Topanga State Beach

Absolutely beautiful place! great for walking and sightseeing. clean and serene water and not too crowded.

What can anyone say about Topanga that hasn’t already been said? The sea floor here allows swells from various directions to provide fast, steep take-​offs. This is when the waves have 6 foot faces or larger. The beach proper was formed by wash from Tooanga Canyon over the centuries.
Natures sculpting and recycling via climate– wind, rain, fire and quaking made this beach a gr8 break. But, ALAS, along came man who has blocked and altered nature’s handiwork. To be sure, not as bad as man inflicted on Dana Point in San Diego or Doheny State Beach of yesteryear.
Topanga Beach has an excellent wave but better when huge. When it’s pumping, it gets savagely over-​populated with all types (of tempers) vying for the perfect position.
You’ve heard The DMV pleading to «Share The Road», right? Well, as fellow Surfers, «Share The Waves.» Thank You All.

I liked this beach. I was looking for a not so crowded beach on the way back from Malibu, and saw this one before getting into Santa Monica. I was also able to find a spot along PCH right in front of the pay parking lot… score!
When you leave the parking lot and walk down the stairs, you arrive at the center where the restrooms, showers and first aid area is. Off to the right is a small beach with some rocky areas. If you go to the left of the building, there is a much more expansive beach, but it will require walking about 500 feet. When you are done at the beach, come back and use the showers on the back of the building, side facing the water. Only 2 of the 4 showers worked.
On a Sunday afternoon, I was surprised to see hardly anyone at the beach… if I’m in the area, I’d consider coming back again.

At night, this is my beach. This is not your beach. Do not trash my beach. Be respectful. Use garbage cans. If you’re going to come to my beach to drink and party, then that is fine, but please use one of the MANY garbage cans lining the beach.
During the day, this beach is cool too, but I only go at night.

Beautiful water, great location, and parking is free if you park along the side of the road except during the times of 10pm-​5pm. Somehow this beach seems to fall short.
It’s a pretty small beach, but size isn’t what bothers me. There’s a lot of litter and driftwood, and it’s generally not that well-​kept.
My friend and I came here to cool down after a hike.
I would only come another time if I needed fresh air and stay for about half an hour. Plenty of beaches along Highway 1, and this beach is probably the last I would recommend. Drive a little farther down towards the freeways, and you’ll get to Santa Monica Pier and State Beach. It’s understandably more packed because it’s better.

Smaller beach most suitable for beginning/​intermediate surfers. There is sand where you can tan on, but once you hit the water it is mostly all rocks, thus not a swimmers beach. I think the left side of the beach may have been less rocky because there were less surfers and more swimmers. There is a bathroom near by and with a lifeguard on duty. There are stairs you have to walk down to get to the sand. Honestly, not my favorite beach. I would have rather drove down a little farther to Malibu.
Parking: There is a lot with a fee or you can try to find street parking. I believe the parking people said that you had to reserve the handicap spots ahead of time in order to park there.

Absolutely LOVE this beach! Topanga State Beach is my favorite beach in Malibu to visit cuz it’s clean, sometimes secluded, and very family/​kid-​oriented.
LOCATION & PARKING
Located off the Pacific Coast Highway across from Reel Inn Fish Restaurant. When you see the stoplight at Topanga Canyon Road, the beach can be found a little after that light. Parking is available and FREE along the side of the PCH. There’s also parking lots, but those cost money and not too sure of pricing.
**TIP: Early morning (especially on weekends) is the BEST time to find parking along the PCH. But DO NOT PARK along the PCH between 10pm — 5am cuz parking is prohibited!
SETTING
There are three ways to get down to the beach: Two stairways OR climbing through the big boulders.
**TIP: Take the time to walk the extra mile to go down the stairs for the safer route!
Restrooms, showers, and a lifeguard station are located near one of the stairways.
**TIP: The bathroom isn’t the cleanest as expected and there’s no soap, so bring hand sanitizer!
Sand is super soft and cool and perfect for sandcastle building. Water is clean, but cold! Some seaweed on the beach, but not an overwhelming amount. Beach is generally very clean, yet they only keep trash bins by the life guard stations. Dunno why they don’t put trash cans along the beach for people to dispose their trash. Weird.
Finding a good spot on the beach is easy cuz it’s never too crowded. The usual crowd is friendly and usually includes families with children, couples, and groups of friends. Popular beach for those who like to surf, boogie board, or paddle board. Kid-​friendly but NOT dog friendly, so keep you furry ones at home!
Overall, I always leave happy and relaxed after spending a day at Topanga State Beach. So looking forward to more beach days there cuz summer is just around the corner!

Did some surf fishing, but didn’t catch anything. There are some rusted out walls right on the beach, right where the American Apparel Store sits. Just ignore them, because beaches are public. The stretch of beach is quite empty as most people think this stretch of beach is private.
The beach and waves have some rocks and lots of kelp in the surf. This could make for some dicey entering and playing in the water. Low tide exposes some interesting sea life like anemones and hermit crabs.
Due to the limited access and few people on the stretch just North of American Apparel, some people let it all hang out for that no tan line look.

Nice beach with clean sand and a great view.

Beautiful beach with clean sands and free packing along the PCH. Watching surfers and kayakers can be fun. You can grab food across the street and have a lovely picnic at the water. Don’t forget your camera, there are lovely views from all along the water.
If you park near the pedestrian bridge, you can avoid the street traffic and light. Those with accessibility issues might want to choose another beach. If you cannot easily access the stairs, ingress down to the water was steep.

Absolutely the worst place on the west coast. Don’t go here. Don’t surf here. Go to Venice or for a quality experience go to Palos Verdes Lunada Bay or Oxnard shores.

