Malibu is the 27-mile stretch of Pacific coastline northwest of Santa Monica that represents the California dream in its most concentrated form — surfing beaches, celebrity homes, seafood restaurants on the pier, and the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) hugging the cliffs between the Santa Monica Mountains and the ocean. The drive along PCH from Santa Monica to Point Mugu — passing Topanga Canyon, Zuma Beach, and the Malibu Pier — is one of the great coastal drives in America.
The beaches are the draw — from Surfrider Beach (where the modern surfing movement was born in the 1960s) to El Matador State Beach (a dramatic cove of sea stacks and tide pools that is the most photogenic beach in Southern California) to Zuma Beach (a wide, uncrowded stretch of sand that feels like the Mediterranean without the crowds). The ocean water is cold (Pacific California water ranges from 14-20°C depending on season) but the air is warm, and the combination of surf, sand, and the blue-golden light that Southern California produces every afternoon creates the setting that has sold California to the world.
The Getty Villa, at the southern end of Malibu, and the Malibu Country Mart (a surprisingly upscale outdoor shopping centre that is the town's de facto downtown) provide indoor alternatives. Nobu Malibu, Malibu Seafood (a no-frills fish market and café on PCH), and the restaurants on the Malibu Pier round out a dining scene that ranges from celebrity to casual. Malibu is a day trip from central LA (30-60 minutes depending on traffic, which in LA is always the caveat) and provides the ocean-and-mountains landscape that makes Southern California worth the congestion.
Verified Facts
Malibu stretches approximately 27 miles along the Pacific coastline
Surfrider Beach was central to the modern surfing movement in the 1960s
El Matador State Beach is known for its dramatic sea stacks
Pacific water temperatures range from approximately 14-20°C
Get walking directions
Pacific Coast Highway, Los Angeles, United States
