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12 great beaches in Southern California beloved by locals

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12 great beaches in Southern California beloved by locals

When readers shared their favorite Southern California beaches with us, the majority of their recommendations were for beaches that made our recent top 50 list. Picking the best beaches out of the roughly 200 in Southern California was an ambitious task, and it’s gratifying to be in alignment with so many beach lovers.

That said, locals recommended other treasured beaches too, some of which we considered but didn’t make the cut. Here you’ll find a sampling of those suggestions in alphabetical order. A few are harder to get to than ones we prioritized in our guide, which tends to highlight beaches with easy access and special amenities. Note: Some of these don’t get regular water quality tests, but you can check Heal the Bay’s online report card for updates.

Broad Beach

One reader said they like Broad Beach because it’s less crowded than other Malibu beaches.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Claire Weglarz of Hollywood put it simply: “Broad Beach is just a pretty beach with less people.” This Malibu spot doesn’t have amenities such as restrooms or a parking lot. Also, at high tide, there’s little to no sand to walk on. You enter through a staircase that’s between homes; this is one of those Malibu beaches that looks private but isn’t.

There are tide pools to the north near Lechuza Beach, which also didn’t make our list but did get a shoutout.

Capistrano Beach Park

A person on a jetski out in the ocean with seagulls and sailboats.

A jetski rider enjoys the ocean at Capistrano Beach Park.

(Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

Leslie McGee of Los Angeles suggested Capistrano Beach Park in Dana Point because it’s “not too crowded and [is] family-friendly.” There’s easy access to this beach from the parking lot, and fishing is permitted, according to the Orange County Parks Department. In July, 20,000 cubic yards of sand were added along the north end.

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El Pescador State Beach

White foamy waves kiss the sand with a blue sky above.

El Pescador State Beach is a pocket beach near others including El Matador State Beach, which did make our top 50 list.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Jonathan Palmer of Los Angeles said he likes secluded El Pescador State Beach because of its “quiet, natural beauty.” This pocket beach is near El Matador State Beach, which did make our list. El Pescador is often less crowded than El Matador, which is a popular spot for photo shoots.

Hermosa Beach

A man pushes a girl on a sled down a hill of sand.

Alex Filipchik of Redondo Beach pushes his daughter, Veronica, down a hill of sand on Dec. 25, 2022.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Several readers gushed about Hermosa Beach. Volleyball and surfing are popular here.

Clarke Mallery of Hermosa Beach said it’s a wide, sandy beach that’s clean, charming and casual with “loads of dining and entertainment on Pier Plaza.” Mallery pointed out the nearby Lighthouse Cafe, a beloved jazz venue that was a filming location in “La La Land.” (It also made our guide to best jazz spots.) Shelby Forier, who grew up in Hermosa Beach, said: “I love this beach with my whole heart, and I’d love to share it with everyone!”

Hueneme Beach Park

People play along the sand at the beach.

Beachgoers enjoy Port Hueneme Beach Park on April 19, 2020.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Andrea Massion of Port Hueneme, a small beach town in Ventura County, recommended Hueneme Beach Park, which she described as “a quiet middle-class family beach with pier and a cafe.” The beach also has volleyball courts, barbecue pits, picnic tables and walking paths.

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Lunada Bay

Three boys look out from a blufftop to view Rocky Point at Lunada Bay.

Several readers wrote in to praise Lunada Bay as an inviting surf spot, but the beach has been at the center of a lawsuit that claims a surf clique makes it a hostile space for outsiders.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

This Palos Verdes Estates beach kept popping up in my inbox. Multiple readers said they liked to surf at Lunada Bay, describing it as a pleasant, secluded beach.

But there is some sordid history here: The Lunada Bay Boys surf clique has harassed outsiders for decades by throwing rocks, cutting leashes and blocking beach access. In 2016, two surf-loving attorneys sued the city of Palos Verdes Estates and group members. Since then, more than a dozen individual defendants have settled — some agreeing to stay away from the beach for a year or more, others paying monetary settlements, the highest being $90,000. As of this writing, two defendants remain: an individual and the city of Palos Verdes Estates. (The city manager’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment as of publishing.)

A jury trial is slated to begin next week. One of the attorneys, Kurt Franklin, said Lunada Bay may be beautiful, but it isn’t always inviting to all. Just this winter, he received complaints of people being bullied, noting it’s worse during surf season, which is October through March.

