Beach Guide

Los Angeles County has published a beach guide (pdf) that has concise descriptions of each beach, its facilities and location.

Point Dume State Beach Trip

We moved (back) to SoCal 5 years ago.  Since then, I'm embarrassed to admit it, we have only been to the beach a handful of times.  It is my opinion that the beach is an integral part of southern California culture and I want my kids to experience the sun, sand and surf regularly.  I declared my cultural commitment to the beach on Labor Day weekend (brilliant!).

Our last two beach trips were to Huntington Beach and Newport Beach in the OC and we didn't want to do that again.  Nor did we want to brave the crowds and limited parking of Santa Monica and the beaches south of there.  The only local beaches left were in Malibu.  I choose our destination beach randomly.

Our plan was to go to Zuma Beach for the morning, play in the sand and surf, picnic, play some more (until the kids were completely worn out) and then pack up the car and go home.  We gathered up all our beach gear, piled into the station wagon and headed for the beach -- the 210 to the 134 to the 101 to Malibu Canyon to PCH.

As we approached Zuma, Altadena Dad put more faith in the GPS than in the street signs and turned too soon, landing us at Point Dume State Beach instead.  The line of cars to get into the parking lot ($7 fee) was long and I was worried the beach would be too crowded for us to enjoy ourselves. But, to our surprise, parking was plentiful and the beach was nearly empty...on Labor Day weekend!

We had a great day.  It was warm, but not too hot.  There was a slight breeze.  The kids had a blast.  No one got sunburned.  And, everyone was worn out by the time we left at 2 PM.

Point Dume is a great beach for families.  Parking is plentiful as are restrooms.  The distance from the parking lot to the water is less than 100 meters.  The waves are relatively small, 3-5 feet.  Lifegaurds are posted at every tower and patrol on foot and ATV.  Beach-goers were few.  The drive is scenic and on less congested freeways.  The only aspect of this beach I didn't like was the drop-off to the water.  It was short, maybe 2 or 3 feet from the beach down to the waves, but I prefer a gradual slope into the water.  This is just a preference, though, and not a requirement.

We'll be exploring more beaches in Malibu throughout the fall and winter and we're looking forward to it.

Newport Beach Trip

A couple weeks ago, on a Thursday afternoon, the kids and I went to Newport Beach (Prospect & PCH, just south of Huntington Beach) with some friends.  It was our first sojourn to the beach without Altadena Dad and I was nervous.  Fortunately, I was with experienced beach-going moms.

   3 moms
   7 kids under the age of 4
   1 potty
+ lots of sunshine
-----------------------
a blast playing in the sand and surf, and souvenir sunburns

What more could you want from a beach trip in SoCal? 

1. a shorter, more scenic drive 
2. better parking
3. a shorter trek across the sand
4. closer public restrooms

The trip there was well over an hour of driving on some of the most congested freeways in southern California -- the 210 to the 605 to the 405 to the 55 to the 1.  Parking is free on the street, if there's a spot.  Conveniently, there is a small metered parking lot (don't forget coins) off of Seashore Drive right next to West Newport Park (the only public restrooms in the area are located here).

Once the kids and gear were unloaded our trek across the vast expanse of sand began.  We walked a couple hundred meters until we were close enough to the water to spread our blankets and towels and get out the buckets and shovels.  We filled buckets with water, showed the kids how to build sand castles and admonished them not to throw sand. 

Things were going well, we were relaxing a bit and getting a handle on our zone-defense (a neccesity when the kids outnumber the adults).  This is when I realized I had to pee.  "Where are the restrooms?", I asked.  "Back at the park next to the parking lot", replied one of the moms, "but we'll hold up a towel for you if you want to use the potty".  (Friends don't get better than that!)  As I am not a petit woman who could easily squat on a child's potty seat, I declined the generous offer.

We spent 2 hours at the beach playing in the sand, letting the waves tickle our toes and eating lunch.  Then we packed up, trekked back to the cars, loaded the kids and gear and drove home while the little ones napped.

It was a good day.

There were several things I liked about this section of beach:

1. beach goers were few in number
2. lifeguards were posted at every tower in sight
3. the slope of the beach to the surf was gradual, and 
4. the waves were about 3-5 feet high

And, there were several things I learned from this trip:

1. don't forget the sunblock, even on a cloudy day
   
2. bring a potty with you
3. don't expect to stay sand-free, not even for a minute
4. expect sand to be in the car for weeks
5. expect sand to be on the kids for days, even after multiple washings
6. I have great friends