California Beach Guide

What to bring — the traveller problem

At home, a beach trip requires almost no planning — you have everything already. As a visitor with a hire car and a suitcase, you have none of it. The following is what experienced California beach visitors actually bring, and what they buy on arrival rather than pack from the UK.

Sunscreen SPF 50 is non-negotiable from April through October. The UV index in Southern California regularly reaches 8 to 11 — extreme by UK standards. Factor 50 applied thirty minutes before you go out and reapplied every two hours is the minimum. Buy a large bottle at CVS, Walgreens or Target on arrival — it is significantly cheaper than UK prices and there is no point packing it from home. A wide-brimmed hat for anyone spending extended time on the sand is worth buying at Target or any beach shop.

A beach towel. This sounds obvious but most UK visitors arrive without one and hotel towels are not for the beach. A lightweight microfibre towel packs small and dries fast — worth bringing from home. Alternatively, most beach towns have surf shops selling decent towels for under $20.

A reusable water bottle and plenty of water. The combination of sun, heat and salt air dehydrates faster than most UK visitors expect. Fill the bottle before you leave your hotel. There are limited drinking water facilities on most California beaches.

A cool bag or soft cooler for drinks and food is worth buying at Target ($10 to $15) if you plan to spend regular time at the beach. Alcohol is prohibited on most California beaches — this is enforced and fines are significant. Check signs at the specific beach before opening anything.

A beach umbrella or canopy for shade, particularly with children or anyone fair-skinned. The sun on a California beach is relentless from late morning through mid-afternoon. Beach umbrellas are available for hire on some beaches and cheaply at Target or Walmart if you want your own for the trip.

Flip flops or sandals for walking on hot sand — the temperature of dry sand on a California beach in July can blister bare feet. Waterproof phone cases or a dry bag if you plan to go in the water. A rash vest for UV protection and warmth in the water — the Pacific is considerably colder than the appearance of California suggests, even in summer. Wetsuits are used by local surfers year-round.

Where to buy everything

Beach towns in Southern California — Newport Beach, Huntington, Laguna, Santa Monica — have no shortage of shops selling everything you need for a day on the sand. They will charge accordingly. Sunscreen, towels, umbrellas, cool bags, snacks, water, rash vests, flip flops and most beach essentials are all available at a significant markup in beachfront shops and tourist areas.

Buy everything at Target or Walmart before you head to the coast. Both are widely distributed across Southern California — there is almost certainly one within ten minutes of wherever you are staying — and prices are dramatically lower than beach town retail. A beach umbrella that costs $8 at Target will be $30 at a Newport Beach surf shop. Sunscreen that costs $12 at Walmart will be $22 at a Laguna Beach boutique. A cool bag, a microfibre towel, a hat, snacks and drinks for the day — buy it all at Target on the way and you will spend a fraction of what beach town shopping costs.

Parking — the most stressful part

Parking at California beaches is the single biggest source of frustration for visitors and the one thing worth planning in advance. Popular beaches on summer weekends fill their car parks by mid-morning. The practical rules: arrive before 9am or after 4pm, or walk from further away.

Most state beaches charge for parking — typically $10 to $25 per day depending on the beach and season. Pay via the machines at the car park entrance or through the Passport Parking or PayByPhone apps, which many beach car parks now use. Download the app before you need it. Parking enforcement officers are active and tickets are expensive.

Street parking near popular beaches is metered and limited. Read the signs carefully — California parking signs list multiple restrictions and getting them wrong is costly. Never park in a red zone, a fire hydrant zone or a permit-only area. Towing is common and retrieval is expensive and time-consuming.

Newport Beach and Huntington Beach have large paid car parks adjacent to the sand. Laguna Beach has limited parking and is best reached by the free Laguna Beach Trolley that runs along the coast in summer — park at the Festival Grounds on Laguna Canyon Road and take the trolley down. Malibu beaches such as El Matador are reached by a small cliff-top car park that fills by 9am on weekends — the Pacific Coast Highway has limited roadside parking nearby but it goes fast.

The honest advice: on any summer weekend, plan to be at the beach car park before 9am or accept a walk. The beaches are worth the effort. Circling a full car park for an hour is not.

The Pacific — colder than it looks

The Pacific Ocean off Southern California is significantly colder than the beaches suggest. Average water temperatures range from around 16 to 19 degrees Celsius in summer — cool enough that most local surfers wear wetsuits year-round. British visitors accustomed to the Mediterranean will find it bracing. British visitors accustomed to the North Sea will find it perfectly manageable.

The surf in Southern California is real. Even on beaches that appear calm, there can be shore break, rip currents and unexpected sets. Swim between the flags where lifeguards are present. If you are not a confident swimmer in surf, stay in the shallower water and watch the waves carefully before going in. Rip currents — channels of fast-moving water pulling away from shore — are present on many California beaches. If caught in one, swim parallel to the shore rather than fighting it.

Best beaches for families and young children

Blackies, Newport Beach

Blackies, on the Newport Beach Peninsula near 21st Street and Newport Pier, is one of the best beaches in Southern California for young children and families. The beach here is notably flat and shallow — the waves break gently and the water stays shallow for a considerable distance out, making it safe and manageable for children who are not strong swimmers. It is a local favourite precisely because it lacks the dramatic shore break found at more exposed stretches of the peninsula. The surrounding area has street parking and is within easy walking distance of Newport Pier and its restaurants.

