Quick verdict
- Redondo Beach is the easiest proper beach day from downtown Los Angeles — about twenty miles, and you can do it without a car if you have to.
- The pier is horseshoe-shaped, which sounds like a small detail and is actually the whole character of the place: you walk out, round, and back, with the water on both sides.
- King Harbor, the marina beside it, was finished in 1956 and is what makes the water here calmer than the open beaches further north.
- There is a parking structure at the pier — use it and stop looking.
- The beach runs a mile and a half south from the pier along the Esplanade towards Torrance, and the far end is where the crowds are not.
We had a free afternoon in downtown Los Angeles and no car, which is normally the end of any beach plan.
Twenty minutes and one Uber later we were standing on a pier shaped like a horseshoe, watching pelicans, with the kids arguing about which end of it we should walk to first.
Redondo Beach is not the famous one. Santa Monica has the Ferris wheel, Venice has the boardwalk, Malibu has the sunsets people photograph. Redondo has none of that, and that is precisely why it works with children — it is the beach where local families actually go.
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Where is Redondo Beach, and how do you get there?
Redondo Beach is in the South Bay, about twenty miles south-west of downtown Los Angeles, between Hermosa Beach and Torrance. The beach address is 400–1700 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
By car: thirty to fifty minutes from downtown depending on the 110 and the 405. Leave downtown before 15:00 or after 19:00 and it is the short version.
By rideshare: what we did. Straightforward, and it removes the parking problem entirely.
By bus: Beach Cities Transit 102, plus Bus 3 and Bus 7, all stop at the Redondo Beach Pier. Slower, but it exists — which is more than you can say for most LA beaches.
The pier
The Redondo Beach Pier is horseshoe-shaped — you walk out along one arm, curve round the end, and come back down the other side. It is the only pier of its shape in Los Angeles County and it changes how you use it: instead of walking out and turning round, you do a loop, which with children is a completely different proposition.
On it: restaurants, shops, fishing, and people fishing who have clearly been coming for decades.
With kids: the loop is the point. Let them lead. It is enclosed, there is water on both sides, and you cannot get lost.
King Harbor
Next to the pier is King Harbor, the marina, completed in 1956 and named after Congressman Cecil R. King. Its arrival is what turned Redondo from a quiet beach town into a proper coastal suburb.
For a family it matters for one practical reason: the harbour wall shelters the water. Redondo is noticeably calmer than the open beaches north of it, which makes it better for small children who are not confident swimmers.
Boats, sea lions, and something always being loaded or unloaded. Worth twenty minutes.
The beach itself
The sand runs a mile and a half south from the pier, along the Esplanade, towards Torrance Beach.
What is there:
- Lifeguards during daylight hours
- Showers and restrooms
- Volleyball courts
- Beach wheelchairs available for accessibility
- The bike path — part of the Marvin Braude trail that runs most of the LA coastline
- Restaurants and shops on the pier
The thing worth knowing: almost everybody stops within a few hundred metres of the pier. Walk south for ten minutes and the crowd thins out completely. Same sand, same lifeguards, a fraction of the people.
Parking — the short version
There is a parking structure at the pier. Use it.
There is street parking along the Esplanade and in the surrounding streets, and on a summer weekend you will spend twenty-five minutes circling for it and then be a long walk from the sand anyway. The structure is the answer.
The sunset spot
This is the bit worth planning your afternoon around.
The Esplanade — the road that runs along the top of the beach south of the pier — sits above the sand on a low bluff, and the beach accesses are numbered by letter. Walk down one of the lettered avenues about twenty minutes before sunset and you get the whole bay in front of you, the pier lit up to your right, and almost nobody around, because the crowds are all still on the pier.
Redondo, Santa Monica or Venice — which beach?
| Redondo | Santa Monica | Venice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From downtown | ~20 miles | ~16 miles | ~15 miles |
| The draw | The horseshoe pier, calm water | Ferris wheel, big pier | The boardwalk, the scene |
| Crowds | Local families | Tourists, heavy | Heavy, and busy in a different way |
| Water | Calmest — sheltered by King Harbor | Open | Open |
| With small kids | ✅ Best of the three | Good but crowded | Not really |
| Parking | Structure at the pier | Hard and expensive | Hard |
If it is your first trip to LA: Santa Monica or Venice. They are the ones you came to see.
If you have small children, or you have already done those: Redondo, every time.
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Redondo Beach With Kids: FAQ
Where is Redondo Beach?
Redondo Beach is in the South Bay, about twenty miles south-west of downtown Los Angeles, between Hermosa Beach and Torrance. The beach address is 400 to 1700 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
How do you get to Redondo Beach from downtown Los Angeles?
By car it takes thirty to fifty minutes depending on traffic on the 110 and 405. A rideshare is straightforward and removes the parking problem. Beach Cities Transit 102 and buses 3 and 7 all stop at the Redondo Beach Pier.
Is Redondo Beach good for families with young children?
Yes, and it is the best of the nearby beaches for small children. The King Harbor marina wall shelters the water, so it stays calmer than the open beaches further north, and there are lifeguards during daylight hours, showers, restrooms and beach wheelchairs.
Where do you park at Redondo Beach?
There is a parking structure at the pier, which is the simplest option. Street parking is available along the Esplanade and surrounding roads but fills quickly on summer weekends.
What is special about the Redondo Beach Pier?
It is horseshoe-shaped, so you walk out along one arm, round the end and back down the other side rather than out and back. It has restaurants, shops and fishing, and the loop shape makes it easy with children.
How do you avoid the crowds at Redondo Beach?
Walk south. The beach runs a mile and a half from the pier along the Esplanade towards Torrance, and almost everyone stays within a few hundred metres of the pier. Ten minutes on foot gets you the same sand and lifeguards with a fraction of the people.
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