Southern California Beaches

LOS ANGELES COUNTY


EL MATADOR BEACH
Suitless sunbathers were spooked in 1996 when deputies started handing out $150 anti-nudity citations at El Matador's breathtaking little coves. Since then, wary visitors have spent many afternoons topless or nude while keeping watchful eyes out for trouble. The beach is located north of Zuma Beach in Malibu.

Rating: C.

Legal status: When a fire destroyed a luxury home that sat on the beach, nobody ever imagined that 20 years later the area would become a clothing-optional site. But that's exactly what happened. After the blaze the state bought the land, and in 1984 turned El Mat and two beaches to the north into what are known collectively as the Robert Meyer Memorial State Beaches.

How to find it: From Los Angeles, drive north on Highway 1 past Zuma Beach, in the town of Malibu, to Trancas Canyon Road. Look for the beach parking lot, which has a drop-off box for parking fees, about one mile north of the traffic signal at Trancas. After parking, take the trail down the cliff and go down steps made of wooden railroad ties.

The beach: "It's the neatest thing," says Stuart Wasserman, of Battle Ground, WA, who found a number of nudists stretched out on the sand. "It's the closest unpopulated beach to Los Angeles. We loved it." A park staffer agrees: "He's right. It really is the first beach like it you'll come to." The quarter-mile-long pocket beach is reminiscent of the Oregon coast. More than a dozen "sea stacks" -- beach talk for eroded sandstone pillars -- line the shore. The site, backed by a vegetated hillside, is dotted with small rocks. "It's also a good place to catch some waves," says Glenn, a regular visitor.

The crowd: On warm days, El Mat's inviting sand draws a mix of sans-suiters and clothed users. During a June visit, at the pocket beach past the first tunnel, at least a third of those present were nude or topless people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Regulars say that the number of nudists often equals the number of suited swimmers.

Problems: Increased sheriff's patrols (targets: nudity, alcohol, dogs without leashes), long drive from Los Angeles, parking fee.

PIRATE'S COVE
Years ago Pirate's Cove, at the south end of Malibu's Zuma Beach, attracted hundreds of nudists a day. However, that was before deputies began raiding it and before the parking lot was expanded to cover part of the sand. Today most of the bare sunbathers have left for more hassle-free shores.

Rating: C.

Legal status: County land, except for the southern edge of the cove, which is part of Point Dume State Beach. Deputies have been enforcing the county's anti-nudity law since the early 1980s.

How to find it: From Los Angeles, follow Highway 1 north past Malibu to Zuma Beach. Park in one of the beach lots and walk south along either the sand or the service road to the cove.

The beach: A curving cove with plenty of flat, clean, white sand, this wide public beach has food stands and volleyball courts.

The crowd: When I frequented Pirate's Cove in the 1970s, so did hundreds of other skinny-dippers. There were nearly as many women as men, and people drove from miles around for a clothing-optional day in the sun. Most of the crowd went unclad. Today nude use is rare, but it persists when the authorities aren't around.

Problems: Parking fee, long walk from lot to cove, heavy law enforcement.

VENICE BEACH
Venice is a suited shore where women's swimsuit tops sometimes disappear. Because the beach is so long and wide, lifeguard stations are set far apart. I remember one day in the early 1970s when the woman I was with took off her top and proceeded to lie on her back, an official no-no even then. Two hours later, three lifeguards drove over in a Jeep and asked her to suit up. As soon as they were out of sight, the top came back off and we weren't bothered again. Today the tradition continues.

Rating: C.

Legal status: Los Angeles city beach.

How to find it: From Santa Monica, drive south on Lincoln Boulevard to Venice Boulevard, then go west on Venice until it ends. The heaviest semi-nude use is north of Venice Boulevard, but it can be found anywhere on the beach.

The beach: It's broad, sandy, and open.

The crowd: Only about 1 percent of the crowd, which sometimes numbers in the thousands, chooses to go topless.

Problems: No privacy or separate nude area, lifeguards will bust you if they see you nude.

SMUGGLER'S COVE
Like Pirate's and El Matador, Rancho Palos Verdes' Smuggler's Cove is a Los Angeles-area beach that's often visited by law enforcers, so be wary: citations run $150. But when deputies aren't present, some sunbathers stretch out naked on the sand. Sacred Beach, as it's also called, has two coves, including one to the south with tidepools. The trails are steep, so use caution. Look for Smuggler's eight miles south of Redondo Beach.

Rating: D.

Legal status: Unknown. The site is also called Pirate's or Abalone Cove.

How to find it: Look for Smuggler's Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes, between Inspiration and Portuguese Points, off Palos Verdes Drive. Park in the Abalone Cove parking lot, then walk a half mile along Palos Verdes Drive South, passing Wayfarer's Chapel on the left and a Landslide Area warning sign on the right. Just after a street sign with a left-turn arrow for Peppertree Drive, take any one of the paths that begin there south to the cove. You will find the trailhead 100 yards before the bus stop at Peppertree Drive; if you reach the stop, you've gone too far. To reach the northernmost of the two nude coves (Inspiration Point), at the intersection of Peppertree and Palos Verdes Drives, take the trail to the right, which goes downhill. Or, from the first beach, simply walk north around the bend about five minutes.

The beach: The first cove is a 500-yard-long, gently sloping shore of sand, pebbles, and rocks. The beach is backed by cliffs and chaparral. Inspiration Point Beach is flatter and more pebbly. Some nudity also occurs on the hill above Inspiration Point.

The crowd: Most visitors are nude, except when deputies are present. Gay men seem to prefer the northern cove.

Problems: Steep, eroded, slippery trails; stiff law enforcement; Abalone Cove parking lot fee.