Los Angeles - Manhattan Beach - Manhattan Beach to Playa del Rey
13.5 mi 
Suitable for
Touring *
Fitness *
Scene *
Artistic *
Directions
From Interstate 405 (the San Diego Freeway) just north of Torrance, exit at Hawthorne Boulevard (Highway 107) heading north. After 1.5 blocks, turn left onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard and drive west all the way to the beach. Park in the lot on Manhattan Beach Boulevard (be prepared to pay) or on a residential street off Palm Avenue or Hermosa Avenue. The trail can be found where it passes the end of the pier.
Notes
Enjoy the scene on the north section of the popular Strand trail and then continue up the coast through El Segundo and Dockweiler Beaches to Playa del Rey. The bikeway north of El Porto is sometimes known as a no-man's-land because its passage next to the Los Angeles International Airport limits access and renders it relatively (and to some, blessedly) desolate. On Dockweiler's broad beach, the giant shadows of airplanes taking off from the busy airport are outlined briefly on the sand as they head out over the ocean. Such attributes make this section of the bikeway especially appealing to fitness and speed skaters, as well as adventurers who are fed up with fighting the crowds farther south.
The attractive Manhattan Beach Pier is decorated with street lamps and railings painted a fresh sea blue. Better yet, it is skater-friendly and paved in concrete. You can skate to the end and take in the view, have a snack, or peek into the doorway of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium. You can't miss the great view looking back toward the shore.
Skating from the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Strand bikeway extends up the coast for 1.75 miles on a 12-foot-wide concrete sidewalk next to an ice plant-covered bank at the edge of the beach. Atop the bank, oceanfront homes and apartments with a view line the street.
All the way to El Porto at the border of El Segundo Beach, skaters, pedestrians, and bicyclists crowd onto the popular bikeway, making fast skating pretty much out of the question during peak hours.
Continuing beyond El Porto, though, traffic on the trail diminishes dramatically, to just a few bicyclists and hardier skaters. The pavement quality takes a turn for the worse and rudely presents skaters with rough asphalt. However, along this narrow section of beach the trail is closer to the crashing waves, which partially makes up for the roughness. Fortunately, the surface improves as you approach the sewage treatment plants. The plant grounds close to the trail are enclosed by chain-link fences, but they include a pretty, grassy strip where employees gather to eat lunch.
Two miles north of El Porto, the bikeway's wide concrete paving resumes. After it passes Dockweiler Beach RV Park, the trail curves up onto a low promontory with a commanding view of the Pacific. Here if you're lucky enough to skate by during a lesson, you'll get to see beginner hang gliding students catch a few feet of air down the gradual slope to the beach below. After passing a classic beach-front grill, the trail glides back down to Dockweiler Beach with its trailside amenities of benches, rest rooms, and water fountains. For another three miles, the trail curves serenely along Dockweiler Beach, past a rest room/snack bar "oasis" of grass and palms, and next to a forest of tall wood posts (perhaps forgotten volleyball courts?). During your skate through Dockweller Beach, take note of the narrow beach access road above and to your right. During off-peak hours, this presents an alternate way back for those interested in a speed workout on smooth straight asphalt (but with an occasional speed bump to walk or hop over).
At Playa del Rey, the trail curves inland where the beach ends and takes you to the wide pedestrian bridge that crosses Ballona Creek and leads to Marina del Rey.
To continue north, follow the trail across the bridge over the creek to the breakwater. (Turn left to skate out to the mouth of the bay, where you can savor the view.) Turn right and skate inland to where the bike path makes a left turn at the intersection with the Ballona Creek Trail (see the previous listing). The bike path ends at Fiji Way, but you can skate on the sidewalk or bike lanes heading north on Fiji Way. A block or two after Fiji veers inland, the bike path resumes. Look to your left for a painted bike path that takes you into the parking lots of the harbor area. Follow the path through the unlovely harbor parking lots to where it crosses Admiralty Way and then passes through a greenbelt alongside Admiralty Way. At the Washington Boulevard intersection, turn left and skate three-quarters of a mile up the gradual ascent on the bike lane. Washington Boulevard ends at the Venice Pier and beach boardwalk.
The attractive Manhattan Beach Pier is decorated with street lamps and railings painted a fresh sea blue. Better yet, it is skater-friendly and paved in concrete. You can skate to the end and take in the view, have a snack, or peek into the doorway of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium. You can't miss the great view looking back toward the shore.
Skating from the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Strand bikeway extends up the coast for 1.75 miles on a 12-foot-wide concrete sidewalk next to an ice plant-covered bank at the edge of the beach. Atop the bank, oceanfront homes and apartments with a view line the street.
All the way to El Porto at the border of El Segundo Beach, skaters, pedestrians, and bicyclists crowd onto the popular bikeway, making fast skating pretty much out of the question during peak hours.
Continuing beyond El Porto, though, traffic on the trail diminishes dramatically, to just a few bicyclists and hardier skaters. The pavement quality takes a turn for the worse and rudely presents skaters with rough asphalt. However, along this narrow section of beach the trail is closer to the crashing waves, which partially makes up for the roughness. Fortunately, the surface improves as you approach the sewage treatment plants. The plant grounds close to the trail are enclosed by chain-link fences, but they include a pretty, grassy strip where employees gather to eat lunch.
Two miles north of El Porto, the bikeway's wide concrete paving resumes. After it passes Dockweiler Beach RV Park, the trail curves up onto a low promontory with a commanding view of the Pacific. Here if you're lucky enough to skate by during a lesson, you'll get to see beginner hang gliding students catch a few feet of air down the gradual slope to the beach below. After passing a classic beach-front grill, the trail glides back down to Dockweiler Beach with its trailside amenities of benches, rest rooms, and water fountains. For another three miles, the trail curves serenely along Dockweiler Beach, past a rest room/snack bar "oasis" of grass and palms, and next to a forest of tall wood posts (perhaps forgotten volleyball courts?). During your skate through Dockweller Beach, take note of the narrow beach access road above and to your right. During off-peak hours, this presents an alternate way back for those interested in a speed workout on smooth straight asphalt (but with an occasional speed bump to walk or hop over).
At Playa del Rey, the trail curves inland where the beach ends and takes you to the wide pedestrian bridge that crosses Ballona Creek and leads to Marina del Rey.
To continue north, follow the trail across the bridge over the creek to the breakwater. (Turn left to skate out to the mouth of the bay, where you can savor the view.) Turn right and skate inland to where the bike path makes a left turn at the intersection with the Ballona Creek Trail (see the previous listing). The bike path ends at Fiji Way, but you can skate on the sidewalk or bike lanes heading north on Fiji Way. A block or two after Fiji veers inland, the bike path resumes. Look to your left for a painted bike path that takes you into the parking lots of the harbor area. Follow the path through the unlovely harbor parking lots to where it crosses Admiralty Way and then passes through a greenbelt alongside Admiralty Way. At the Washington Boulevard intersection, turn left and skate three-quarters of a mile up the gradual ascent on the bike lane. Washington Boulevard ends at the Venice Pier and beach boardwalk.
Links
- LA County Bike Map - PDF Map - 875 KB
| Last Skated
Sep 21, 2007
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Updated
Oct 20, 2007
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