My daily drive from Topanga Canyon to the PCH takes me right into this beach daily.
I like to stop on my way home and watch the sunset, and walk in the sand for a few minutes before heading back into the hustle and bustle of the city — be warned though, the access to the sand is down a steep embankment with rocks and several clandestine paths, no fancy stairs here.
Parking is along the PCH and is tough on weekends. This beach fronts the PCH right along the strip of restaurants like Reel Inn and Rosenthal’s Winery, so expect to compete with non-​beach goers for parking here. If you don’t mind the walk, and some homeless beggars, park on Topanga and walk downhill to the beach.
This is a nice but narrow, short, beach that catches part of the malibu break and serves surfers and seagoers alike, though at your own risk, no lifeguard towers here! Also bring some surfsocks or flip flops, this beach is rocky at low tide but a great place to see marine life in the rocks! A better walking beach than swimming beach, IMO, I like this beach for relaxing and escaping the crowds.

Best Beach for Sunshine and Wine: Topanga State Beach
Sunbathe and then sip, or vice versa! Just off the Pacific Coast Highway, south of the oddly placed oceanfront American Apparel, Topanga State Beach may look like an ordinary shore. But what makes this beach so inviting is that it’s located across the PCH from Rosenthal Winery. Park in the beach’s east or west lot and take the underground passageway, which goes almost to the winery’s doorstep. There you can taste, buy a bottle and wait for the sun to go down to make your trek back into the city. 18 700 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu.

Beautiful, clean beach! Parking is okay too if you can find a spot right off the road. There are little trails that lead from the roadside parking down to the beach area. It’s a quite spot along the shore with few crowds. This makes it a great little place to picnic, lay out, build some sandcastles, or play in the water. I like to just watch the waves and maybe dip my feet in a little. My boyfriend was skipping rocks and taught me too, although I only managed to succeed whenever he wasn’t looking. Perfect place to just hang out and relax.

I LOVE this beach. It is the closest beach to my home from the west side of the San Fernando Valley. I am so happy its close by for those much needed days.
On a busy day i would suggest parking on Topanga Canyon Blvd. Topanga Beach’s shore line is a great place for adults and children.
On a regular basis you can find surfers here which are pretty cool and nice. I wanna learn how to surf!!!
There is also a connecting bridge on PCH so as a pedestrian you dont have to wait for the street light.
Sunsets are quite beautiful here. Right across from this beach is reel inn restaurant.

Great little beach not far from us. Topanga Canyon Blvd is a nice drive too because you are going through the mountains and you feel like you’re not in LA anymore and then suddenly there’s the beach!
If you want to avoid the crowds at Santa Monica Beach — go here instead!

Beautiful place to catch mind-​blowing sunsets, right outside of the Getty Villa. You can clamber down pretty easily from the side of the road down to the water if you’re just visiting for a short time, or there are paid parking lots where you can leave your car if you plan to spend the day there. Definitely stop and enjoy the view here some time!

No idea if I checked in to the right beach lol but whatever, every where in this area is beautiful!!! I only drove up this way once with my mom when she came to visit a while back. We were just driving to see what was up here. I don’t like that there is only one way in and out and it is not that easy to make U-​turns either. If you don’t know Malibu very well, it can be pretty challenging when driving because you have no clue where you are going and everyone is driving so fast and here I am driving like a granny because I don’t wanna miss my destination which was the only reason why I came the second time.
I really wanted to stop on the side to enjoy the scenery on the way back after PC Greens, so I made a mental note of that and I did! I wasn’t sure where to stop though and again, people drive so fast because it’s the PCH and you can’t exactly just slow down or stop without the cars in back of you having to slam on their breaks so I just drove like a granny and forced everyone to just go around me. I just pretended I’m an Asian driver who just moved to the states and got her license last month.
So anyway, I finally found an open spot on the side and quickly maneuvered my car in the space. Cars are passing by so fast it’s very scary to get out of the car. Either it’s better to wait, or do what I did and just climb over to the passenger side and get out. Luckily I’m petite enough to do that. I got out my car and it was so relaxing. So I started taking photos and this one guy asked if I wanted a photo taken of myself so I accepted. I had no idea he was gonna take 30 photos of me lol. He kept snapping shot after shot and I asked him if he’s a photographer and he says he’s a model. Ok whatever, I can play model for a day I guess. So that was fun.
Okay so when I go out to the market, especially not close from home, I’ll bring a cooler bag with me and ice packs in case I buy anything that needs to keep chilled. I had bought chips and dip earlier from the health store and so I went in to my cooler bag and took it out and ate some. I also like to buy smoothies which is another reason to have my cooler bag with me when I’m out and about. I had bought a papaya smoothie. Boy was it good with my chips and dip. I think the environment made it taste better. When I go the beach in Hawaii, and after a long day of sun and swim, I’d grab some fast food or food I brought from home, and chill and eat on the sand, the food never tasted so good even though it was Jack in the Box $ 1 Chicken sandwich. Do they still have that? Never mind, I’m vegan now.
So that’s my story. :)

A GREAT option if you’re looking to hit the beach without having to deal with all the crazies, bums and crowds at Santa Monica Beach.
Located right off of PCH a few miles up from SM, Topanga State Beach offers lots of street parking with no fees. I usually park next to The Chart House and hike down the rocks to the mini beach as I’d like to call it. I love how secluded and clean this area is and like I said, how it’s not too crowded.
Wear sunscreen, bring an umbrella and dip your toes in the water. Happy Beaching!

We saw dolphins!
Great little beach with surfing waves and a gorgeous sunset!