About Santa Monica State Beach

Santa Monica State Beach is a California state beach in the city of Santa Monica, on Santa Monica Bay. The City of Santa Monica runs it in partnership with California State Parks. It stretches over three miles and covers 245 acres of sand, from Will Rogers State Beach in the north to Venice in the south, with the Santa Monica Pier near the middle.

Who Runs the Beach

The beach belongs to the California state park system, but California State Parks' own page says the City of Santa Monica operates it and sends visitors to the City's website. In practice that means the City sets the parking rates, beach rules, permits and court reservations, and the City's beach page is the source of record. Lifeguard service comes from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Call the City at (310) 458-8411 with questions.

Next door to the north, Will Rogers State Beach is a separate state beach run by Los Angeles County. See Will Rogers State Beach.

The Shape of the Beach

The beach is a long, wide strip of sand below the bluffs and Pacific Coast Highway. From north to south:

• The north beach, below Palisades Park and the bluffs, with the Annenberg Community Beach House and Beach Lots 9 North to 3 North.
• The Pier, where Colorado Avenue meets Ocean Avenue. The Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park sit over the water here.
• The south beach, past Original Muscle Beach and the volleyball courts, toward the Venice border.

The beach bike path and a parallel walking path run the full length.

A Short History

• 1909: the Santa Monica Pier is built, first as a public utility for the city. It has changed a great deal since and remains the beach's landmark.
• Late 1920s: the Marion Davies estate rises on the north beach. Its pool and guest house survive today as part of the Annenberg Community Beach House.
• 1939: the Pier Bridge from Ocean Avenue to the Pier is built.
• 1941: the blue neon Pier sign goes up at the bridge entrance.
• 1950s: Original Muscle Beach, south of the Pier, becomes famous as the outdoor gym where Jack LaLanne and other bodybuilders trained.
• 1983: the Santa Monica Pier Corporation is founded as a nonprofit to help the City care for and run the Pier.
• 2016 onward: the City and The Bay Foundation start restoring native dunes on the beach.
• December 2025: construction starts on a new Pier Bridge, which the City aims to finish by 2028.
• October 2026: the Pier sign is removed for restoration during the bridge work.

The Santa Monica Beach Dunes

In February 2026 the City and The Bay Foundation added nearly 30 acres of restored dunes from the Pier south to the Venice border. Together with earlier sites near the Annenberg Beach House (about three acres in 2016 and five more in 2024), dunes now cover nearly 20 percent of the sand. Native plants catch windblown sand and build dunes about three feet tall over several years, which helps protect the beach from sea-level rise and gives birds and butterflies habitat. Thin metal posts and natural fiber rope mark the dune areas. Please walk around them. The water's edge, beach entrances and volleyball space stay open.

What You Can Do Here

Swim and surf near lifeguard towers, ride the beach bike path, play volleyball, fish from the Pier without a license, work out at Muscle Beach, ride the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park and walk the bluff in Palisades Park. Start with plan your visit.