Zuma Beach

Beautiful 1.8mi sandy beach with tons of street parking and a huge lot. There are showers in some spots. Great views of the coast and mountains.

After many years in California, Zuma Beach still tops my son and I list of favorite surf spots — best enjoyed off-peak, of course: Monday to Friday, outside holidays, and early mornings before the crowds wake up. This is Malibu at its purest — long golden stretches of sand, clean waves, and that endless Pacific view that makes weekday emails feel like a bad dream. Surf’s great midweek when it’s mostly locals and dolphins sharing the lineup. Yes, it’s definitely not rare to surf among dolphins, great and unforgettable experience that you never get bored of. Weekends? A bit of a scene — come early or embrace the parking safari. Personally I avoid it as much as I can, if I can. Pro tip: pack snacks, wax up, and stick around long enough to watch the sun turn the whole beach into liquid gold

Free parking can be hard to find. The only option for free parking is on the street, and you’ll likely need to arrive outside of peak hours to secure a spot. The beach itself is clean, less crowded, and generally peaceful—especially compared to Santa Monica. Public restrooms are available, but there are no public washing areas. Be prepared to share the beach with plenty of seagulls, which are a common sight here.

I love zuma beach, great beach. With the most amazing sunsets

Zuma beach is a broad flat sandy beach bordered by a lagoon on the south Trancus Creek on the north. Great beach to surf or just spend the day. No dogs on beach as wintering western snowy plovers (a federally protected bird) are present.

It's been a while since I visited Zuma Beach, and the atmosphere is a bit calmer than other places.

Great beach and amazing blue waters and clean sands

We passes by on a May evening to see the sunset. The parking lot was empty, and it was after 7pm, yet were asked to pay parking 3$ even if it was for a short visit. The beach was clean and obviously quiet. Nice clean and quiet beach to see the sunset. Bring a jacket as it can get cold in the evening to enjoy a refreshing sea breeze. Some blue box toilets available.

This is a great beach to visit to play in the sand, jump in waves, boogie board and see dolphins! If you're looking for a fun summer day at the beach with kids or a tranquil winter walk along this is the place to go. A bit further North than Santa Monica but way out of the crowds! Bathrooms are usually open in summer (not so much winter so be aware!) and are spaced well along the beach. Zuma is a longggggg stretch of beach with ample pay or street parking. If you park on the street make SURE to check the signs! The sand is nothing to write home about but still works well to dig! Edit: bathrooms are now porta potties only! Takes from a 5 to 3 stars! Rinse off stations still open.

When you want a low key beach, then this is the place to go to in Malibu! This place is away from all the store, restaurants and tourists attractions of Santa Monica. The beach offers both paid and street parking on highway one. The paid parking lot is gigantic: it stretches across the whole length of the beach! For street parking, read the signs carefully as they do ticket! The beach also offers multiple/bathroom shower houses. Nothing fancy but gets the job done! The beach is divided between surf and swimming area. The far end from parking lot entrance is for surfing! If you do get hungry: on highway one not too far away, you could walk, there is a small shopping center with a fancy grocery store, Starbucks and two causal restaurants. Enjoy your day at the beach!

So as others have said parking is expensive and it could get crowded but not as crowded as Santa Monica. It's a bit farther of drive but worth it at times. When I went it was not as crowded. I'd suggest adding more trash cans to increase the cleanliness. I like that life guards are around and they have little cafe but i haven't tried it yet, but it's convenient.

The beach itself is beautiful, relaxing and paid parking is safe. Unfortunately, the restrooms / bathrooms were closed for more than a year and portalets are dirty. Forever construction. What happened to the budget? Corruption? When are they planning to open it?

