Cabrillo Beach
San Pedro, CA
Cabrillo Beach sits inside the breakwater at the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor, split into a calmer inner beach and a surf-facing outer beach, with the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and a boat ramp at the marina nearby. It's a genuinely different kind of beach day than the open coast further north, sheltered enough for swimming even when conditions outside the breakwater are rough.
The split between a sheltered inner beach and a surf-facing outer beach gives it real range for one stop, plus a genuinely good aquarium next door.
How we score beachesThe inner beach is the calm-water side for families, while the outer beach faces the open swell if surf is what you're after.
A fee lot serves the beach and adjacent marina.
Dogs are not allowed on the sand at Cabrillo Beach, though leashed dogs are permitted in the surrounding park and on the fishing pier.
The breakwater keeps the inner beach calmer than the open coast year round, with the best swimming from summer into early fall.
More Pacific Coast beaches
Zuma Beach
Malibu, CA · Pacific Coast
A wide stretch of sand backed by the Santa Monica Mountains, with reliable swells that draw surfers year-round and plenty of room to spread out even on busy weekends.
Huntington City Beach
Huntington Beach, CA · Pacific Coast
Known as Surf City USA, with a mile-long municipal pier, consistent breaks for surfers of every level, and a laid-back boardwalk scene along Pacific Coast Highway.
Main Beach
Laguna Beach, CA · Pacific Coast
Tucked between rocky headlands, with tidepools to explore at low tide, calmer coves for swimming, and an arts-town backdrop of galleries and cafes just steps from the sand.