Carbon Beach

Beach · Los Angeles County

Carbon Beach

Beach · Los Angeles County

2

Malibu, CA 90265

Photos

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Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null
Carbon Beach by null

Highlights

Crescent-shaped sandy stretch backed by hills, with upmarket private residences & a pier at one end.  

Featured in Conde Nast Traveler
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Malibu, CA 90265 Get directions

Information

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Malibu, CA 90265 Get directions

+1 310 651 7777

Features

parking bike
crowd family friendly
parking street

Last updated

Mar 4, 2025

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@travelleisure

"Elvis is a fan, too, his excitement obvious as the pair blew bubbles and played in the sand on Carbon Beach in front of the hotel. Kloots said they spend most weekends on the beach in Malibu when they’re not traveling. 'It’s so good for him, he can’t really get into trouble,' she said. 'He can just run around, find shells. It’s a great place to burn energy out, fill your body back up, fill your soul, your heart, feel the sunshine, and get that vitamin D.'" - Travel + Leisure Editors

Amanda Kloots on Travel As a Single Mom and Making the Most of Every Day
View Postcard for Carbon Beach
@cntraveler

"Carbon Beach isn't a private beach, but it feels like one. You'll encounter a few other folks as you walk behind the homes of the ultra-wealthy, but otherwise, this long stretch of beach is about as secluded as Malibu gets. The water is excellent for swimming, calm with no rocks, and the sand is soft and cozy—perfect to laze out on all afternoon. Carbon Beach is best for a quiet walk or a jog. There are few places in Malibu that aren't overrun with people, and this is one of them, so enjoy that to the fullest." - Maxwell Williams, Krista Simmons

17 Best Beaches in Los Angeles | Condé Nast Traveler
View Postcard for Carbon Beach

TheLeakingGenius

Google
Possibly my favorite beach in the Los Angeles area. Unbeatable for the sunsets and a lot more quiet than Zuma and Surf Rider. Used to get my party on here back in the day, had a good time at Lindsay Lohans 4th of July party so definitely 5 stars for Carbon Beach!

Lukas Gschwentner

Google
Great beach, a real hidden gem. Clean watery never to busy. I would recommend to go there instead of the beach of santa monica or venice if you can reach it by car or bus

Brenda C

Google
Love this hidden beach they call it billionaire beach for a reason. if you have dinner at Geoffrey’s Malibu there’s a private costal access

Nekia Moore

Google
This is my favorite beach! It's never crowded or dirty. I go here for my peace of mind.

Alfredo Flores

Google
It's amazing love the weather

Bertha Navarro

Google
perfect beach to get away and relax. clean and not so crowded

Y B

Google
Neat little beach off the main road in Malibu.

Charles Cody

Google
It's a beautiful beach for a nice stroll or to just sit back and relax.

Alex T.

Yelp
Carbon Beach is a clean, secluded Malibu beach. We parked along PCH, and walked 10 minutes to the beach. We used the East entrance at 22126 PCH to get onto the sand. It was a cloudy day, so we basically had the beach to ourselves, but would be a great place to catch the sunset on a clear day. Only criticism is that there were no public showers or bathrooms, but if you can work around that this is a great hidden gem of a beach!

Valerie A.

Yelp
My favorite beach because it's so pristine and calming. I really like this spot it's nice and quite and the best beach besides Leo Carrillo.

Ashley P.

Yelp
If you can get past the horrendous parking situation, this spot is pristine. The day before, we had been on the beach near Santa Monica Pier, which was very crowded with people leaving trash and seagulls and pigeons swarming all over. It felt overwhelming and kind of dirty. That really elevated Carbon Beach. We drove up and down the 1 searching for parking, finally giving up and paying $20 to park in a garage by a McDonald's that was right across from an access point. We found a very quiet spot next to some residences. The sand is soft and smooth, very little seaweed washed up on shore, and no trash anywhere. It was ideal for a beach day. And we were there on a Saturday over a holiday weekend. We enjoyed a couple of hours before more people started showing up, although it was still relatively quiet. I hesitate even reviewing this, because I don't want droves of people to start crowding this spot.

Sarah P.