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Mandalay Beach

Pink and orange skies during sunset over the ocean.

A sunset view at Mandalay Beach in Oxnard.

(Brallan Perez Favela)

Linda Gorman recommends all the beaches in her hometown of Oxnard, specifying Mandalay Beach and Silver Strand. She said they’re quiet and offer beautiful views of the Channel Islands.

Mandalay Beach, also known as Oxnard State Beach, has sherbet sunsets over its dunes. A 900-foot paved loop provides wheelchair access to the beach. Behind the dunes are a playground, bike, skating and jogging paths, and volleyball courts that are part of the similarly named Oxnard Beach Park, a.k.a. ’Olol’koy Beach Park. Locals who like to surf and kayak tend to hit Silver Strand.

Oceanside City Beach

A fisherman casts out on a rock jetty near Oceanside Harbor Beach.

Christopher Vollrath of Oceanside, Calif., fishes early in the morning on Feb. 7, 2020, from the Oceanside south jetty near Oceanside Harbor Beach.

(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Dawn Renee of Vista loves Oceanside City Beach because it has nice sidewalks along the strand, fire rings, beach wheelchairs and playground equipment. You’ll find people fishing and surfers in the water, she said.

“I thought perhaps we got left out due to our current wound, the pier fire remnants,” she said, noting that she enjoyed her first senior discount “while watching dolphins frolic from the windows at now-shuttered Ruby’s.”

Indeed, when we were researching our guide, we cut this beach from the short list because of the April fire that closed the pier. Some of it has reopened since, but a full reopening isn’t expected until 2027.

Pirate’s Cove Beach

Two people pull a yellow kayak into the water.

Kayakers launch their boat into the crystal waters of Pirate’s Cove Beach.

(Kent Treptow / Daily Pilot)

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Elena Moore of Huntington Beach nominated this secluded beach that’s connected to Corona del Mar State Beach, which did make our top 50 list.

One must ascend a wall of smooth rocks to get to this spot of sand with views of pricy homes and boats making their way out to sea. Moore recalled spending countless days as a teen at Pirate’s Cove with her friends. One time she made a bet that she could swim across the channel’s choppy water. She was the only one who made it and won lunch at Ruby’s Diner and ice cream from Dairy Queen. She still visits Pirate’s Cove now and then. “Each time I do, I stand at the water’s edge, stare across the channel and smile from ear to ear [and] then suddenly get a craving for a Ruby burger and ice cream.”

Redondo Beach

Fishermen stand on the end of a pier at sunset.

Fishermen end their day as the sun sets on the Redondo Beach Pier on Dec. 4, 2023.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Carla McCue of Los Angeles described Redondo Beach as “scenic, clean.” She shouted out the playground, restaurants on the pier and nearby Veterans Park, where she and her husband attend Memorial Day services. It’s also a “great hangout for picnics,” she said.

To the south, Torrance Beach made our list with a mention of Redondo Beach, particularly for a special night scuba dive experience that happens here December through March: the squid run.

T-Street Beach

A Boogie boarder enters blue water with white waves.

A Boogie boarder enters the water at T-Street Beach in San Clemente on May 23, 2017.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Duncan of San Clemente gushed about his hometown beach, noting that it’s frequented by “some of the best surfers in the world.” He also emphasized that there’s a train station near the pier. Service to the train station resumed in March after stopping in January following a landslide; it was the fifth time in three years that erosion closed this stop.

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This palm-tree lined beach is indeed a popular spot. Given all he shared, Duncan asked: “How could you omit it?” T-Street was considered if that counts for anything.

Westward Beach

People sit on towels along the sand as white foamy waves form in the ocean.

Visitors brave the winds and hot sand as winds gust at Westward Beach in Malibu on April 29, 2014.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

This one, tucked off Pacific Coast Highway, is “less busy and quieter than most beaches,” said Kimberly Maxwell of Reseda, who loves the view of Santa Monica Bay, Santa Monica Mountains and Zuma Beach. “The Sunset restaurant is also a treat after a long walk,” she added.

Also known as Free Beach, Westward got a mention in our guide alongside Point Dume State Beach.

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This spring, have a tea ceremony inside of an art installation and shop the latest Givenchy

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This spring, have a tea ceremony inside of an art installation and shop the latest Givenchy

Givenchy by Sarah Burton introduces the Snatch

Givenchy’s “The Snatch” handbag.

