Broad Beach(Trancas Beach)

Located in the city of Malibu, Broad Beach is a narrow beach that is slightly more than a mile in length and is home to many movie stars including Ray Romano, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, and Pierce Brosnan. Broad Beach is also known as Trancas Beach, which is named after Trancas Canyon Creek that runs through the middle of Broad Beach and Zuma Beach. This beach has been eroding for many years, and the residents here have used many methods to prevent more erosion including bulkheads and rock piles.

Broad Beach offers several activities including fishing, hiking, paddle-boarding, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, swimming, volleyball, and windsurfing.  If you walk towards the north end of the beach, you will find tide pools that separate it from Lechuza Beach.

Getting here is easy – it is situated on Broad Beach Road near the intersection between Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road. There are parking spaces available along Pacific Coast Highway and Broad Beach Road. To access the beach, use public stairways between homes at 31344 and 31200 Broad Beach Road or walk north from the northernmost parking space at Zuma Beach. 

If you are looking for nearby attractions, Point Dume is 10 minutes away – it is a promontory that projects into the Pacific Ocean forming the northern end of Santa Monica Bay, and is a perfect spot for hiking, especially for beginners because of its natural climbing wall with moderate single-pitch rock climbing routes. Paramount Ranch is a national park attraction with several hiking trails through chaparral, riparian, and valley oak savannah plant communities, multi-use trails for mountain bikers, and wildlife sightings including red-tailed hawks, acorn woodpeckers, blue heron, and deer. It has been featured as an old western town in many famed Hollywood movies and television series, most notably Caught in the Draft, The Lake House, and Westworld. Spread across 1,000 acres on the Saddleback Ranch, Malibu Wine Safaris features safari trips to see zebras, camels, alpacas, bison, and a giraffe named Stanley, wine tastings, and a visit to the ancient Chumash cave paintings. Heal the Bay Aquarium, also known as the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, offers educational programs, and events to spread awareness for marine conservation, pollution prevention, and environmental education to over 100,000 visitors every year.  

If you get hungry, you can drive two-minutes to Sabor A Malibu which means Taste of Malibu – it features street-food items of many cuisines, including Mexican, American, European, and Albanian dishes. If you love Italian food, Spruzzo Restaurant & Bar offers pizza, pasta, sandwiches, cocktails, drinks, and desserts. The Sunset Restaurant is an excellent American restaurant on nearby Westward Beach that serves starters, salads, burgers, rolls, tacos, wines, and vegan items.    

If you are looking for a place to stay, you can drive eight-minutes to the upscale Jet Luxury Resorts Malibu Estate that sits over an acre of oceanfront land and has many amenities including a pool, spa with waterfalls, tennis court, basketball court, and wine cellar. The Surfrider Hotel, Malibu is a 4-Star hotel featuring a lounge, rooftop bar, and restaurant. As other affordable options, the pet-friendly Malibu Country Inn has a pool and an outdoor fireplace, and the 2-Star hotel The M Malibu has a pool and wine tasting sessions.