7 Secretly Secluded Beaches in Los Angeles

The westernmost and quietest of the three Robert H. Meyer pocket beaches, El Pescador rewards the shortest scramble of the trio, a trail down from the blufftop lot rather than a full staircase. You get more sand than neighboring La Piedra and noticeably smaller crowds than El Matador, tucked into a cove that the cliffs keep to themselves. Look for the signed turnout off PCH; if you hit La Piedra or El Matador, you have gone too far east.

Lechuza is the classic 'you have to know it's there' beach. The main public entrance sits mid-beach on Broad Beach Road, directly across from a short cul-de-sac called Bunnie Lane; from there it's a walk through a tree-covered corridor and down a few flights of stairs to the sand. There are additional gates at East and West Sea Level Drive, but heads up, those front private stretches where security may ask you to move along, so the Bunnie Lane entrance is your safe bet.

The photogenic one: a staircase and path drop from the bluff to a cove studded with sea stacks, arches, and shallow caves you can duck through at low tide. It is the most famous of the three Meyer beaches, which is exactly why the 'secret' has thinned, so treat it as a sunrise or weekday mission if you want it quiet. The descent is steep and the last stretch is uneven, so wear real shoes, not flip-flops.

The mansions make it feel private, but the sand below the high-tide line is fully public, and there are two legal ways on. The westerly Zonker Harris Accessway is a gate and ramp right next to 22664 PCH; a second public access sits toward the east end of the roughly 1.5-mile beach, added in 2007. From Zonker Harris you can walk west toward Malibu Pier and Surfrider, or east along the base of Billionaire's Beach itself. Stay below the wet-sand line and you are on solid public ground.

Here is the honest version: the cove is genuinely pretty and the sand is public below the mean high-tide line, but it is not a hidden hideaway, it is a busy restaurant beach with a gated private road. The good news is that a 2014 state enforcement action ended the old walk-in fee, unlocked the gate at the base of the pier, and guaranteed free pedestrian passage to the public tidelands. The catch is the parking, run by the private Paradise Cove Land Company and famously expensive unless you are dining at the cafe.

Trade Malibu sand for South Bay drama. Bluff Cove is a rocky, cobblestone cove reached by a trail that descends the bluff from Paseo del Mar, with a steeper spur branching off toward Flat Rock Point. It draws surfers, divers, and tide-pool hunters rather than sunbathers, so it stays quiet, and the sunset views off the cliffs are some of the best in LA County. This is a scramble, not a stroll, so come prepared to pick your way over rock.

Our swap-in for the crowd, and a genuinely secluded one. Escondido is a wide, remote-feeling stretch reached today by a long public staircase just west of Geoffrey's restaurant (around 27420 PCH), which lands you on the quieter, roomier end of the beach; a second public gate sits at the bridge over Escondido Creek near 27148 PCH. There is real news here: after a roughly 40-year fight, the California Coastal Commission and Coastal Conservancy approved a settlement requiring a brand-new PCH accessway, five public parking spaces, and a public restroom, a rare win for coastal access.