Leo Carrillo State Beach

Located in the city of Malibu, Leo Carrillo State Beach is a wide and one-and-a-half-mile long beach that is part of the Leo Carrillo State Park. Leo Carrillo State Park is named after Leo Carrillo, an actor and preservationist, who served on the California Beach and Parks Commission for 18 years - and is 2,513 acres in size. Many prominent actors including Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis, Nancy Sinatra, and Dick Clark have been featured in films shot at this park. Leo Carrillo State Beach is sometimes referred to as one beach – but it is commonly viewed as three separate beaches each with its access point: Leo Carrillo - North Beach, Leo Carrillo - South Beach, and Leo Carrillo - Staircase Beach.  Sequit Point is a rocky area between Leo Carrillo - North Beach and Leo Carrillo - South Beach where you can see tide pools and sea caves during low tides.

The beach offers several amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, showers, fire pits, campgrounds, and picnic tables – dogs are allowed on leash north of lifeguard station-three. 

Popular activities at Leo Carrillo State Beach include swimming, scuba diving, fishing, biking, hiking, camping, and whale watching.  Leo Carrillo - Staircase Beach is north of Leo Carrillo - North Beach and is a popular surfing destination. 

You can easily access the beach from one of the three paid parking lots: Leo Carrillo - North Beach parking lot is along Pacific Coast Highway west of Mulholland Highway, Leo Carrillo - South Beach parking lot is along Pacific Coast Highway inside the toll booth entrance, and Leo Carrillo - Staircase Beach parking lot is next to the state park manager’s residence at 40000 Pacific Coast Highway. Parking at Leo Carrillo State Beach costs from $3 to $12 for an hour to a day respectively.   

If you are looking for nearby attractions, you can drive 14-minutes to Point Dume, a promontory that projects into the Pacific Ocean forming the northern end of Santa Monica Bay. It is a perfect spot for hiking, especially for beginners because of its natural climbing wall with moderate single-pitch rock climbing routes. 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. Another attraction near Leo Carrillo State Beach is Paramount Ranch, a national park 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. 

If you get hungry, there are many options within a 15-minute drive from Leo Carrillo State Beach. Neptune’s Net is a biker-bar-cum-restaurant that has been featured in films, television series, and games, including Iron Man 3, The Fast and the Furious, Gossip Girl, and GTA 5. If you love Italian food, Spruzzo Restaurant & Bar offers pizza, pasta, sandwiches, cocktails, drinks, and desserts. The upscale restaurant Geoffrey’s serves special diets for vegans and was mentioned in "The 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in the US" by Business Insider. 

If you are looking for a place to stay, you can drive 14-minutes to the upscale Jet Luxury Resorts Malibu Estate which sits over an acre of oceanfront land and has many amenities including a pool, spa with waterfalls, tennis court, basketball court, and wine cellar.  Malibu Beach Inn is a 4-Star hotel with a bar, spa, and restaurant that is located on Carbon Beach, which has been nicknamed Billionaires’ Beach due to the many ultrawealthy homeowners and incredibly expensive homes there. As with 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.