Yelp
Relaxing and not crowded at all which is very refreshing. I almost don't want to write this review because this place feels like a well-kept secret. Pretty much street parking only, but it's not too hard to find usually!

Katrina S.

Yelp
This has to be my favorite beach. The water is clean, the crowds are small and it's pretty private. The entrance is easy to find when you check thru Yelp first. Going during a weekday, you'll be able to park easy and close, there's not many people and everyone here is friendly. From what I read, some of the residents aren't so friendly so please clean up after yourself and be respectful so we can continue to use this beach. Ps. It says no dogs but when I went, I saw many

Dee T.

Yelp
I really wanted to go here! I showed up and the entrance doors was closed with a bolted lock. Kind of a bummer. Idk why it's closed if it's public.

Justice L.

Yelp
We went here today for my wife's birthday. We used the Open beach access path walk to the rights few houses. Then we set up the shade tent. Then I walked back to the car to grab something and this man came out and was really rude to my wife and told her move and that his house was not part of the open beach plan. After I got back and she told me what happened I looked online and didn't see anything about anyone's property not been included in the carbon West Ocean Beach situation. Then a few hours later this older woman man and child came out from the same house to talk to us and tell us to move. The lady was actually really nice and said she felt bad come in talking to us but that we had that information it was not open in front of her house. She brought out to printed pieces of paper that I saved. So she agreed to let us stay there for an hour and a half so we didn't have to remove our tent and everything. That I hold her when we came back to the beach next time we would not sit in front of her house. Even though she was friendly this interaction really put the rainclouds on my wife's birthday. Question: This lady handed me a piece of paper saying she lives in house #3 of 6 on carbon beach west. Is she correct that her house is removed from the open beach plan? If so there should be signs informing people of these rules and if not someone should inform the homeowners of the rules and have the resources for beachgoers to call when getting harassed.

Nisha L.

Yelp
My hidden treasure in Malibu. Love coming here and spending the day having yummy food and luscious drinks while watching the ocean. Serene and tranquil .

Jonathan T.

Yelp
Best low key beach out here water clean beach clean a little rocky but that's about it you can bring ya puppy I sure did

Missy J.

Yelp
It's fine. Almost got hit by a parasailer landing on this beach. Thank goodness someone warned me and I got up; they landed right on my stuff. It could've been disastrous. Lots of young tourists came and sat on the beach who were a bit loud and actually got into a verbal disagreement with someone, so I got up and left. Not the relaxing day I'd hoped for and don't think I'd be back, much to the happiness of the locals who don't seem to enjoy this being a semi-public beach. No lifeguards and not dog-friendly so something else to consider if you're trying to find a new spot to enjoy that vitaminSea.

Omar O.

Yelp
I love this beach so much. Low key spot and not too many people over here. Water is clean and it's so peaceful here. Coming here today

Wilt E.

Yelp
Beautiful views. Prime location. OPEN TO ALL! I cannot to wait to reverse gentrify this place! I'm going to get my friends together this and every weekend. Boom boxes. BBQ. Rap music. I hope everyone is as friendly and open minded as I have heard! The only weekends I won't be here will be spent surfing Lunada Bay! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/28/lunada-bay-bullies_n_4677894.html

Y M.

Yelp
Nice beach, had trouble finding it at first. Put 22150 pch malibu into address and found beach access sign. Very clean and quiet, almost feels like a carribbean beach but not quite :)No dogs, be respectful, don't litter and I'm sure no house owners will mind. Pictures should help.

Adam B.

Yelp
I know this is my first review, but I went here based off a few of the other reviews on Yelp with my dog. Come to find out dogs are not permitted on this beach unless you have identification saying you live on the beach. I learned this lesson thanks to a $150 fine for having my dog. Needless to say after speaking with a few other friends, this beach is NOT dog friendly. Even a few of the other beachgoers who were "regulars" stated that they see animal control almost every week handing out tickets. This beach is beautiful and definitely worth a walk but its best to know the rules to save yourself a few hundred dollars. On a side note most of the homes have security as well and they enforce the "easement" laws or that's what the large man told me. He broke it down that all the dry sand was private property and could only we used to walk the beach and the wet sand (below the tide line) is public. Well now you know, and knowing is half the battle....

