Malibu California Beaches and Piers | 27 Miles of Scenic Beauty
Malibu, 27 Miles of Scenic Beauty is what the road sign announces as you
enter the city on Coast Highway. No wonder so many people love this Los
Angeles County California city framed by the Pacific Ocean and Santa
Monica Mountains. Above are Malibu Pier and
Malibu beaches, include Paradise Cove.
Look up to houses perched on hillsides. Look down to
houses on the sand below. Coastal Highway 1 in Malibu sends you through
the middle ground between blues sky and mountains, blue ocean and waves.
It is exhilarating, gorgeous and the words on a road sign are accurate:
"Malibu, 27 Miles of Scenic Beauty".
Malibu is primarily a residential
and recreation area. With very few hotels, it is not especially known
for its hospitality industry, though it hosts millions of visitors
annually to its beaches and piers. One public pier, an historic Malibu
pier with unique dual (domed) buildings, and Paradise Pier, on the
private restaurant /beach at Paradise Cove, where the public can park at
and dine, offer vacationers unique experiences not soon forgotten.
Old-timers who watched the surfing
genre movies and beach-blanket style flicks may think of Malibu when
they visit. Or you may think of countless current productions that use
the popular beaches for their location shoots. Filming is second nature,
like water and sand, to this community. Home to countless celebrities,
Malibu hillside homes offer stunning views that on clear days, serve up
the sweet smell of the surrounding forests and mountains combined with
sea salt scents of the ocean. The experience is heavenly. You can't
fully appreciate this until you live at or visit the flat, sandy beaches
further south in Orange County. After you visit, the stark contrast is
amazing.
The beautiful
Santa Monica
Mountains that flank Malibu's beaches are treasured and such a part
of nature. Earthquakes, floods and fires have taken their toll on
this portion of the California coast from time to time and a drive through
the region provides a visual sense of how that could happen. Sailing northward
from San Pedro to Santa Barbara in 1835, Richard
Henry Dana described in Two Years Before the Mast a vast blaze
along the coast of Jose Tapia's Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit. Mountain infernos repeatedly menaced the Malibu area
throughout history.
Years ago Sean Penn and Ali MacGraw were among
scores of celebrities who saw their homes burn to the foundations. Tony
Hopkins offered an apartment to Dick Van Dyke, and Zsa Zsa Gabor
gave shelter to some homeless horses, as well. This is life on the edge
in Malibu, California. In more recent fires, Suzanne Somers lost her Malibu home
and in October 2007, a multi-million hillside mansion used for
philanthropic causes, Castle
Kashan, was destroyed by a fire sparked by Santa Ana winds. Highway 1 is a busy place with with shops, restaurants,
houses, condos, hotels and the Pacific Ocean usually within view. If you
are thinking about relocating, bring your check book. Properties in the
$5 million range are not uncommon but can cost $25 million or more.
Or if you are just visiting and are living within your
meager means, you can stay in the affordable Malibu Creek State Park Campground.
It is open all year round and is located just 25 miles from downtown Los
Angeles. The park has over 4,000 acres, featuring hiking, fishing,
bird watching and horseback riding opportunities. There are 15 miles of
streamside trail through oak and sycamore woodlands an chaparral-covered
slopes. Twenty-five-mile Malibu Creek in the park is the principal water-course
of the Santa Monica Mountains - from Boney Mountain t Malibu Lagoon.
The park was the center of Chumash Native American life for centuries and
was once used to film numerous movies and TV shows, such as Planet
of the Apes and M*A*S*H.
Park Kiosk Hours: Hi Season: Varies
Lo Season: Varies
Important Information Wood fires allowed under
certain conditions- POSTED- Charcoal or gas camp stoves are okay. No one
under 18 years allowed to camp without parents written consent. Showers
$.50 per 3 minutes.
Directions The park is located four miles south
of Highway One on Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Road. Malibu Creek SP
For more information about the park, call (818) 880-0367
Adamson House is decorated with Malibu tiles produced by Mailbu
Potteries and contains original furnishings. Docent led tours are available
Wednesday through Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm. (subject to change). Fee under
$5.
11:00 am - 3:00 pm. Call: (310) 456-8432. adamsonhouse.org
Malibu Lagoon Museum adjoins the Adamson House. It contains
photographs and artifacts depicting the colorful history of Malibu from the
Chumash Indian era through the Spanish California culture that includes ranches
of Rindge and Adamson families. Cost: Free. Location: 23200 Pacific Coast
Highway. Call: (310) 456-8432.
Some past and repeating events in Malibu include:
Malibu
Pacific Palisades Getty Villa Events California
Malibu
Magic Dinner With Magician David Minkin
Malibu
Pacific Palisades Getty Villa Events California
Malibu Hotels -
Malibu Beach Inn -
Villa Graziadio
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