Beach Day In Santa Monica

One of the prime benefits of living in the Los Angeles area is the access to so many amazing public beaches. Everyone in L.A. seems to have his or her favorite beach spot, and we’re no different. For us, there isn’t much that can top a beach day in Santa Monica on a hot summer afternoon.

The Spot

A straight shot down the 10, Santa Monica is set just north of Venice Beach and just south of Malibu. From Mid City, it’s about a 20-minute drive from driveway to parking lot. We always take the 4th and 5th Street exit off the 10 and head towards the parking lots by way of Pico.

The beach is huge, so there is plenty of space for everyone. If you don’t plan on taking a dip, you don’t need to make the long walk across the sand, but we like to be close enough to see who’s in the water and to feel the ocean breeze. To our right is the pier, which beckons the kiddos but is far enough away to keep it us at a safe distance.

Where to Park

As you come down Ocean Avenue from Pico, there is metered street parking and a handful of large parking lots. We bypass the all-day lots and turn down the bluff at Hollister to the short-term lot where a lot of the surfers generally park. On an obvious beach day, most of Los Angeles will have the same idea as you, so be sure to arrive before noon to make sure you can snag a parking spot in this lot.

As you come down the hill, turn right to get into the short-term side. On the left is more all-day parking, but it’s a good option if the short-term lot is packed. A note about short-term parking — many of the parking spots are quite narrow, so it’s a bit of a park-at-your-own-risk situation.

Once you’re parked, make sure to note the spot number that’s painted on the ground. Each parking spot is numbered, and you need to remember your spot number when you go to pay at one of the pay stations. At the pay station, you can choose one hour for $1 or two hours for $2. Compared to the all-day lots, this is a bargain. And if your time’s up and you want to stay longer, you can just opt to pay for another one or two hours.

Another good thing about the short-term parking lot off Hollister is that there are public restrooms, so if you need to use the facilities before you trek onto the beach, then that’s an option. Cleanliness is hit or miss, so err on the side of unpleasant.

A heads-up about this lot — some of the parking spaces, especially towards the back of the lot, are very narrow, and the lanes get narrower as well. So if you have a big car, you might find it tough to maneuver. Or just head over to the all-day lot to the south.

What To Bring

Check out all of our Beach Day Must-Haves!

There’s a little food spot by the bathrooms, but we couldn’t say what’s on the menu because we’ve never been. We always pack a big beach picnic in our trusty insulated Rtic cooler. We generally pack sandwiches, leftover pizza, cold chicken, chips, fruit, and maybe something sweet like cookies. We make sure everyone has a good water bottle filled to the top with water and ice. We’ll bring juice and sparkling water, and if we’re feeling like having a little daytime Rose, then will pull a screw-top bottle out of the fridge and include it in the cooler. Instead of small plastic cups, we favor jam jars for the adult beverages.

Beach chairs are another essential item. We like the popular Tommy Bahama backpack chairs, and everyone has their own to avoid beach day conflict. They’re durable, comfortable (they include a little pillow), adjustable, and have extra storage in the back for sweatshirts, towels, or sunscreen. They also include a handy cup holder and an extra pocket next to the cup holder for keys or your cell phone.

We always bring a large beach towel for everyone in the group. These are good for draping over the beach chair or laying out on the warm sand for a little post-swim catnap. We also use a quick-dry beach blanket to help claim our little square of the beach, and it’s where we’ll park the cooler, the beach bag, stray clothes, and towels.

You don’t need to have music at the beach, but it makes the experience that much better. We love the Fugoo Sport bluetooth speaker, which has endured five or more summers of use on the beach. We also recommend checking out a good book from the library or bringing a magazine to read. We often head out for a beach day in Santa Monica on Sundays, which means the Sunday New York Times magazine will be traveling with us.

We have a pretty solid beach umbrella, but we don’t use it every time we head to Santa Monica for a beach day. This section of the California Coast gets an ocean breeze, and depending on the day the breeze can be more like a strong wind. So if it’s a particularly sunny day, we’ll haul it to our beach spot. However, if we get there and feel it’s too windy that it might launch our umbrella into the air, then we’ll keep it closed until the wind dies down or not use it at all.

What to Expect

The temperature in Los Angeles will dictate the size of the crowds in Santa Monica. July and August tend to be a lot warmer, and if L.A. is experiencing a heat wave like it often does during those months, then you can expect it to be a lot more crowded at the beach. September can also bring warmer days, and by then the ocean has warmed to an ideal temperature for the kids to stay all day in the water.

@daypasslosangeles Nothing beats a beach day in Santa Monica! #santamonicabeach #beachday #thingstodoinlosangeles ♬ Beach Fun – FASSounds

They don’t call it “May Gray” or “June Gloom” without reason. These months can offer beautiful days, but they can also be overcast until sunset. During this time of year, keep an eye on your weather app. If it looks like the sun might poke out around noon, then don’t wait for it because by the time you arrive in Santa Monica, the sun will be out and the weather could be five degrees warmer than when you left the house.

And on that note — the temperature at the Santa Monica beach is likely ten degrees cooler than wherever you are in Los Angeles, so keep that in mind. It’s always a good idea to throw some sweatshirts in the car just in case.

Take a trip to a SoCal beach recently? Let us know! And if there is a beach that you’d love to see a review, definitely contact us or make a note in the comments.