Malibu Surfrider Beach

Malibu Surfrider Beach is part of Malibu Lagoon State Beach, together with Malibu Lagoon and the Malibu Pier. The three sit side by side but offer different experiences: Surfrider has almost a mile of ocean frontage on just 0.7 acres, the lagoon covers 22 acres of wetland, gardens, and sand, and the pier is a place for saltwater fishing.

Surfing movies of the 1950s and 1960s made Surfrider famous, and it remains a classic Southern California surf spot. Although conditions are among the best in Los Angeles for surfing and swimming, swimming areas are limited. The beach has 90 parking spaces, restrooms, and picnic facilities.

The state-run lagoon is a resting and feeding estuary for more than 200 species of migrating and native birds, and its saltwater marsh preserves an ecosystem that has largely disappeared from Southern California. Next door, the Adamson House, a National Historic Site, and the adjoining Malibu Lagoon Museum trace local history from the Chumash through the era of gentlemen ranchers to the birth of surfing.