SoCal Road Trips: The Beautiful Malibu Pier

Please enjoy the video, Escape to Malibu.  Malibu is the perfect day trip from Los Angeles and there is a great RV campground for those coming from farther away. 

The video was filmed just before the California Governor included the piers and beaches on the list of places that had to close during the coronavirus quarantine (the beaches and piers have now reopened). There were few people there and the sky and ocean had a pristine beauty to them. We think after you see it, you’ll be making a short day trip out to Malibu!  If you can’t go, perhaps the beauty shown in the video will help you recharge your soul!

The video was shot in 6k on a Netflix approved video camera.  I output it at 4k so it would work for YouTube so watch it on the highest quality settings at full screen to really experience the beauty of Malibu California.

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It can feel like we’re in a Catch 22 right now.  We’ve been cooped up indoors during a coronavirus quarantine that has lasted way too long, but there are still so many restrictions on travel that getting out and seeing the world beyond the same old four walls doesn’t look inviting.  Unless of course you’re lucky enough to live in Southern California where you can see some of the most beautiful places in the world on a short day trip.

For those in other states, making a road trip to Southern California can remedy your travel itch.  It’s far more economical than flying to a distant country and you don’t have to worry about being confined for hours in the recirculating air inside an airplane.  In fact the Great American Road Trip is making a comeback in a big, big way. Sales of RVs are at their highest ever.  RVs eliminate all the concerns regarding traveling in confined spaces with a shared air supply and honestly they open up a whole new world of travel.  RVs tend to encourage you to explore places you would not see when traveling by airplane.

If staying in hotels concerns you at all right now in out post-pandemic world, most have gone to great trouble to sanitize and disinfect.  For added insurance you can bring along a virus killing travel air purifier to run in your room.  I’ve linked to some good ones below. There is also no place safer to be than out on the wide expansive beaches with nothing but the Pacific Ocean and gentle sea breezes on your west.  (It sure beats social distancing in a grocery store!)  We have some info on both hotels and RV parks in Malibu below.

Malibu is an 11 mile drive northwest on the Pacific Coast Highway from the Santa Monica Pier.  In good traffic you can make it in 20 minutes.  The Malibu Pier lacks the amusements and shops of the Santa Monica Pier, but it makes up for it in beauty and peacefulness.  There are two restaurants on it.  One at the entrance and one at the far end.  They are both run by Malibu Farms and have great food.  You’ll see plenty of people casting their lines into the ocean hoping to catch a fish and there are lots of benches to just sit on and take in the expansive view of the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands in the distance.

If sunbathing is your thing, you’ll probably want to pick a different spot.  The beaches near the pier are on the rocky side with just narrow stretches of sand.  But they do offer some of the best surfing around.

The beach northwest of the pier is the famous Surfrider Beach and surfers come from all over the world to surf on the unique pipeline waves (you can see these in the video near the end in slow motion).  Just up the coast highway about a mile is the Malibu Lagoon State Park.  Nature trails fully surround the lagoon, and meet up with Surfrider Beach.  If you are into hiking, you can easily park at the Lagoon and enjoy taking the nature path and beach down to the pier.

If you are coming from too far away to enjoy Malibu and return on the same day, the Malibu Surfrider Hotel is directly across from the pier.  Be sure to reserve your room in advance.  It’s a small boutique hotel and the only one right across from the pier.  You can also dine at the Malibu Inn right next door.  If Malibu is a stop on your RV road trip, the Malibu Beach RV Park with ocean views is just a few blocks from the pier that costs less than half of what the hotel does.

Normal pier hours are 6:30 AM to sunset.  Now that it has just re-opened after the shutdown, I believe it opens at 8:00 AM instead of at 6:30 AM.   The address is 23000 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA.  Note, there is just one small parking lot for the pier and it fills up fast.  There is limited street parking.  Right now the crowds are still thin so you shouldn’t have any difficulty parking.  If so, take our suggestion to park up at Malibu Lagoon and walk the path through the lagoon and down the beach to the pier. There is quite a bit more parking at the lagoon.

More photos after the break…

Produced by Mark Stout Photography.
Contact us to license Malibu photos or clips from the video as stock footage.

Background Music:

Sleepy West by JHS Pedals from the YouTube Music Library https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjfbkA4jJkJY5g0wbjuoZWA

Bohemian Beach by Chris Haugan from the YouTube Music Library https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjwz2-ZuVjGfpf3pahuTkSw

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