Santa Monica Beach
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3120
Phone: (310) 394-3266
Editorial Review for Santa Monica Beach – by Margaret Griffis
The Scene
Santa Monica makes up the largest beach community in L.A. Laid-back locals mingle with a constant stream of tourists, creating a friendly and relaxed community. Moderate temperatures make this a year-round hot spot, appropriate for families and barhoppers, sun worshippers and out-of-towners.
The Experience
The water isn't quite clean, but the beach is fun nonetheless. The pier has restaurants, an arcade, an old-time carousel and even a decent-sized roller coaster. Evening concerts are frequently held here as well. Rollerbladers and cyclists congest the bike path on the weekends. Nearby, the Third Street Promenade is a shopper's paradise (think a three-story Barnes & Noble and the West Coast flagship of Banana Republic).
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Insider Tips
Know Before You GoSouth Bay Bike Trail runs 22 miles from Pacific Palisades to Torrance. Bike and rollerblade rentals are available at both hourly and daily rates.
ParkingBeach lots offer flat daily rates. Metered parking is available along Ocean Avenue.
When to GoIt's recommended that you don't swim within three days of a storm. For up-to-date water quality reports, check the Heal the Bay site.
User Reviews for Santa Monica Beach
05/23/2004 Posted by aperson
The beach itself is okay. There is a ferris wheel, that costs 4.50 a person to ride. That's its perk. There is nothing else special about this beach, except it's in an upscale neighborhood. I would much rather go to Carlsbad, Oceanside, Camp Penelton, Newport, or other beaches in Southern California. The waves, and water are better. They are cleaner as well.
Pros: Interesting events
Cons: , Overcrowded
05/23/2004 Posted by wjbean
Santa Monica has a facility just east of the beach called S.M.U.R.R.F. This stands for the "Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility." The idea is to clean the water from street drains before it gets to the bay. This helps a lot, but the surrounding cities do not do the same sort of thing. Santa Monica has wide beaches of nearly white sand, it's clean with little trash. There are numerous public restrooms and plenty of vollyball nets. There is also a well maintained bike path which is seperate from the equally clean footpath. The shops along the beach are licensed by the City and are also clean an uncluttered unlike Venice (A.K.A. Anarchy) Beach. Along the pier and the beach are numerous restaruants. None of them are dives and most of them serve tasty, reasonbly priced meals. Inland are shops and restaurants galore all of high quality.
Pros: Clean, Scenic, Well maintained
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