Santa Monica State Beach, California, United States
4.5 (6.735 reviews) Spent Ranking #6 in Santa Monica State Parks • Beaches
Great beach
The Santa Monica State Beach is a pretty long stretch of beach, and there are paid parking lots down it - with bathrooms and restaurants and playgrounds as well. When visiting LA with my husband and brother this past weekend, I knew I couldn't leave California without walking along the beach and taking in some ocean views. So we picked a parking lot ($7 for the day on a Tuesday; it was pretty empty) and walked along the beach for a bit. It was a grayish day, but it was still lovely to walk along the beach and watch and smell the ocean before heading back to wintery, rainy, gray Nashville. If your visit includes weekdays, I suggest visiting on the beach on a weekday - it was pretty empty! Very relaxing place to visit!
Address
Ocean Ave at Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Mobile
Website
http://www.smgov.net/portals/beach
Current local date and time now
Friday, May 03, 2024, 17:52
User Ratings
4.5 based on (6.735 reviews)
Reviews
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5dustythoughts 5:00 PM Aug 31, 2022
Beautiful, clean beach
We came here to hang out and take in the sun and water after going to the Santa Monica Pier, and this beach was the perfect way to end the day. This beach is incredibly clean, which I note because some beaches can be quite filthy, but this one is very well-maintained, with trash cans spaced out at regular intervals. The water is shallow at the beginning, and while the water can be cold at the very onset, you soon adjust to it. The sand is soft, which is great and makes it easier to walk. While this beach is very popular, we didn't feel crowded at all - we were easily able to find space to sit. There's also a very nice boardwalk that runs along the outer edge of the beach; the boardwalk is also super busy, but without feeling crowded.
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4Munir D 5:00 PM Jun 27, 2022
Nice Beach one has to visit when in Los Angeles
This beach is popular in Los Angeles as it is in a nice locality and has clean and sandy beaches. The beach also houses the famous amusement pier and a beachfront boardwalk. There are a number of good restaurants that serve a variety of food on the waterfront. We saw the sunset here on the first day of our arrival in Los Angeles. This would have been a perfect place to watch the sunset had the dipping of the sun not been over Malibu in the west. Nevertheless the sunset us fabulous. Santa Monica offers the best overall beach experience in Los Angeles. It's also one of the best beach areas in Southern California. The addition of bike paths and plenty of outdoor exercise areas has made the beach very popular. The beach also has a lot of play areas. A visit to Los Angeles is not complete without a visit to this beach. We stayed at the nearby Hilton which is a walking distance away from the beach. Munir D.
