus like rings and rope climbing. Surfers and the casual beach-goers who are visitors or locals all enjoy Santa Monica Beach.

Santa Monica Beach has some great waterfront restaurants, small food vendors stalls, rental equipment, wheelchair accessible bathrooms and a kids playground. The Santa Monica Beach is also minutes away from the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Or, take a breather from the beach and saunter up east a block. There, you will discover Main St, a quaint and popular street of the locals who enjoy strolling around Main Street’s boutique shops and restaurants. If you find yourself at the central part of Santa Monica Beach, you are then minutes away from the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only shopping and restaurant center. It’s one of Los Angeles’ most popular places.

Santa Monica Beach is easy to access. Take the 10 West freeway, or just head west on Venice, Pico, Ocean Park, Olympic, Santa Monica Blvd or Wlshire and make your way to Ocean Ave or Neilson Way. The south end of Santa Monica Beach starts approximately at Ashland Ave. The northern section of the beach ends around San Vicente Blvd.

Parking and Costs:

• Beach Parking Lots: At the south end, there are Lot 4 South at 2030 Ocean Ave and Lot 5 South at 2600 Barnard Way. Central is Lot 1 North at 1550 Pacific Coast Highway. Then, Lot 3 at 1150 Pacific Coast Highway.
• Cost: Average cost runs around $6.00
• Street Parking and Mall Parking: There are several metered parking lots south of Pico Blvd in between Main Street and Neilson Way, both of which run north and south. From here, you are only a block away from the beach as well as away from the often congested beach parking lots. Cross Neilson Way along one of the nicely paved crosswalks and you are at the beach.
• Cost: Metered but free if you have a Handicap Placard

Accessibility: Santa Monica Beach is wheelchair friendly. The Santa Monica Bike Path or boardwalk of course is wheelchair accessible. There are also wooden platforms that extend out to towards the water. You can wheel half way across the length of the sand and be fairly close to the ocean.

Restrooms: There are plenty of restrooms along Bike Path and boardwalk but the cleanest ones and ones that have doors are next to the workout area just south of the beach. You’ll recognize the bathrooms because they have very colorful doors.

Getting There: www.metro.net, www.bigbluebus.com, www.ladottransit.com