The Locals’ Guide to Santa Monica Beach (Beyond the Pier)
Santa Monica Beach is 3.5 miles long and nearly 200 feet wide at its broadest point. It is, by any measure, a large beach. The section most tourists experience — the quarter-mile around the Pier — represents a small fraction of it, and it is the most crowded fraction. The locals know where the rest of it is.
This is a guide for the people who actually live here, or want to experience the beach the way they do. Where to park without losing your mind. Which sections are quieter. Where the volleyball nets are. When to go. What the beach looks like at 7am when nobody else is there yet.
"Santa Monica Beach is enormous. The crowds are concentrated in about 10% of it. The other 90% is right there, free, and mostly empty."
Parking: The Honest Guide
Lot 1 (Pier Lot): The big structure at the foot of the Pier on Colorado Ave. Most convenient to the Pier area. $3/hour, fills up by 10am on summer weekends. Arrive before 9am or come back after 4pm.
Lot 3 (at Barnard Way): A surface lot at the south end of Santa Monica Beach, north of Venice. Significantly less traffic than the Pier lot. $10 flat rate on weekends. This is the smart choice if you're heading to the southern, quieter section of the beach.
Beach bike path: The best approach on weekends is to not drive to the beach at all. The Coastal Bike Path runs the entire length and connects to the Ballona Creek path westward. From Sawtelle, the Ballona Creek path gets you to the beach without touching a car.
The Quieter Sections
The beach north of the Pier (toward Santa Monica Canyon) gets significantly less foot traffic. This is where the early-morning swimmers go, where the serious surfers walk up from the water, and where you can lay out a towel without negotiating for space. The sand here is the same sand. The water is the same water. The difference is 15 minutes of walking north from the Pier.
The section south of the Pier, between the Pier and the Venice border, is broader and flatter. The Muscle Beach outdoor gym is here (free to watch, interesting on weekend afternoons). The volleyball nets at this section are among the most heavily used in the city — there are regular games going from morning through early evening.
The Bike Path
The paved Coastal Bike Path runs directly along the beach for the entire Santa Monica stretch, connecting north to Pacific Palisades and south through Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, and beyond. Renting a beach cruiser from one of the shops on Ocean Front Walk is a completely valid way to spend a morning on the beach without committing to a specific spot.
The Sunset
Santa Monica faces due west. The sun sets directly into the ocean from any point on the beach. This sounds obvious but is worth saying because it means that on a clear evening — and Santa Monica gets an unreasonable number of them — you are watching one of the most straightforward and spectacular sunsets available anywhere in the world. Palisades Park above the bluffs gives you the elevated view. The beach itself gives you the immersive one. Both are free.
