When I think of Malibu, I think of surfing and of course filthy rich people. I got to see both…read morehere. The homes that line this stretch of beach are nothing short of spectacular. You know big money is right in your face. The waves were spectacular and this was my first time seeing people surf waves like that in real life.

One of the best beaches I've ever been to. So peaceful, beautiful, and private. I could lay out…read morehere every day if I had the choice.

Great beach if you're looking for something less crowded even in the summer. There is some trash…read morethat could use a little clean up. They have volleyball courts and good spot for learning to surf.

El Segundo Beach is awesome. It's located between El Porto and Dockweiler Beach. It has a private…read moreparking lot that's right at the beach and easy to use. This is a great destination, Beach.

Great vibe with lots of fun people watching. Parking wasn't too bad with the meters…read more There were shops on board walk as well.

What could be better than watching your 8-year old grandson play basketball on a perfect, sunny,…read moreSunday morning at Venice Beach? I really enjoyed the vibe here and it was relaxed, fun and enjoyable. There is aooo much to see here and with the LAPD substation a mere ten yards away from the basketball courts, you would hope that everyone would do the right thing which during my visit, it was all about fun and having a good time. There are many food options in the area and many stores to purchase souvenirs. The basketball courts are in GREAT condition and well-maintained. On this day, several former NBA players came out to coach the younger kids and a fun time was had by all. Definitely a place to visit and relax while working on your tan

This park was almost my selection for my next milestone review…read more Because it's the very first park I ever set foot in, in LA. Story coming up in a sec.......hahaha..... you knew that.... Ocean View Park is just south of Ocean Ave., where it deadends at the ocean. Lotsa oceans here! The words "Ocean View Santa Monica" are spelled out in foliage, in sculpted hedges, all along the west side of the park grounds. That did not exist several years ago & it's awesome, eye-catching. Better than a wooden sign by far. This is not a huge park, area-wise. It's sandwiched in among the Sea Colony condos, and there are entrances off Barnard Way, and also 2 paths to enter on from the east, from Pacific/Neilson Way. There's a basketball court, and a big outdoor tennis facility that is used for tournaments. I didn't count the number of courts, but there are several. (See photos) My fave attraction in this park is the hill surrounded by a winding sidewalk. You circle the hill, around and around, as the view gets better and better......until you reach the top. Your reward is a sweeping view of the beach across the street, one of my favorite wide beaches in LA. (See my photos.) Here's where my story begins: I came to LA on a plane with 3 suitcases, some 8 years ago, never having been here before in my life, not knowing a soul. I was attracted to the promise of a lengthy bike path that ran along the coast, as well as an endless summer-type of lifestyle. I checked into the Cadillac Hotel on Venice Beach, lived there for several weeks before renting an apt. a few doors away. But on my first day in LA I headed for the sand on Venice Beach. On my second day I began to explore the surrounding area, and ended up here, in Ocean View Park, a couple blocks to the north of my hotel. I walked up the winding sidewalk to the top of the grassy hill and threw down my towel to sunbathe a little. Within 5 minutes I was covered from head to toe.....with biting ants. Holy crap I will never forget! I was screaming and jumping around in my bathing suit on top of the hill, putting on a show for everybody within a two-block radius. It must have looked like the dance of a crazy person. Being LA, and being that close to Venice Beach, no one paid all that much attention. I was amazed. Back in the Midwest, they would have called the cops. It was the beginning of my love affair with this remarkable free-spirited city. And it all began in a park.

NICE & CLEAN! (compared to Venice)…read more This place is for the clean ppl.. :) Venice is for the yuppies and uppies.. (not to offend anyone b/c I mean it in the nicest way possible). I can go either way but I prefer to stroll around here or manhattan beach..wait or malibu or hermosa.. Venice is when I'm feeling a little bit more daring and if I feel like to get solicitated at the beach. Good for a morning jog or just to walk around at sunset. :) Will be back.

Manhattan Beach, California, USA is definitely not a place I will be coming back to anytime soon…read moreafter this experience. I came in driving a Tesla and parked with my wheels not pointed toward the curb, which I fully understand was my mistake. I expected a simple ticket and moved on. Instead, they doubled down and issued another ticket shortly after for not having a front license plate. The timing of everything felt excessive and honestly frustrating, especially because it all happened within about 10 minutes of parking. What made it even more questionable was that as I was walking back, I noticed multiple other cars around me with the exact same issues. Tesla after Tesla, residents included, many without front license plates and similar small violations. That is what made the whole situation feel less like consistent enforcement and more like something was being selectively enforced or overly targeted in that moment. I cannot say for sure what the intention was, but the experience definitely did not feel balanced or fair. By the time I left, the whole situation had completely soured the visit. Instead of enjoying being in Manhattan Beach, I spent my time dealing with frustration and trying to get out of there. I understand rules are rules, but how they are enforced matters, and this felt unnecessarily aggressive. Manhattan Beach should do better in how it handles visitors and parking enforcement, because moments like this really shape how people feel about returning.

