Hermosa Beach is the best beach in the greater L.A. area. There are so many good beaches up and down the southern California coast line, but with regards to the general Los Angeles County region, Hermosa is numero uno.
Hermosa Beach surrounds the Hermosa Beach Pier, running from 27th street down to the marina at 1st street in the City of Hermosa Beach. In general, the beach is long and wide, with plenty of room for anyone and everyone. If you want to play beach volleyball, there are many courts up and down the beach to choose from. Surfers and Boogie boarders can pick any spot they want, with room to spare. Family picnics, quiet suntanning, watching the waves - whatever you want to do at the beach is there.
I feel that the sand of Hermosa Beach is the softest and most beautiful in all of southern California. It is a light golden color, brushes off easily and never gets too hot. Because LA County does a great job of beach maintenance, the beach is always clean - it is rare you see any trash.
The water is relatively clear; after all, we are talking about a beach located at one of the biggest cities in the world. The waves are fun and long rolling, so it is a nice spot to do some body surfing. The water temperature can be a bit crisp, especially in the spring, but by mid-summer it is refreshing.
A couple of nice things about Hermosa Beach that sets it apart from other LA County Beaches: 1) There are numerous meter parking spots to choose from, 2) Varied restaurant options are right at the edge of the beach, 3) Even though you have businesses near the sand, it is still a residential area so it is quiet, 4) Unlike some of the coastline, the Hermosa Beach area is relatively flat going into the land, so it is easy to get around by bike, car or foot.
Let's not forget the Strand - for those of you that have been to Los Angeles and not hit a South Bay beach (as opposed to the beaches in Santa Monica or the Westside of LA), the Strand is a very wide sidewalk (and sometime two side walks) that run from the Redondo Marina all the way up to Marina Del Rey. This makes for some excellent bicycling, rollerblading, jogging or walking. It is great to just cruise along, take a break to watch some surfing or beach volleyball and then jump right back on!
Even though Los Angeles is famous for its wonderful weather and each Rose Bowl football game seems to show 85 degree temperatures in January, the winter and spring weather at the beaches can get chilly. The marine fog, that burns off in the mornings for the summer, will easily hang on all day during the non-summer months. You can be driving down the 405 freeway and it is 75 degrees, but when you come over the hill going to the beach, you will hit the beach fog and it is only 60 degrees!
If you are planning a family vacation to Los Angeles and want to make it a beach trip, try to go from July to October - this will keep you away from the beach fog and the rain (yes it does rain in LA!).
I am always amazed by just how uncrowded the Los Angeles beaches are, even on weekends. Hermosa Beach is simply a wonderful beach. If I was in Los Angeles for a business trip or family vacation, I would definitely pick Hermosa as my beach destination.
