Venice Beach(Muscle Beach, Venice Beach)

Located in the city of Venice in Southern California, Venice Beach – also known as Venice City Beach - is an extremely popular three-mile long beach that has light brown sand and rocky breakwaters. This beach is very large – approximately 238 acres in size. The southern portion of Venice Beach is known as Venice Pier Beach- this portion received this name because it has a 1,300-feet long pier named the Venice Pier that is also known as Venice Fishing Pier. Venice Beach has been named the 3rd Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world's foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach.” (Please note that Venice Beach in California should not be confused with another popular beach in the United States named Venice Public Beach, which is also known as Venice Beach) that is located in Sarasota County in Florida.) 

Venice Beach hosts many sporting events, and two of them – skateboarding and 3x3 basketball – will be held there during the 2028 Summer Olympics. Venice Beach has lifeguards from 8 am to sunset (that usually occurs around 6 pm) - during summers, lifeguards here are posted from 7 am till sunset (that occurs around 8:30 pm). In addition to lifeguards, Venice Beach and the area around it offer many other amenities including picnic areas, restrooms, showers, bike rental facilities, a bike path, grassy recreational areas, paddle tennis courts, basketball courts, skateboarding, volleyball courts, handball courts, walking paths, nearby watersports equipment rental facilities, and a kids’ play area. Dogs are not allowed on Venice Beach.  

Venice Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, picnicking, fishing, volleyball, biking, swimming, surfing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, skimboarding, kneeboarding, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, surf skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, jet-skiing, waterskiing, boating, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and paddleboarding. Venice Beach is popular with surfers because the water here occasionally offers fun surfing waves, particularly during early morning - the most popular surfing site at Venice Beach is around a breakwater named the Venice Breakwater. In addition, the area around the Venice Pier is also a popular surfing site.  

Scuba divers also occasionally dive near Venice Beach to explore a nearby reef - the water here has a vibrant marine biodiversity and you can see many kinds of marine animals here including crabs, anemones, sea urchins, starfish, lobsters, many kinds of fish, and barnacles. Depending on the time of the year, you can also see many kinds of marine mammals in the water near Venice Beach including seals, sea lions, dolphins, and migrating gray whales (usually between December and April). Please note that seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales are protected under a law named the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and harming them can result in a civil penalty of up to $11,000 and possible imprisonment. 

If you are planning to swim, surf, kayak, canoe, bodyboard, or scuba dive near Venice Beach, we recommend being careful because the water here can have unpredictable rip currents. If you are planning to surf near Venice Beach, we recommend visiting early during summers because many surfers visit this beach and the water here can get extremely crowded. If you’re going in the water, please note that Venice Beach that the organization Heal the Bay has named Venice Beach on its “Beach Bummer List” of the 10 most polluted beaches in the State of California.

If you like taking pictures with Instagram-worthy views, the Venice Pier - that is located near the southern end of Venice Beach - offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and the southern California shoreline, particularly during evenings. 

Venice Beach has a very popular and world-famous outdoor workout area named Muscle Beach that is also known as Muscle Beach Venice - this workout area started in 1963 and is known as “the home of bodybuilding,” and has many amenities including weightlifting equipment and a large sandbox that has equipment for gymnastics, rope climbing, and acrobatics. Muscle Beach has been visited by many celebrity bodybuilders including Franco Columbu, Arnzold Schwarzenegger, and Frank Zane. If you want to train or exercise in Muscle Beach, please note that you need to pay a fee for training or exercising here.

Please also note that the Muscle Beach in Venice should not be confused with the “Original” Muscle Beach in Santa Monica which is located just south of the Santa Monica Pier. The “Original” Muscle Beach was established in the 1930’s and became popular in the 1950s. Similar to Muscle Beach in Venice, it has a large variety of workout equipment and also has an extensive gymnastics training area, chinning bars at various heights, parallel bars, rings, a small jungle gym for children, and a padded gymnastics area.

The Venice Beach Boardwalk - also known officially as the Ocean Front Walk - is an oceanfront promenade that is over two miles long and it is famous for having many interesting street vendors and street performers. The walls of buildings around this boardwalk also have interesting murals that were created by local artists. The  Venice Beach Recreation Center is also located near this boardwalk - this center offers many fun activities including basketball, handball, paddle tennis, and volleyball.

If you like roller skating and skateboarding, the world-famous oceanfront Venice Beach Skatepark is located between the Venice Beach Boardwalk and ocean- this skate park offers a fun skateboarding and roller skating experience.

If you like biking, you can also ride your bike on Venice Beach Boardwalk - in addition, there are also multiple biking trails near Venice Beach Boardwalk that offer a fun biking experience including Venice Beach Bike Path and the Marvin Braude Bike Trail. There is a gathering on Venice Beach Boardwalk on weekends named the Venice Beach Drum Circle - this circle is an informal free-for-all gathering where many local street performers, musicians, artists, and dancers gather to showcase their talent. Any visitor is free to participate in this gathering and it takes place on the intersection between Venice Beach Boardwalk at sunset on every Sunday and Saturday. 

Venice Beach also offers accessibility to people with disabilities - this beach has a beach access mat for visitors on wheelchairs (which is also known as a Mobi-Mat). This access mat is located to the west of Venice Boulevard, near a bike-rental concession stand - please note that this access mat is available for use between April and October only. In addition, there is also a complimentary beach wheelchair that is available for visitors with disabilities on a first-come-first-serve basis - this wheelchair is available between 9 am and 5 pm at the lifeguard headquarters at Venice Beach that is located near 2300 Ocean Front Walk and you can contact the lifeguard headquarters by phone at (310) 827-4873 for more information regarding the wheelchair booking rules. You can also rent beach wheelchairs from Jay’s Rentals that is located near 1501 Ocean Front Walk - you can contact Jay’s Rentals through phone at (310) 390-7306 for more information about the wheelchair rental procedure. 

