Walking Tours Along the Santa Monica and LA Beaches

Which stretch of coast a walking tour actually covers

Los Angeles does not have one beach — it has a long, broken line of them, and “walking the LA beaches” means picking a stretch rather than the whole coast. This guide covers the coastal frange from Santa Monica and Venice Beach down through Malibu, the South Bay towns, and Long Beach. It is different from a walk through Hollywood or Downtown’s urban districts and hills, and different again from Santa Barbara further up the coast, which sits well outside the LA basin entirely.

Two things make this stretch unusual compared with a European seafront. First, part of it is genuinely served by public transit: LA Metro’s E Line runs to Santa Monica and the A Line runs to Long Beach, so those two anchor points are reachable without driving. Second, the distance between them is real. Santa Monica and Long Beach are not two ends of the same promenade — they are separate cities roughly 30-40 kilometres apart by road, each with its own walkable core, and nothing in between is set up as a continuous coastal footpath connecting all of it.

Santa Monica and Venice: the one pairing that works on foot

If there is a single beach walk that delivers on the postcard image of LA, it is this one. The Santa Monica Pier and its Ferris wheel sit at the northern end of a beachfront path that runs south into Venice Beach, passing the Venice Boardwalk, Muscle Beach’s outdoor gym, and the Venice Canals a few streets inland. Because the beachfront here is continuous and flat, this is the one segment on this page where “walk from A to B” is a reasonable plan rather than an oversimplification.

A typical version of this walk starts at the pier, follows the sand or the paved path south past the muscle-building pits and street performers that made Venice famous, and finishes at the canals or Abbot Kinney Boulevard for lunch. A guided version covers the same ground with context on the pier’s history, the origins of Muscle Beach, and how Venice went from a canal-side amusement development to its current identity.

a guided walk linking the Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach and its Boardwalk is the most direct way to do this pairing with commentary rather than working it out from a map. For a faster-paced version of the same route, a bike tour along the same Santa Monica-to-Venice beachfront path covers more ground in less time, which suits visitors also wanting to see Marina del Rey on the same outing.

Malibu: close on a map, not reachable without a car

Malibu sits directly up the coast from Santa Monica along the Pacific Coast Highway, and on a map the distance looks modest. In practice, Malibu has no Metro line and only limited local bus coverage, so it is not a walkable extension of a Santa Monica beach day — it is a separate destination that needs a car (or a taxi/rideshare, which gets expensive over the distance involved). Once there, the beaches themselves — points, coves and stretches of sand tucked along the highway — are genuinely walkable in short sections, just not connected to each other or to Santa Monica by any path.

This is one of the more common planning mistakes covered in how to see the Hollywood Sign-style guides applied to the coast: distance on a map and distance on the ground are not the same thing in LA, and Malibu is a clear example. Anyone planning a beach day that includes Malibu should treat it as its own trip, ideally with a car already arranged, rather than a stop tacked onto a Santa Monica walk.

Long Beach and the South Bay: real distance, real transit, separate walks

South of Santa Monica, the coast continues through Manhattan Beach, Hermosa and Redondo — collectively the South Bay — before reaching Long Beach further south still. The South Bay towns sit close enough to each other that a beachfront bike path connects them, and a short driving hop (or a longer walk) can cover two of the three in a day. Long Beach, by contrast, is a genuinely separate city with its own downtown, waterfront and identity, built around the Queen Mary and the Port of LA’s neighbour, the Port of Long Beach.

The useful piece of transit information here is that LA Metro’s A Line rail connects Downtown LA to Downtown Long Beach, making it possible to reach Long Beach without a car. That does not make it an extension of the Santa Monica beach walk, though — it is a separate visit, best planned as its own half-day or day rather than squeezed onto the end of a Venice Beach outing.

Climate: coastal fog is common, not a reason to change plans

Coastal Los Angeles has a habit of staying grey in the morning even during the warmest months, a pattern locally nicknamed May Gray and June Gloom. A marine layer of low cloud rolls in overnight and typically burns off by midday, so a beach walk that starts cloudy at 9am is often sunny by early afternoon. It is worth building a late-morning start into the plan for this stretch of coast rather than treating an overcast sky as a reason to cancel — inland areas just a few kilometres away are often already sunny while the beach is still under cloud.

The Pacific itself stays cold along this coast year-round, cool enough that casual swimming surprises many visitors expecting something closer to a warm-water sea. That does not affect a walking tour directly, but it shapes what else is on offer along the same beaches — wetsuits show up often in the activity list below for a reason.

Beyond walking: what else fills a beach day here

Because this stretch of coast supports more than foot traffic, a handful of non-walking formats are commonly paired with a beach walk on the same day, and this page’s tour list reflects that mix rather than sticking strictly to guided walks.

Surfing and water activities are a natural fit given the swell along Santa Monica and Venice. a skateboarding lesson on the paths around Venice Beach and Santa Monica covers the boardwalk’s other signature activity, for visitors who want to try the wheeled version of the same stretch of coast rather than only walk it. For a slower pace, a set-up beach picnic on the sand in Santa Monica works well as a midday break in the middle of a longer walking day, particularly once the morning marine layer has cleared.

Not every option along this coast is on the sand at all. Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade area also has an indoor stop worth building into a rainy or overcast morning: an entry ticket to the Museum of Illusions in Santa Monica gives a fallback activity that fits neatly before or after a beach walk without depending on the weather clearing.