(Marc Piasecki / Getty Images)

Echoing the designer’s ready-to-wear sculptural designs, the Snatch from Givenchy by Sarah Burton is sensually shaped by the contours of the person who carries it. Its supple leather, fluid silhouette and three sizes allow it to slip effortlessly and intimately into the hand, over the shoulder or across the body. Now available. givenchy.com

Guess Jeans opens new L.A. store

Guess Jeans store interior.

Guess Jeans store interior.

(Josh Cho)

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In a move familiar to many millennials these days, Guess Jeans has returned home in its 45th year. The new flagship store in West Hollywood is both a return to its California roots and an envisioning of its future still ahead. While the brand may be an established icon, the store boldly reimagines the retail space as a living laboratory for design, craftsmanship and collaboration, with dedicated workshop and customization spaces. 8700 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. guess.com

Louis Vuitton’s new Color Blossom collection

Jewelry by Louis Vuitton
Sodalite bracelet by Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton’s new Color Blossom collection highlights sodalite.

(Louis Vuitton)

Taylor Swift’s sky may be opalite, but the starry blue hues in the new jewels of Louis Vuitton’s Color Blossom collection belong to sodalite. Rarely used in jewelry, the dark navy of sodalite adds an unexpected layer of depth to Color Blossom’s existing luminous gemstone lineup. Sun and star motifs rendered in gold enhance the gem’s night sky coloring, while the classic flower designs celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Louis Vuitton Monogram. Sodalite pieces available March 6, entire collection available April 4. louisvuitton.com

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Loro Piana debuts Library of Knits

Loro Piana debuts Library of Knits
Loro Piana debuts Library of Knits

Loro Piana’s Library of Knits comes in over 20 shades.

(Lora Piana)

L.A.’s (many) winter showers bring spring wildflowers, and a bouquet of Loro Piana’s new Library of Knits fits right into the vibrant spectacle. The exquisitely soft cashmere pieces in classic styles now come in over 20 shades inspired by Sergio Loro Piana’s personal wardrobe. With a spectrum ranging from blues and greens to corals and creams, it’s hard to choose just one for a frolic in the fields. Now available. loropiana.com

Margesherwood X Peanuts

Margesherwood X Peanuts

The Margesherwood X Peanuts collaboration features instantly recognizable motifs.

(Marge Sherwood)

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Love is famously in the air this time of year, apparently even for cartoon characters. This enduring love is illustrated (literally) in the Margesherwood X Peanuts collaboration. Inspired by the heart-fluttering love letters Sally writes to Linus, the designs feature instantly recognizable motifs that marry the Peanuts’ charm with Margesherwood’s refined silhouettes. The zig-zag of that famous yellow shirt winkingly graces a crescent baguette, while the black stripes of Linus’s red red shirt wrap around a slouchy shoulder bag. For the true heads and lovers, there’s even a petite hobo emblazoned with Sally’s pet name for Linus: “FOR MY SWEET BABBOO.” Now available. margesherwood.com

Ryan Preciado at Hollyhock House

Ryan Preciado's site-responsive "Diary of a Fly" at Hollyhock House features Oaxacan-woven textiles.

Ryan Preciado’s site-responsive “Diary of a Fly” at Hollyhock House features Oaxacan-woven textiles.

(Roman Koval)

Ryan Preciado’s new site-responsive installation at Hollyhock House, “Diary of a Fly,” is titled after a late-1930s musical composition by Béla Bartók that imitates the frenzied pace of a fly — a fitting name since his show reconceptualizes the experience of the springtime pest flitting around a house. Instead of hovering around overripe fruit or stalking a trash can long neglected, however, viewers are invited to take in Preciado’s Oaxacan-woven textiles and brightly colored sculptures situated throughout the city’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site. Open through April 25. 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. hollyhockhouse.org

Veronica Fernandez at Anat Ebgi

Veronica Fernanadez's "Prey" filters childhood memories through experience and emotion.

Veronica Fernanadez’s “Prey” filters childhood memories through experience and emotion.