It's a cool chill beach, today was the best weather for a beach day for me. The waves were strong and beautiful to look at. I was really impressed by the number of lifeguards on duty and their diligence watching over the swimmers. They were always on alert, monitoring the severity of the tides and waves, making sure people were safe. Restrooms, however, were out of order but Porta-loos were available. Last but not least, I wasn't quite sure why there were sheriffs driving ATVs around the beach and lurking around people. Personally, I prefer other Malibu beaches such as El Matador beach due to the scenery and beautiful rock formations. At Zuma, though it's easy to park and a couple of volleyball tents are available, there was nothing really exciting to look at.

Zuma Beach in Malibu is an awesome large sandy beach. The beach is generally not so crowded. It offers volleyball courts and bathrooms. There is a charge for parking. We had a wedding on beach and it beautiful especially when the sunset.

I have a new love for Zuma... We celebrated our wedding for the day and cut our wedding cake and had a few glasses of wine and just stared at the big blue! It was 8 bucks to get in... we paid but we also seen lots of cars parking on the side of the road and jumping over to get in. There is sooo much parking and the stretch of the beach is so long. We took our electric bikes and rode through the parking lots up and down the entire place. We seen lots of birds and lots of families but overall it was not too busy. The bathrooms were clean so that's a major plus for me... Check it out if you are in the Malibu area!

Pretty big beach with more shoreline and "beach" than some of the other beaches. Parking was $8 and not too hard to get on a Sunday afternoon. Not very picturesque since it's very flat, but it has nice vibes and more people.

4 stars because there are times when you don't want to visit this beach and of course common sense dictates that is when it's crowded. I'll leave a few tips under the tip section on that but as far as the beauty of the beach and the area, it's hard to argue that it's one of the better beaches in the Bu. I recommend it and try and get here earlier in the morning.

We only came here because there was a crazy long line to get into the parking lot for Point Dume, and this was next door. Parking is $15 per vehicle. Just a long flat stretch of beach and water. It is most definitely not the prettiest beach ever. But quick and easy. Unfortunately when we tried to go swimming, there are a million rocks by the shore, so you will most likely get cut up. Our friend was bleeding from trying to body surf the waves. Be careful out there!

They charged $15 dollars for parking but fail to tell you that their restrooms are closed. They have port-potty that are over filled most disgusting to enter and take a piss. Los Angeles you should be ashamed of yourselves. California is a dumpster fire and you guys know it.

Conditions are often just right for some excellent body surfing. Swells can get large at times. Lifeguards will call you out if you're obviously not looking like you can handle the surf. Parking can get super packed on the weekends during peak season. Very accessible sandy beach.

Zuma Beach is a great beach to spend the day at. street parking or a paid lot available. They have clean bathrooms and showers. Beautiful beach but the waves are fairly high so be cautious when getting in.

This is one of the cleaner, and sometimes quieter beaches (depending on which life guard tower you sit by). There's paid parking near Tower 7 ($8, and no leaving and coming back), and some free parking along PCH, if you can score it. There's restrooms as well. Came here for a kid's birthday party about a month ago, and enjoyed eating tamales (life hack: a cooler does just as good of a job keeping tamales warm, as it can keeping drinks cold), and pastries brought by the party hosts. The water was little rough, and little less swimmable than at my previous visit. I still enjoyed myself!

We paid for the parking. Then we had to use the restrooms and they were no restrooms. All the restrooms were closed and they had porter potty which was disgusting and they were not serviced. Had we known we never would've paid for the parking and gone there, I do not recommend this place.

Love Zuma! Perfect balance of a beach. You can sunbathe, swim or boogie board! Seen dolphins here. Sand is nice. Water is a nice temp. Great people watching. Usually lots of parking. Cool spot especially on a warm day!!

Such a great beach to go to! I used to come here with my family when I was younger. It's not too packed but sometimes there is a lot of people there. But there is so much sand and space that a lot of people can fit and still be spread out from each other. The people there are super nice and there is always a lot of lifeguards around so you feel safe. They have tons of volleyball nets to play on. Some sections of the beach have rocks in the water but if you walk out a little bit into the water, it isn't as rocky and the further you go there is no rocks. As soon as me and my friends got there I went to go out in the water and saw something jump out of the water in the distance, then saw a fin! I was a little scared because my first thought was a shark but I guess it was a dolphin, so I felt a little better and got in the water! Highly recommend coming to this beach it's very family friendly and they even have a good shack for food and drinks!