Getting to Venice Beach is easy - this beach is located near 2700-3100 Ocean Front Walk and there is a paid parking lot near the western end of Venice Boulevard at 2100 Ocean Front Walk. In addition, there is a second paid parking lot near the southwestern end of Rose Avenue. In addition to these two parking lots, you can also park at a third paid parking lot that is located at the southern end of Venice Beach near the Venice Pier. This paid parking lot is located near the intersection between West Washington Boulevard and Ocean Front Walk - once you park at this parking lot, you can then walk north along the shoreline to reach the main portion of Venice Beach.  

In addition to the paid parking lots, there are also free street parking spaces that are located along many streets near Venice Beach - the closest streets that offer free street parking near Venice Beach include Pacific Avenue and Strongs Drive. In addition, you can also park your car at the free street parking spaces that are located along 18th Avenue, Mildred Avenue, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and Venice Way. In addition to these free street parking spaces, metered street parking spaces are also located along Washington Boulevard and Main Street - once you park your car at these street parking spaces, you can easily walk to Venice Beach.

We recommend being careful while parking your car near Venice Beach and avoiding leaving valuables in your parked car because burglaries have been known to occur in this area. If you want to travel to this beach by public transportation without paying any charges, please note that a complimentary beach shuttle service operates in this portion of Los Angeles County - this shuttle service operates during the summer season and it operates on weekends and select holidays - this shuttle service passes near many local landmarks including a shopping center known as Fisherman's Village and a park named Marina del Rey Wetland Parkand it has a stop on its route that is located near the southern end of Venice Beach - you can visit Los Angeles County’s website for more information regarding the seasonal shuttle bus operational time and the bus route stops. 

We recommend visiting Venice Beach early during the summers because this beach can get extremely crowded during this time. We recommend being careful while visiting Venice Beach with kids because this beach is sometimes known to have an unfriendly environment for kids due to the large number of marijuana users who regularly visit this beach.

The area around Venice Beach was formerly a desolate marshland before a businessman and real estate developer named Abbot Kinney helped develop the area around this beach into a successful resort town – his vision for Venice began in 1905 when he purchased the 2-mile long, 1,000 foot wide strip of land along the oceanfront.

There are many attractions near Venice Beach. If you like shopping, Abbot Kinney Boulevard is a mile-long street that has many shopping stores, fitness studios, art galleries, and restaurants. It has been named by GQ magazine as "The Coolest Block in America” and also hosts many fun events including the Abbot Kinney First Fridays and the Annual Holiday Block Party. In addition, the buildings along this street also have beautiful murals on their walls. The Venice Canal Historic District is a historic district that was developed around 1905 by real estate developer Abbot Kinney as a part of his vision to recreate the Italian city of Venice in the United States – this district is a part of the United States’ National Register of Historic Places and it also currently has a residential neighborhood. You can walk around this beautiful district and explore its unique canals and exquisite bridges and also see its beautiful upscale residential houses – if you have a kayak, canoe, or any small non-motorized watercraft, you can also travel along the canals for a fun kayaking/canoeing experience.  

Clover Park is a recreational park that offers many amenities including volleyball courts, tennis courts, soccer fields, restrooms, playground, picnic tables, baseball fields, and barbecues. If you are looking for another attraction near Venice Beach, Mosaic Tile House is a beautiful and vibrant house that is owned by husband-and-wife duo Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran, who are also artists and have filled their house with strikingly marvelous mosaic tile artworks - this house also has a garden and this house is open to the public only on Saturdays. You can visit Mosaic Tile House’s website to know more about the procedure for booking a reservation for your visit here.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Venice Beach.  The Waterfront is a popular local favorite with a vivid decor and a casual ambiance that serves delicious Coastal California cuisine including seafood, tacos, burgers, salads, chicken wings, fries, sandwiches, and avocado toast.  Forma offers a diverse, contemporary Italian menu in a modern setting and serves a wide variety of freshly cooked pasta finished in large cheese wheels – and also features an excellent variety of other entrees, wine, beer, and cheese tasting options.  The Rose Venice is a popular local restaurant that offers a variety of delicious seasonal dishes with local and international culinary influences and it also has a beer garden, an outdoor dining area, and a vivid décor – this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes for brunch, lunch, and dinner including milk braised crispy Colorado lamb, seafood, rotisserie chicken, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.  Gjusta is a bakery and café that serves globally inspired dishes in a fast-casual setting. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Venice Beach, Teddy’s Red Tacos is a modestly priced Mexican restaurant that serves outstanding birria tacos and it also offers amazing tostadas, quesadillas, and mulitas.  

If you are looking for a hotel near Venice Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 5-Star Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey offers many amenities including a saltwater pool, a tennis court, a basketball court, two restaurants, a fitness center, a spa, bicycle rental facilities, poolside cabanas, a gift shop, a jewelry shop, access to nearby walking trails, and car rental facilities. Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Hotel ERWIN (also called Hotel Erwin) that is a popular boutique hotel with modern design and many amenities including a rooftop lounge, a welcome drink at arrival, and loaner facilities for bikes and helmets, mini coolers, sports equipment, yoga mats, beach chairs, beach umbrellas, and a restaurant. This hotel has also been praised by many online and print publications and news channels including Travel + Leisure magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, the food website Eater, and the news network NBC. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star AIR Venice that offers many amenities including vending machines, ice machines, and bike rental services. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Venice Beach, the 2-Star Rest Haven Motel offers a courtyard with sitting areas.