Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach - El Pescador State Beach(El Pescador State Beach)

Located below oceanfront bluffs in Malibu, El Pescador Beach – also known as El Pescador State Beach and Robert H. Meyer State Beach – El Pescador State Beach – is a south-facing small beach with light brown sand and many rocks. This beach is the westernmost portion of a larger state beach named Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach. This beach was listed in an article of the Los Angeles Times titled “11 stunning Malibu beaches you can definitely visit — even if they look private,” and is a favorite Malibu beach of Randall Kaplan – the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Although El Pescador Beach does not have lifeguards, the blufftop area above the beach has restrooms and picnic tables. Dogs are not allowed here.

El Pescador Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, tidepooling, skimboarding, surfing, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, scuba diving, snorkeling, paddleboarding, jet-skiing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching. This beach is ideal for boogie boarders and surfers because it offers great surfing waves. If you are planning to swim, surf, or bodysurf here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents.  

If you like tidepooling, you can visit the area near the eastern portion of this beach that has many tidepools – you can explore these tidepools during low tide. This beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quiet beach experience because it sees fewer visitors as compared to other nearby beaches. If you like taking El Pescador State Beach Photos with amazing views, this beach offers excellent Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean and the southern California shoreline, especially at sunset.

El Pescador Beach does not offer wheelchair access for visitors with disabilities.

Getting to El Pescador Beach is easy – the steep and slightly rugged access trail to the beach is located near 32900 Pacific Coast Highway. This trail will lead you to a small staircase that will in turn lead you to the beach. There is a paid parking lot near the access trail where you can park your car – this parking lot charges $3 per hour, $8 per day on weekdays, and $15 per day on weekends and holidays. 

In addition, you can also park your car at the free street parking spots along the nearby Pacific Coast Highway and the walk to El Pescador Beach. However, if you are planning to park along the street on Pacific Coast Highway and then walk to the beach, we recommend being careful because crossing an active highway can be dangerous. In addition, please watch the No Parking signs on PCH because they are often confusing and parking tickets can cost more than $100 depending on the time of year.  

We also recommend being careful while walking on the steps leading to the beach because these steps are old and can get damaged easily. 

As an interesting fact, the name of this beach – El Pescador – means “the fisherman” in Spanish.

There are many attractions near El Pescador Beach Malibu. Leo Carrillo State Park is a state park that was named after eminent actor and conservationist Leo Carrillo and it has multiple beaches including South Beach, North Beach, Staircase Beach, and County Line Beach. This state park offers many fun activities including tidepooling, fishing, scuba diving, surfing, hiking, wildlife watching, and camping – this park has been featured in many television series and movies including Better Call Saul, the TV show Orange County, and The Usual Suspects. Point Mugu State Park – also called Point Mugu State Beach – is a 14,000-acre oceanfront state park that has many interesting habitats including sand dunes, hills, rugged uplands, two canyons, and multiple valleys - it also has multiple beaches including Mugu Beach and Sycamore Cove Beach. This state park also offers many interesting activities including surfing, fishing, bodysurfing, hiking, horse riding, biking, wildlife watching, picnicking, and camping. Malibu Pier is a beautiful historic pier that was built around 1905 and it offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and the southern California shoreline. This pier is also popular with fishermen and many surfers also surf nearby – it also has restaurants and shopping stores. Charmlee Wilderness Park is a 532-acre nature park that is set within the Santa Monica Mountains and it has many amenities including hiking trails and picnic areas – it also has a nature center (which is currently closed), along with a collection of native plants. If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Point Dume is a large and famous promontory – the area around it has a diverse coastal biodiversity and you can see many kinds of animals while visiting here. The top of the promontory offers amazing views of the southern California shoreline, the Pacific Ocean, and the Catalina Islands and it is also a popular rock-climbing site.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near El Pescador Beach. Sabor A Malibu is a food truck that serves excellent Mexican dishes including burritos, quesadillas, fries, burgers, tacos, fish and chips, and hot dogs. Geoffery’s Malibu is an upscale restaurant that has an elegant decor and offers excellent dishes for brunch, lunch, and dinner including burgers, seafood, steaks, soups, salads, poultry dishes, and miso braised tofu. The Sunset Restaurant has a relaxed ambiance and it offers many amazing dishes for lunch and dinner including seafood, chicken dishes, salads, tacos, pasta, and steaks. Paradise Cove Beach Cafe is a popular oceanfront restaurant that offers amazing dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, pastas, seafood, steaks, barbecued ribs, and soups – this restaurant is known for serving gigantic iced seafood towers. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Lily’s Malibu offers amazing Mexican dishes for breakfast and lunch including burritos, tamales, chilaquiles, tortas, huevos rancheros, and tostadas - it also serves delicious sandwiches, fries, and bagels. 

If you are looking for a hotel near El Pescador Beach, there are many great nearby options within a 30-minute-drive. The 5-Star Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village offers many amenities including multiple pools, a spa, a fitness center, a salon, multiple restaurants, gardens, and shopping stores. Nobu Ryokan Malibu is an upscale adults-only hotel that has Japanese-inspired architecture and it has beautiful landscaping with local plants – it offers many amenities including a zen rock fountain, stone pathways, a spa, a nearby restaurant, a racquet club, a sundeck with ocean views, a fitness center, and in-room spa treatments. Another popular upscale hotel is the 4-Star Surfrider Hotel Malibu that has an interesting surf culture inspired-ambiance, and offers many amenities including a guests-only restaurant, watersporting equipment and beach equipment loaner facilities, surfboard and wetsuit storage facilities, and a shower – the hotel was also listed in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Gold List” of “Best Hotels In The World” in 2020 and 2021. A more affordable  hotel is the 3-Star Malibu Country Inn that offers many amenities including a pool, an outdoor courtyard, and a restaurant. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 2-Star The M Malibu was one of the first motels to be built in Malibu and it offers many amenities including a pool and a sundeck with lounge chairs.