My companion and I were in Los Angeles for an event and we decided to stop by Zuma beach because my companion had been in an area with no beach and hasn't seen the beach for so long. So we looked up different beaches in Malibu to go to and he ended up picking this one due to the review. So, what could I say...other than oblige! It took us a while to drive to Malibu given a traffic (despite covid!!) on a Saturday afternoon. We got there about an hour before the sunset..so it was quite a good timing. We were quite lucky to quickly find a spot to park on the street along that beach as well. The walk on the sandy beach was nice and pleasant. The view was quite nice and the color of the red sunset reflecting on the sky was quite pleasant to watch. The only thing I didn't like was that the people there seemed to be less COVID cautious. Pretty much no one was wearing a mask (despite a quite crowded beach!!). Overall, a great, beautiful and popular beach for sure. It was also pleasantly clean with minimal trash! We were glad we visited there for a nice sunset watch..and my companion ended up with a bonus photo that he now uses as his cell phone background!

Even though it was an overcast day, Zuma still rocks. Clean sand moderate parking (free), ample fee parking. The water line is much closer here than at Santa Monica! Attitude here super laid back (chill) no drama. Great spot to whale watch! Dolphin pods cruise by regularly. Come early for better parking!

Quite a gorgeous beach. I did some research before choosing this one because we wanted to swim. This seemed to be the most recommended for that purpose. We started by lifeguard station 3 and found that no one was in past their knees. The lifeguard let us know that there was a lot of crashing and rough surf (the surf would be coming in for the next few days) and to try lifeguard station 13-14. We did that and found better conditions. It was still pretty rough breaks but the area in front of the breaks was much longer. We opted not to go in very far, but still had a great time. Lots of sand fleas to dig up and pretty views and - like others mention - dolphins closer to sunset.

Great beach to bring the family. Water was clean. Only drawback is that the restrooms were not opened when we went.

Water is refreshingly cold, beach is clean, people are friendly and spaced out, lifeguards and police doing regular patrols make us feel safe, parking is easy in the lot or along PCH - what's not to like?

Zumba beach is at Malibu and it's gorgeous. It's nothing like Santa Monica or Venice beach where there's a ton of people and trash. It's very chill and clean, and people are just relaxing on the beach. It's not over populated compared to other tourist beaches. The sand looked and feels cleaner without the trash. Overall, it was a very good experience and a relaxing day to just lay on the beach and play in the water. There's a paid parking lot but there's also free street parking and there's usually a spot available. It just a couple few more away from the lot so I recommended street parking to save some $$$.

Zuma is a simple beach, but a good one! We easily found parking (Other reviews state the fee is $15, but the roadside spot where we stopped didn't require any payment), and from there, it's just a short walk to the ocean. And guess what! The morning we stopped by, we saw LOADS of dolphins super close to the shore! Like, at least 50 or so, just swimming back and forth, sometimes really putting on a show and jumping out of the water. I don't know if that is a common occurrence here, but definitely keep an eye out. The other great thing about Zuma Beach is that they not only have restrooms, but also a whole wall of showers both at regular height, and some near the ground for your feet. Yesss, guys! I don't know about you, but the worst part of the beach is leaving with sand coating your legs, and in between your toes, and getting all over your car...no thanks. Supposedly, it's dog friendly, though I didn't notice any pups on my visit. While the sand is pretty flat and surroundings lack many plants so are overall nondescript, it is very clean.