Beach Time: my daughters and I love a good beach day especially on a sunny February Saturday…read moreafternoon because you're in La La land and it never rains in Southern California. We got here around 3pm and immediately lucked out and got parking at this 3 hour parking lot yay!!! We got some water and snacks from the Manhattan pizza spot and then walked and found a cute beach spot. The beach was packed with swimmers, beach volleyball, families, surfers, cyclists, roller bladers. Just a great time . We chilled and read and ha le a great time . It was so relaxing and and fun watching everyone have a beautiful afternoon. We ended up dipping our feet in the water before we left and it was not cold ! Highly recommend it and will be back .

Venice Beach Best vibes!…read moreBeach! Palm trees! Boardwalk! Murals! Amazing sunsets! Highly recommend!

I guess I have actually never been to Venice Beach before. My mind thought I went to the boardwalk…read morebut I mixed that up with Santa Monica, whoopsie! As you can tell, I'm not really a beach person. I actually have not seen the beach (with actual sand, not just the coast side) during the day time in over 3 years. Naturally this is not my scene. Free street parking is available or you can pay a fee to park closer (helps maintain the beaches though), just make sure to read the signs. I have only heard of horror stories of Venice Beach, getting peer pressured to buy burned mix tape CD's (the way you deter this is have something in BOTH your hands, be it a drink, your phone, holding onto the strap of your bag so nothing can be placed in them), getting accosted and into a fist fight with a vagrant (never happened to my boyfriend despite living next to Skid Row for 2 years, but happened here), abandoned movie level horror Halloween decorations, and much more. So I was a tad worried to say the least. But it's one of those, you gotta visit at least once in your life kinda places, especially if you're a SoCal native. And this was my most recent visit. I DESPISE all the of the AI slop being used to advertise food and other businesses, so there's that. You can walk on the pier bridge to where people fish, you can walk the pedestrian side and see lots of dogs and such, there's a bunch of street vendors and performers, some with their own hand curated and crafted goods, others with Temu drop shipping slop, so just keep that in mind. There's lots of live art and displays too, very avant garde, so that's neat. I also got to see Tokyo Revengers in real life when there was a huge mini bike gathering. All of them were super nice and chill, great community and I got to see them do donuts which was pretty cool. First time I was that close to an LAPD helicopter and seeing the police SUV's dart across the sand. That made the day for me to be honest. Also some promoters give out freebies too, so I got some free Synchron Shohei Ohtani drinks. I don't think I'll ever go out of my way to go here, but it's not bad. Definitely cleaner than some of the other beaches, but again, not an outdoors let alone beach person.

Venice Fishing Pier A wonderful…read more Place to experience the amazing sunset over the mountains! You can walk the Pier Or see the amazing view of the pier from the beach! Highly recommend

It's nice to just walk to the end and see the ocean in all it's green blue glory. Lots of pigeons…read moreat the end and some seagulls here and there too. I don't fish, so I don't have much to say about that, but I definitely saw a lot of people who had fishes in a portable cooler or even a super fancy one that had a small tub with a water filter in it to keep the fish alive. Pretty neat. But lots of people grabbing seaweed. I think at the end, not sure if it's along the way, but there's signs with the species of fish and other marine related information. On the way down the pier, there's maritime and thought provoking quotes from various authors and others, and other information as well. It's just some of them on the pier side bars are a bit damaged. Very bad, but I would be slightly wary walking the pier with open toed shoes (I know you're next to a beach and most people are wearing sandals), but who knows if there are any sharps on the ground AND there was a lot of chum, fish guttyworks, squid pieces, mussels and other shellfish and their broken shells, and people's fishing lines and maybe hooks, who knows. I would be wary walking your dog down the pier too just in case. At the front of the pier, the lifeguard and other info is there. No electric bikes or scooters or technically wheeled items unless you're walking them, but I saw a video of a car piling through so there's that... It's alright to walk through once to experience it, but as non sunshine and non fishing person, once is enough.

Marina Beach,at Marina Del Rey,California has a great "Beach Eats To Go Nights" featuring a number…read moreof high end food trucks is always a hit with locals and visitors alike! One of our favorites is the "Stopbye Cafe" food truck featuring an "Indonesian Fusion" style menu that is authentic,fresh and delicious! They have meat,chicken,vegeterian and fish dishes prepared Indonesian style. Fast friendly service offered by owners,Tom and Justin,and courteous service-quick too! In a word-delicious! The whole "Beach Eats To Go"nights are totally social distanced and all cdc safety precautions are exercised for safe eating. The Stopbye Cafe truck travels to different places all over So Cal so check out their posts to see where and when!Its great to grab some stopbye cafe food and sit near the marina to enjoy it! . . . . #stopbyecafe #marinadelrey #foodtruck #indonesianfood #randang #marinabeach #ilovemarinabeach #ilovestopbyecafe #beacheatstogo #ilovefood #ilovefoodtrucks

The "renovation" of Mother's Beach Playground was very disappointing. Instead of actually improving…read morethe playground, the swings were simply removed and never replaced. If the swings were considered unsafe, why were they removed instead of repaired or replaced with new ones? At the same time, there are still loose or missing bolts on some play features and open gaps on the elevated structures where a child could potentially fall. If safety is truly the priority, why were those issues left unaddressed? Now the playground offers much less for young children. Kids can't spend the whole time using only the slides. The swings were one of the best parts of this playground, and many local families came here specifically because of them. Please explain why the swings were removed and consider bringing them back. This playground was never truly renovated--it feels like the only major change was taking the swings away.