Leo Carrillo Beach Is My Favorite Coastal Escape: Tide Pools, Scenic Drives & Malibu Seafood
November 2024 // Santa Monica, California to Leo Carrillo State Beach.
Camera:
Sony α6000
Lenses:
Sony Alpha 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS Super-Telephoto APS-C Lens
Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 Lens
Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens (SELP1650) *discontinued, link is for renewed version
Locations:
Leo Carrillo State Beach
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Leo Carrillo has been my beach escape for the past few years, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite places. My mother came across it while exploring the city with a friend during her first visit to Los Angeles. While I sat at my desk at work, she cruised up Pacific Coast Highway in a bright red convertible, stopping at Malibu Seafood before discovering Leo Carrillo. It didn’t take long for me to visit myself, and from that first trip, I was hooked.
Now, Malibu Seafood and Leo Carrillo are staples for me. Back at my old apartment near the Valley, my partner and I made a habit of taking weekend drives down the winding Las Virgenes Road - one of those quintessential canyon routes where hills give way to the blues of the Pacific. We’d always stop at the frutero on the way back, grabbing bags of fresh fruit drizzled with tajín and chamoy.
In our new place, we use PCH weekly, zipping up the coast for our fix. A stop at Malibu Seafood for clam chowder is non-negotiable, it’s part of the ritual. There’s something special about eating fresh seafood with the ocean right in front of you, the scent of salt and seafood mixing in the breeze.
Leo Carrillo has everything I love in a beach. There’s enough space for everyone, whether you want to sunbathe on the sand, explore sea caves, or just find a quiet spot to sit and watch the waves roll in. Unlike other beaches along this stretch, parking is rarely a nightmare, and there are portable restrooms - small but significant details that make a spontaneous beach trip so much easier.
And then there are the tide pools. If you time it right and come during low tide, the rocky outcrops reveal an entire world beneath the waves. Anemones, sea stars, tiny crabs - each little pocket of water is its own universe. I could spend hours crouched over the rocks, watching as hermit crabs scuttle between pools and fish dart through narrow channels.
There’s a rhythm to this place that I never get tired of.
Gallery
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