The beach itself is nice just gets SO crowded to the point that people are like 3 ft away from you which when I come to the beach I like a little space since we come with the kids and let them play etc. Parking lot and bathrooms are a bit of a mess rt now as they are under construction so the one way parking row we parked in was blocked at the end where you would need to pull out so cars were trying to turn around and drive the opposite way on the one way because of this. Was really poor planning and caused a nightmare headache trying to leave literally took us like 20+ mins to try and get out of the row. Don't dare try to come here after 1:30 on a weekend the lots are all full and they just turn everyone back around and you get stuck in this huge jam trying to leave the lot. Honestly with so many great beach spots in CA this is not one I would come to often unless an off peak day to just avoid the crazy crowds.

Zuma beach is one our favorite beach. Highly recommended. super clean and people are very friendly.

We live at Zuma Beach. Quite beach during the week. Great walks in the evening. Beautiful beach.

When I go to the beach this is one of my spots. Parking is easy and during the off season bike ride in the parking lot. Other things in the area make it convenient

Beautiful and windy and cold! We went during the week so parking was about $8 so very reasonable for us. We parked relatively near what I would assume is the main entrance located close to the snack shack and the handicap 'boardwalk' accessible ramp that goes fairly deep into the beach. For people with young kids, if you are dragging a wagon around, I would recommend taking this accessibility ramp as far down and then struggling in the sand. It makes a huge difference and was very appreciated. There are bathrooms and open air shower spaces adjacent to the snack shack and TONS of lifeguards for folks willing to brave the cold waves. It was not crowded at all for a Friday morning and so we had a great time, just be aware that it is typically colder/windier than the beaches down south.

Ample parking lots, chill vibe and the ocean water is not too cold. Functional showers and restroom changing rooms.

Again the second beach we rolled past was basically a ocean side super spreader event..........its really simple. If you are in public wear a mask. At least half the people there were NOT wearing masks and people were packed close enough to make a nun intervene if it were a Catholic School Dance. Like Malibu Beach it looks lovely, the lack of public safety during this pandemic earns it an easy 1 star

Zuma must be the New Gay Beach,,, Everybody migrated from Will Rogers to Malibu Zuma Beach

"Hey, we're meeting Frankie & Annette at Zuma. We're gonna ride some curls, listen to Dick Dale and his Del-Tones play some wild tunes, and dance the watusi. Gidget and Moondoggie are sure to be there. Be there or be square. Later 'gator!" I think that's how they talked back in the early 1960's when the beach party movies took the country by storm. I remember making my mom drive me to Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo so we could wait in line to get Frankie Avalon's autograph. That was way before he drove Frenchie gaga with "Beauty School Dropout" in "Grease". He and Annette Funicello were big stars back then in their unrevealing bathing suits who made SoCal beaches the fantasy playground for us moviegoers. I guess Jamie W. and I were looking to catch our own wave and came to Zuma. On a gorgeous summer morning, it's a great destination for beach time since it's further up the coast in Malibu where the rich and famous reside. Zuma is substantial enough to allow an underpass from the northbound PCH, which will save you the frustration of having to make a left turn on an intensely busy roadway. It costs $15 to park in the lot, and frankly it was worth it for the convenience. It does fill up by noon, so plan accordingly. The beach itself gets busy, but you can still find an empty patch if you walk far enough on the beach in either direction. The surf started to get wilder as we walked onto Westward Beach toward Point Dume. Remember your flip-flops because the sand gets awfully hot. Lifeguards are plentiful and look pretty attentive as it gets busy. There's a pricey restaurant and a beach café (photo: http://bit.ly/2w7fr0f), though frankly, neither looked tempting to us. Jamie and I both agreed it was worth the longer drive to Zuma Beach simply to get out of Santa Monica and Venice where the beaches get unbearable with all the girthy people in Speedos. So play some Beach Boys on your eight-track and wax your surfboard. Later 'gator. RELATED - Going to LA? Here are the places I visited and reviewed: bit.ly/2M8guWM

One of the best beaches around! friendly people, wide sandy beaches and easy parking! highly recommended!