Worth knowing for anyone exploring the full length of the peninsula: the beach changes character considerably as you head south from Newport Pier toward Balboa Pier — roughly two miles apart. The sand gets significantly steeper and the shore break more powerful, particularly from around 24th Street south. This stretch is less suitable for young children in the water. It is also, occasionally, the site of one of the more extraordinary things you can witness on a California beach — grey whales will come close enough inshore to drag themselves against the steep sand, a behaviour believed to help with skin shedding. It does not happen often, but if you are walking the peninsula and see a grey whale unusually close to shore, this is likely what is happening.

Huntington Beach

The main stretch of Huntington City Beach is wide, flat and gently sloping — good conditions for children. The beach is well-patrolled by lifeguards, has toilet and shower facilities and is backed by a walkable promenade with food options. Avoid the area immediately around the pier where the surf is heavier and the crowds are thicker. The sections north and south of the pier are calmer and more spacious.

Doheny State Beach, Dana Point

Doheny is one of the most family-friendly state beaches in Orange County — a protected cove that keeps the surf relatively gentle, a grassy picnic area directly behind the sand, good facilities and reliable lifeguard cover through summer. The combination of calm water and proper amenities makes it genuinely easier with young children than many more famous beaches.

Best beaches for watching surf

The Wedge, Newport Beach

The Wedge, at the very tip of the Balboa Peninsula where the Newport Harbor jetty meets the open ocean, produces some of the most powerful shore break waves in the world. The geometry of the jetty reflects and amplifies incoming swells, creating waves that can reach 20 to 30 feet and break in extremely shallow water with enormous force. It is a spectacular and genuinely extraordinary thing to watch — bodyboarders and bodysurfers who know what they are doing take on waves here that most surfers would not attempt.

The Wedge is not a swimming beach. It is emphatically not a beach for children to play in the water. The shore break is violent, the water is shallow and injuries — including serious ones — are not uncommon even among experienced riders. Watching from the sand is free, easily accessible from the Balboa Peninsula end of Ocean Boulevard, and on a solid swell day is one of the most dramatic surf spectacles available anywhere in California. Check surf forecast apps such as Surfline for swell predictions before visiting — the Wedge is only active on significant south or south-southwest swells.

Best beaches for surfing

Trestles, San Clemente

Trestles — specifically Lowers, the main break at the Trestles complex — is widely considered one of the finest surf breaks in the United States and one of the best in the world. Located within San Onofre State Beach at the southern end of Orange County, it produces long, perfectly shaped waves on a variety of swells and is the venue for major professional contests including stops on the World Surf League Championship Tour.

Trestles will host the surfing competition for the LA28 Olympics in 2028 — a recognition of its status as a world-class wave. The beach is accessed by a fifteen-minute flat walk from the car park through the San Onofre State Beach preserve, which keeps the crowds lower than the wave quality alone would suggest. For experienced surfers, surfing Lowers is one of the genuine California bucket-list experiences. For non-surfers, the walk-in and the spectacle of watching high-level surfers on a quality wave is worth the trip in its own right.

Uppers, the break immediately north of Lowers, is more forgiving and better suited to intermediate surfers. Surf hire and lessons are available from shops in San Clemente town, a short drive from the beach access point.

Huntington Beach

Surf City USA earns its name — Huntington Beach has consistent beach break year-round, a huge number of surf schools and hire shops along Pacific Coast Highway, and a surf culture that has been central to the town's identity since the 1960s. For beginners wanting their first lesson in a well-organised environment with quality instruction, Huntington is the most practical choice in Orange County. The International Surfing Museum is on Main Street if the history of the sport interests you.

Malibu — First Point

First Point at Malibu Lagoon State Beach is one of the most famous longboard waves in the world — a long, peeling right-hander that has been ridden since the 1940s and featured in more surf films than any other wave in California. It is crowded, the locals are territorial and the etiquette is strict. For experienced surfers who understand lineup protocol and want to surf a piece of history, it is worth the experience. For beginners, go to Huntington instead.

Best quiet beaches

El Matador, Malibu

El Matador State Beach, twenty miles west of Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast Highway, is the most dramatically beautiful beach in the Los Angeles area — a narrow cove below eroded sandstone cliffs, with sea stacks rising from the water and caves accessible at low tide. The small cliff-top car park limits numbers and keeps it from becoming overcrowded, though it fills early on summer weekends. A steep path leads down to the sand. The swimming is not the point — the scenery is. Go at low tide to explore the caves and at sunset for the light on the cliffs.

Crystal Cove, Orange County

Crystal Cove State Park between Laguna Beach and Newport Coast preserves three and a half miles of undeveloped coastline with tidepools, coves and a historic beach colony of 1930s cottages that can be rented overnight. The beach is significantly less crowded than the main Orange County beaches, the tidepools are among the best accessible from a Southern California beach, and the absence of development immediately behind the sand gives it a wilder feel than most of the coast. Parking is at the Reef Point or Los Trancos lots off PCH.

Leo Carrillo, Malibu

Leo Carrillo State Park at the far northwestern end of Malibu, where Los Angeles County meets Ventura County, has sea caves, tidepools and a long stretch of beach that feels considerably more remote than its distance from the city suggests. It is popular with locals and largely unknown to visitors staying in the main beach cities. The campground is one of the best on the Southern California coast for those who want to wake up on the beach.