The Far Northern End of Malibu
May 19, 2008 by Melanie
Filed under California, Los Angeles, Malibu, Southern California, Southwest, The Americas, USA
View from PCH, just past County Line
Along Pacific Coast Highway from Broad Beach to the Ventura County Line, the northern stretch of Malibu, California feels windswept, remote and exciting.
After Broad Beach and Trancas Canyon are a string of three less-populated “pocket” beaches known as The Robert Meyer Beaches. Come here to get away from crowds and snuggle without (much of) an audience. In succession, the beaches are El Matador, El Piedra, and El Pescador. They all have bathrooms and parking, but for food and beverages, stop back at the supermarket and Starbuck’s on Trancas Canyon and PCH.
El Matador Beach
My favorite Malibu beach is El Matador. While only 1/4 mile up from Broad Beach on PCH, the entire landscape here is different: Tall jutting cliffs fence in this intimate cove, and small rock arches and caves rise out of the shoreline. From a $2-a-car parking lot with bathrooms, the beach, fully hidden from the road, is reached by descending a steep staircase. Watch cormorants and pelicans soar overhead, or sea lions frolic on the crusty wave-lapped rocks just offshore. There’s a always at least a few people here, but never enough to make you regret the drive. It’s a little slice of vacation, a half-hour from Santa Monica.
(By the way, for those up on their ’80’s trivia, you might recognize this beach as the site of Madonna’s mer-man video for “Cherish.” Or…not.)
Parasailers at El Pescador Beach
El Piedra is also dramatically rocky, and El Pescador (shown here) is a smooth spot for watching other people fish and parasail. Bring towels and books, and enjoy the quiet — and each other.
A 1/2 mile on, the Leo Carrillo State Beach is a truly beautiful cove and a haven for surfers. As a remote spot for morning tidepooling and night viewing of the (weird) silvery grunion’s mating sprint from the sea, this is a great spot to treat like a vacation getaway at odd hours. It can be crowded during the days, and the fact that’s it’s pretty small doesn’t help, but if you grab a cup of coffee and get here before or after the action starts, it can be your own little romantic jewel.
At the County Line, a mile or so up the road, you’ll find Neptune’s Net, a fried-fish shack and biker/surfer hangout situated across PCH from one of the best surfing beaches in Malibu. Surfers come here for smaller crowds than at the more showy, central Surfrider Beach; bikers come here to both admire and have their own bikes admired. Mostly a laid-back joint with picnic tables on a couple of concrete porches with a view of the sea, The Net is heavy on salt water-bleached hair and testosterone-driven, costly chrome. If you’d like a little less tailpipe with your lunch, take your clams or crab cakes across the road, perch on the metal guard railings or head 500 ft. back to the cove to watch some truly exciting surfing.
Far end of Point Mugu State Park
Between the County Line and Oxnard, you’ll find the most dramatic stretch of PCH south of Big Sur.
A twelve-mile stretch collectively known as Point Mugu State Park, you’ll find winding curves, huge and jutting sea rocks, and sun-bleached cliffs fringe the turquoise open water of the Pacific; you might recognize this portion of PCH from countless car commercials.
Unless you are planning to park and hike Sycamore Canyon across the road, I urge you to skip Sycamore Cove Beach. Usually crowded with children’s filed trips and parties, its feet-unfriendly sand is generally strewn with bits of wood and seaweed. Big bathrooms and a snack bar make this beach popular with legions of RV campers. All this to say, the romance level on this beach is nil.
PCH ends at Oxnard, a quiet beach community that is home to an Air Force base and many of Ventura County’s agricultural workers (strawberries being the main crop), as well as a common vacation spot for San Fernando Valley families. At Oxnard you can once again pick up the 101 — you can head north toward Central California or head south back towards Los Angeles. The trip back to LA from here should take about one hour and 15 minutes.
See also
Central Malibu Along the Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Boulevard to Malibu
Malibu via Topanga Canyon
Malibu via Malibu Canyon
Malibu via Latigo Canyon
Three Great Malibu Beaches
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