Zuma Beach is the first beach I went to shortly after I moved to Los Angeles. It'll always have a soft spot in my heart, that's why I gave it 2 stars instead of one. Plus, I love beaches. For the last 5 years we avoided it because the parking fee got higher and higher, the lot got full, we had to turn around, so we found other beaches to go to. Recently we were in Malibu area, and went to Point Dume (which we prefer now) but the lot was full (no holiday weekend), so we went to Zuma instead. Needed to get out of that car and relax. It costs $15 to park!!! Way too much, and you drive inside the lot till the last available part on the left. Far! The restrooms could be cleaner and there's no stores, shops, anywhere to get food and drinks from. So, bring your own. Leave the beers at home/hotel, the cops are patrolling the beach too much and give tickets to people who open a can of beer. If you're a tourist from East Coast, other countries, how would you know? There are no signs to warn you! The beach is pretty, although I never liked how close to the PCH is. You can hear sirens, etc. It's too crowded these days, we had a hard time finding a spot for our towels. People seem like they're moving here bringing way too many umbrellas, tents, canopies, you name it. So, you're too close to your beach neighbors, you'll hear their conversations, their music (since people bring loud speakers with them so you'll hear their music even if you like it or not- we moved once because of that!), their kids are gonna start building a sand castle near your head and every ball anyone will play with will hit you. Too close for my comfort or cheek to jowl as they say. If you just want to relax, read, swim, might not work. I get why other Angelenos look for more secluded beaches in the Malibu area, with less amenities and less people. The water was cold, but we saw beautiful dolphins swimming (the highlight) and big fishes in the water (half of my arm - length wise? or bigger?). We left a bit earlier since it was kinda noisy for us and that seafood restaurant was calling our names. Zuma Beach? Not again!

Zuma beach is a county beach located at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in Los Angeles County, California, Zuma is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf. Moreover, it is consistently ranks among the healthiest beaches for clean water conditions in Los Angeles County. I like going to this beach to chill, swim and play beach volleyball. It has public restrooms, outdoor showers and parking lot. Overall, I love going to Zuma and it's a great beach with great views. Highly recommend you visit.

This was a amazing experience My family and I had a family reunion in Malibu at my sisters house and this is one of our things to deal with today was to go to the beach and we all had an amazing time it was very nice and very comfortable the weather was amazing it was a great experience this was in July I think I might be too cold to go now LOL the scenery was just so pretty my entire family had a great time going in to the water letting the waves hit them everybody was just smiling having a great time lifeguard on staff was very friendly asked if we needed anything very nice definitely a great place for the whole family or for large gatherings plenty of room for everybody Definitely something fun to do on a weekend definitely a fun place to have a gathering party or just go to have fun this is one of the most pretty beaches I've ever seen and before this I haven't been to the ocean since I was a little girl which was like 40 years ago LOL very beautiful place very clean atmosphere very friendly staff very nice environment altogether I highly recommend this establishment for anybody looking for a great time it's awesome wonderful weather beautiful scenery what more could you ask for I will definitely be coming back here again in the future for more future visits and more great experiences to come thank you Again for all you guys too I definitely appreciate it look forward to our next visit here very soon

My all time favorite beach. Tower 4 is where it's at. Only issue is parking. I lowkey park on the street by the school/church and haven't had any issues. Water is also decent quality for LA.

This was my first time here and we really enjoyed it. Parking was around $15 but worth it because there were plenty of spaces on a Saturday. The sun was brutal for awhile but after jumping in the cold water it made a big difference. Reminder to all bring an umbrella or one of those large tent coverings which most people had, we didn't so we ended up cooking under the sun. There are many trashcans around so the beach remains very clean from litter.