What to bring for a coastal walk

The gear that matters most on this stretch of coast is less about the walk itself and more about the conditions around it. Layers are the single most useful thing to pack: a morning that starts under the marine layer described above can feel genuinely cool near the water, then turn warm once the fog burns off and the sun reaches the sand directly. A light jacket that can be tied around a bag once the day warms up covers both ends of that swing.

Footwear matters more here than on a typical city walk. The paved path between Santa Monica and Venice is flat and bike-friendly, but stepping onto the sand itself — to reach the water’s edge or cut across toward the Venice Canals — means loose, dry sand that is awkward in anything but sandals or shoes that slip on and off easily. Sunscreen and a refillable water bottle round out the basics; shade is limited along the open beachfront, and the coastal glare off the water is stronger than it looks on an overcast morning.

Anyone extending the day toward the South Bay or Malibu should also budget parking time separately from walking time. Beach parking lots along this coast fill early on clear weekends, and circling for street parking eats into the walking window in a way that a Metro-served day (Santa Monica or Long Beach) does not.

Extending south: Manhattan Beach and the other South Bay towns on two wheels

The beachfront bike path mentioned above is also the practical way to link more than one South Bay town in a single outing, since the towns themselves are close together but the full stretch is long for walking alone. a guided bike tour covering Santa Monica and Venice Beach stays within the northern, more walkable pairing, while visitors specifically aiming further south toward Manhattan Beach are better served treating that as its own outing — the Manhattan Beach bike and scooter tours guide covers that stretch on its own terms rather than as an add-on to a Santa Monica day.

For visitors who want the Santa Monica-to-Venice pairing covered without pedaling themselves, a Segway tour along the same Santa Monica and Venice Beach route offers a third option alongside walking and cycling, useful for a hot afternoon or for anyone who wants the ground covered quickly without a full guided walk. It follows the same beachfront path described earlier, so the choice between the walking tour, the bike tour and the Segway tour comes down to pace and effort rather than a different route.

A practical way to sequence a day on this coast

Given the real distances involved, most visitors get more out of choosing one anchor point per day than trying to cover the full Santa Monica-to-Long Beach stretch at once. A workable pattern looks like this: start at the Santa Monica Pier once the morning marine layer has lifted, walk or cycle south into Venice Beach and the canals, and treat that as the day’s main outing. Malibu, the South Bay and Long Beach each earn their own separate half-day or full day, ideally planned around whichever mode of transport — car for Malibu and most of the South Bay, Metro rail for Long Beach — actually reaches them.

Stretch of coast	Reachable by	Walkable together with
Santa Monica + Venice Beach	LA Metro E Line, car, rideshare	Each other — the one continuous walk on this list
Malibu	Car only (PCH)	Not connected to Santa Monica/Venice on foot
Manhattan / Hermosa / Redondo (South Bay)	Car, limited bus	Partially, via a shared beachfront bike path
Long Beach	LA Metro A Line, car	Its own separate downtown/waterfront, not the other stretches

This table is the core planning fact of this page: transit coverage and walkability do not line up neatly along the coast, and the segments that share a Metro line (Santa Monica and Long Beach, on two different lines) are not the segments that are close enough to walk between.

Where this fits with the rest of the LA beaches

A day built around this guide pairs naturally with a broader look at the coast, such as three days on the LA beaches or the tighter one-day Santa Monica and Venice itinerary, both of which respect the same limits described above rather than assuming the whole coastline connects.

For visitors weighing where to base themselves, Santa Monica versus Venice Beach covers the practical differences between staying in each. And for a sense of how this coastal walking experience differs from the city’s other main walking area, the Los Angeles walking tours guide covers Hollywood, Downtown and the hills — a genuinely different kind of walk, built around streets and neighbourhoods rather than sand.

Frequently asked questions about walking the Santa Monica and LA beaches

Is Malibu reachable by Metro?

No. Malibu has no rail line and only limited local bus service along the Pacific Coast Highway. A car is the practical way to reach and walk its beaches.

Can I walk from Santa Monica to Venice Beach?

Yes, the Santa Monica Pier area and Venice Beach connect along a continuous beachfront path, making them the one pairing on this list that genuinely works as a single walk.

Does the Metro reach Long Beach?

Yes, LA Metro’s A Line runs to Downtown Long Beach, but Long Beach itself is a separate walking area, roughly 30-40 km south of Santa Monica, not an extension of the same beach.

What is June Gloom and does it ruin a beach walk?

June Gloom is a marine layer of morning cloud and fog common along the coast in late spring and early summer. It usually clears by midday, so it is worth planning around rather than avoiding.

Which beach walk is best for first-time visitors?

Santa Monica Pier into Venice Beach and its Boardwalk covers the most iconic sights in the smallest area and is the easiest to do without a car.

Are the South Bay beach towns walkable in one visit?

Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach are close to each other and connected by a beachfront bike path, but the full South Bay stretch is long enough that most visitors pick one or two towns rather than all three on foot.

Do I need a car for a Santa Monica or Venice walking tour?

Not necessarily. Both are served by LA Metro’s E Line, so a car is optional for this specific pairing, even though it remains useful for reaching Malibu or the South Bay the same day.