(Veronica Fernandez)

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In the figurative paintings of Veronica Fernandez’s first solo exhibition, “Prey,” the artist’s childhood is recalled through dreamlike and fantastical scenes, with memories filtered through experience and emotion. Many of her works place a child at the center of the scene among family, friends and caretakers, who usually appear shadow-like at the edges of the paintings. As a kid, Fernandez endured periods of homelessness. But rather than depict a childhood of adversity, her paintings empower the kids within them to claim their own space, imbuing her memories with strength and light. Open through April 4. 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. anatebgi.com

Dior launches J’Adore Intense

Dior launches J’Adore Intense

Dior’s J’Adore Intense captures the scent of solar flowers with Rihanna as its muse.

(J’Adore)

Florals for spring can be groundbreaking, especially when they’re created with none other than Rihanna as their muse. Dior’s J’Adore Intense captures the scent of solar flowers — jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, violet — right before they burst into fruit. The result is a warm, bold, addictive fragrance that drips with sensuality and femininity, down to the curves of its signature gold and glass figure-eight amphora. In other words, it’s Rihanna in a bottle. Available now. dior.com

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Rocky’s Matcha X Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán

The exterior of Rocky's Matcha x Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán
Rocky's Matcha hosts Japanese tea ceremonies in an ensō-inspired tea house from Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán.

Rocky’s Matcha hosts Japanese tea ceremonies in an ensō-inspired tea house from Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán.

(Stade New York)

The single, uninhibited brushstroke of the ensō, the circular form in Zen art, serves as a record of a moment. Commissioned by Rocky’s Matcha, Oscar Tuazon’s “Circle House” at Morán Morán shares both the ensō’s form and its call to mindfulness. In the artist’s tea house, constructed from cardboard, wood and tatami mats, architecture is inseparable from ritual: visitors will soon be able to partake in a Japanese tea ceremony inside the installation, thereby participating in a choreography of attention not unlike the act of gliding an ink brush across a sheet of washi. Open through December 31. 641 N. Western Ave. Los Angeles. Subscribe to rocky’s newsletter for tea ceremony information. rockysmatcha.com and moranmorangallery.com

Celebrate Mr. Wash’s new book, “Artists in Space”

Celebrate the launch of Mr. Wash's new book of studio visits and interviews with other L.A. artists.

Celebrate the launch of Mr. Wash’s new book of studio visits and interviews with other L.A. artists.

(Mr Wash)

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Make your first BBQ of the season a meaningful one at the Art By Wash Studio & Community Center, where Compton artist and criminal justice advocate, Mr. Wash, will celebrate the release of his book “Artists in Space.” Proceeds from the book, which features interviews and studio visits with 20 Angeleno residents, go toward establishing the new community center where individuals returning home from incarceration will have access to art classes, creative residencies and housing. Mr. Wash will be in conversation with Patrisse Culllors and Evan Pricco (co-publisher and founder of the Unibrow) as well as displaying new works. The event is on March 7 from 2-6 p.m. 15 W. Rosecrans Ave., Compton. artbywash.com

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‘Hamnet’ star Jessie Buckley looks for the ‘shadowy bits’ of her characters

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‘Hamnet’ star Jessie Buckley looks for the ‘shadowy bits’ of her characters

Jessie Buckley has been nominated for an Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of William Shakespeare’s wife in Hamnet.

Kate Green/Getty Images


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Kate Green/Getty Images

Actor Jessie Buckley says she’s always been drawn to the “shadowy bits” of her characters — aspects that are disobedient, or “too much.” Perhaps that’s what led her to play Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, in Hamnet.

Buckley says the film, which is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, offered a chance to counter a common narrative about the playwright’s wife: that she “had kept him back from his genius,” Buckley says.

But, she adds, “What Maggie O’Farrell so brilliantly did, not just with Agnes and Shakespeare’s wife, but also with Hamnet, their son, was to bring these people … and give them status beside this great man. … [And] give the full landscape of what it is to be a woman.”

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The film is nominated for eight Academy Awards, including best actress for Buckley. In it, she plays a woman deeply connected to nature, who faces conflicts in her marriage, as well as the death of their son Hamnet.

Buckley found out she was pregnant a week after the film wrapped. She’s since given birth to her first child, a daughter.

“The thing that this story offered me, that brought me into this next chapter of my life as a mother was tenderness,” she says. “A mother’s tenderness is ferocious. To love, to birth is no joke. To be born is no joke. And the minute something’s born into the world, you’re always in the precipice of life and death. That’s our path. … I wanted to be a mother so much that that overrode the thought of being afraid of it.”

Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Joe Alwyn plays her brother Bartholomew in Hamnet.

Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Joe Alwyn plays her brother Bartholomew in Hamnet.

Courtesy of Focus Features/Courtesy of Focus Features


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Courtesy of Focus Features/Courtesy of Focus Features

Interview highlights

On filming the scene where she howls in grief when her son dies

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I didn’t know that that was going to happen or come out, it wasn’t in the script. I think really [director] Chloé [Zhao] asked all of us to dare to be as present as possible. Of course, leading up to it, you’re aware this scene is coming, but that scene doesn’t stand on its own. By the time I’d met that scene, I had developed such a deep bond with Jacobi Jupe, who plays Hamnet, and [co-stars] Paul [Mescal] and Emily Watson, and all the children and we really were a family. And Jacobi Jupe who plays Hamnet is such an incredible little actor and an incredible soul, and we really were a team. …

The death of a child is unfathomable. I don’t know where it begins and ends. Out of utter respect, I tried to touch an imaginary truth of it in our story as best I could, but there’s no way to define that kind of grief. I’m sure it’s different for so many people. And in that moment, all I had was my imagination but also this relationship that was right in front of me with this little boy and that’s what came out of that.

On what inspired her to pursue singing growing up

I grew up around a lot of music. My mom is a harpist and a singer and my dad has always been passionate about music, so it was always something in our house and always something that was encouraged. … Early on, I have very strong memories of seeing and hearing my mom sing in church and this quite intense mercurial conversation that would happen between her, the story and the people that would listen to her. And at the end of it, something had been cracked between them and these strangers would come up with tears in their eyes. And I guess I saw the power of storytelling through my mom’s singing at a very young age, and that was definitely something that made me think I want to do that.

On her first big break performing as a teen on the BBC singing competition I’d Do Anything — and being criticized by judges about her physical appearance

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I was raw. I hadn’t trained. I had a lot to learn and to grow in. I was only 17. I think there was part of their criticism which I think was destructive and unfair when it became about my awkwardness, or they would say I was masculine and send me to kind of a femininity school. … They sent me to [the musical production of] Chicago to put heels on and a leotard and learn how to walk in high heels, which was pretty humiliating, to be honest, and I’m sad about that because I think I was discovering myself as a young woman in the world and wasn’t fully formed. … I was different. I was wild, I had a lot of feeling inside me. I could hardly keep my hands beside myself and I think to kind of criticize a body of a young woman at that time and to make her feel conscious of that was lazy and, I think, boring.

On filming parts of the 2026 film The Bride! while pregnant

I really loved working when I was pregnant. I thought it was a pretty wild experience, especially because I was playing Mary Shelley and I was talking about [this] monstrosity, and here I was with two heartbeats inside me. Becoming a mom and being pregnant did something, I think, for me. My experience of it, it’s so real that it really focuses [me to be] allergic to fake or to disconnection.

Since my daughter has come and I know what that connection is and the real feeling of being in a relationship with somebody … as an actress, it’s very exciting to recognize that in yourself and really take ownership of yourself.

I’m excited to go back and work on this other side of becoming a mother in so many ways, because I’ve shed 10 layers of skin by loving more and experiencing life in such a new way with my daughter. I’m also scared to work again because it’s hard to be a mother and to work. That’s like a constant tug because I love what I do and I’m passionate and I want to continue to grow and learn and fill those spaces that are yet to be filled — and also be a mother. And I think every mother can recognize that tug.

On the possibility of bringing her daughter to travel with her as she works

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I haven’t filmed for nearly a year and I cannot wait. I’m hungry to create again. And my daughter will come with me. She’s seven months, so at the moment she can travel with us and it’s a beautiful life. And she meets all these amazing people and I have a feeling that she loves life and that’s a great thing to see in a child. And I hope that’s something that I’ve imparted to her in the short time that she’s been on this earth is that life is beautiful and great and complex and alive and there’s no part of you that needs to be less in your life. You might have to work it out, but it’s worth it.

Lauren Krenzel and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.

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‘Evil Dead’ Star Bruce Campbell Reveals He Has Cancer

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‘Evil Dead’ Star Bruce Campbell Reveals He Has Cancer

Bruce Campbell
I’m Battling Cancer

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