I've been to Zuma a few times because it's my wife's favorite beach. It works as a relatively short drive from the city/valley. What I like is the feeling of relative safety. We set up near a sheriff's station near the beach and the deputies patrol the sand. There are also a lot of lifeguards, usually when we are there midday weekends, and a lifeguard boat with a helicopter. That's some serious protection. The part that doesn't have enough protection is my skin when I don't apply enough sunscreen and I go home all sunburnt, but that's not the beach's fault. We bring umbrellas and tents. My kids unfortunately think the beach is a place to find and play with new friends so they're running around finding various kids. Then, we go home and they talk about the kids for weeks thinking we'll see them again some day, but alas it wasn't meant to be. There are snack shops, but I haven't tried them. What gets 1 or no stars are the bathrooms because they're disgusting. But that's public beach or park so what can you do. They can't make them luxurious. I'd prefer to give this beach one star so it's less crowded but that's not honest. Also, we pay the parking fee. Parking on PCH with kids, umbrellas, towels, beach toys, kites, etc., seems too dangerous and not worth the free cost.

Great beach if you want to see some dolphins! But must come before 2pm or so to see them. Or even earlier. Nice beach. Lots & lots of life guards. Not far from the water. Not a lot of walking thru the sand. To park you must pay $15 unless your parking on the street. No in & out privileges. The waves were okay.

Such a beautiful beach. A favorite when I was a teenager and still many years later. Great for sunning, swimming, and exercising on the jogging path that runs alongside the beach. You can pay to park in the lot or better yet park on PCH for free, just watch the signs. On the Point Dume side, hit Lily's for an amazing breakfast burrito, and Cafe de la Plage for coffee. Great people watching here. On the Trancas side, Vintage Grocers has everything you could need for a day at the beach.

On a summer afternoon you can find (I'm guessing) thousands of people out here basking in the sun and enjoying what Zuma Beach has to offer. There is parking that is paid, and goes the entire stretch of beach (you kind of need to drive by to see what I mean). You can also park on the road, which really isn't any further if you arrive early enough in the day, or happen to get a little lucky and time it when someone is leaving. The surf isn't massive, but sufficient. You can do a little surfing, but you probably won't find too many pros here. I've come across both dolphins and sea lions while attempting to get up on my board. The beach itself is kept clean and is exceptionally wide (the area between parking and the ocean) as well as long. People have always been friendly here, just a cool beach with a cool vibe. If you enjoy the beach life, this is a good spot to check out.

Love this beach for its open space, cooler temps and chill vibe. Unlike Santa Monica and Venice, you won't have to battle it out for a spot to sit. There's usually a wide open space to dig in for the day and I love being near the volleyball nets. The area is well kept and not much to say about trash or debris. It's regularly patrolled by beach patrol and I just saw yesterday a group get ticketed for alcohol, so be wise. The temps are usually a bit cooler here with more cloud cover and some wind, so dress appropriately and wear layers.

Probably one of my favorite beaches in Southern California for the 1 1/2 + mile walk. Love going here for exercise. The beach itself is also spacious and there are various aspects, sand dunes, areas close and further proximity to the water from the parking lot and a reasonable amount of space to not feel overly crowded, but it can get pretty busy in the summer on the weekend.

Not a business but a public beach. Plenty of parking that you have to pay for. Easy access and convenient bathrooms. Depending on time of year you visit will really have an impact on your experience.

This beach was subpar for what I expected for Malibu. I don't know if it was because we came in the later evening hours (but before sunset) but the showers to wash off your feet did not work at all. Also there's more rocks on this beach than Santa Monica beach. Maybe there's better sections of Zuma but this part was nothing special

Use to go here years ago and loved it, I went today and it was horrible. The beach has become over crowded, people playing loud music, and zero beach etiquette people coming later will park right in front of you blocking your view of the water. The bathrooms after 1pm are super dirty and parking on a isn't available as well. If you enjoy a quiet beach to listen to the water or space away from other families don't come here.

I love Zuma Beach! I was in need of a solid beach day and a friend of mine and I decided to give ourselves a wellness day and head to the beach. The water here is blue and beautiful. Parking was $8 but I don't mind paying for the convenience. The best part of this location? Bathrooms! They're conveniently located and easy to get to if nature calls. Check out Zuma the next time you're craving some sand and salt time.