Jesse G.

Yelp
Favorite beach so far! We brought our dogs. We were hesitant to at first because of one review that seemed scary but someone pointed out that the beach was likely a fake review posted by one of the grumpy home owners. +Beach is BEAUTIFUL. +Owner's respectfully asked us to follow the 10ft rule which states you must be 10ft from property when laying out. +No rocks! +heavy waves the day we went. +we brought our two dogs and others did too. +not crowded on a sat afternoon +the home owners in this area have lots of FAKE SELF PAINTED red street curbs. They also put up lots of FAKE CONES. Feel free to move them. ENJOY!!!

JG W.

Yelp
this is the beach access illegally blocked off by david geffen for so many years [decades?]. pristine & beautiful beach. waters as blue & green as the south seas. pelicans & cormorants abound. if you are lucky, you will also see posses of dolphins gamboling before the wave breaks. thank you 'heal the bay'!!! parking near to impossible on weekends. go during the week. take off work! you will not regret it.

Steve L.

Yelp
Driving by towards Malibu, looks like they finally put up a sign saying that there's no dogs allowed here... Didn't check to see if it's something that's actually enforced or not, though my guess is that it's probably the residents that live in the area that pushed for this sign, and will probably call the cops too... Hopefully over time...

Tatiana R.

Yelp
Very nice beach to tan on it, very quiet and clean. The minus is there are the strong waves and sea weed

Khrystyna C.

Yelp
Small beach but not over crowded on a Saturday afternoon. Paddle board rental right there on the beach. Enough room to play frisbee. Hard packed sand but great swim beach, almost free of rocks.

Tiffany G.

Yelp
Pretty to look at but not an overall good beach experience. There are a lot of small hidden rocks and pebbles in the sand that are small enough to not been seen right away but big enough to give you a bruise when the waves come crashing in. The waves crash very close to shore and take away the top layer of sand leaving you standing on rocks and pebbles. We tried to tough it out but ultimately it was too painful on our feet and we really couldn't enjoy the water. The parking is street only and the beach access points are far and few between so if you do actually find parking expect a good walk,however it is free. The beach isn't too crowded on the plus side but you are pretty close to people's homes, so make sure to keep a good distance as some of them do employ private security. If you're here just to sunbathe I guess it's okay for that. If you're trying to get in the water probably go somewhere else, too many rocks and the water is really murky(yes I'm aware it's LA). Also there's not a lot to do in the area, all the restaurants are top dollar like Mastros and Dukes, there is the Getty Villa nearby but all in all it seems more of a place for local residents.

Yvette U.

Yelp
The actual address to access beach is 22150 Pch highway Malibu. Address listed was a mile off. Here you can find street parking. Access is very small d easy to miss. This is a glorious beach and a beautiful opportunity to feel the magnificence of a former private beach and these opulent billionaire homes.

Connie B.

Yelp
This beach is good to unwind and relax. Waves close out fast not good to swim in. Many rip currents be careful. No showers or restrooms.

Stephen T.

Yelp
A glorious little stretch of beach hidden away behind the Malibu Inn. Go here. Dip your toes in the water. Sip some wine on the beach. Enjoy life. Live a little.

Stacey C.

Yelp
This public beach is a hidden gem in Malibu. We went Labor Day weekend and there were maybe only 1-2 dozen other people as far as we could see. The accessway is between two houses, and is just a narrow walkway - without looking for it, you'd easily pass by without seeing it. You can't put your towel down too close to the houses (which are stunning), but there is plenty of space a little closer to the water. Also, keep in mind that there are no public restrooms here. Would highly recommend this beach!

Marilyn B.

Yelp
The view is gorgeous but the food was the worst meal I can remember. I took out of town guests there for a special occasion and was really embarrassed about how bad the food was. None of us enjoyed our meal. The wine list was also inferior. We ordered one of their "featured" wines and sent it back. I recommended it to my out of town friends due to the high ratings given to it on this site and another restaurant site. I generally don't post reviews but feel duty bound to do so in this case to help other people avoid the disappointment and embarrassment of exposing friends to such a miserable dining experience.