Abalone Cove Shoreline Park

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Abalone Cove Shoreline Park is located approximately 40 minutes South of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and is arguably the best local spot to explore and enjoy in the entire Los Angeles area.  The park includes three different sea caves and if the tides are low, some cool tide pools full of sea urchins, sea anemones, and starfish.  If you’re lucky there’s also the possibility of spotting resident seals and migrating whales.  The hiking here is moderate and includes some steep, loose dirt trails and rocky beach terrain.  With dramatic bluff top views of blue/green water and kelp forests down below, you'll have numerous opportunities for fantastic photo ops and an adventure to remember. This guide provides some general travel tips for visiting Abalone Cove Shoreline Park as well as directions to the most beautiful views.

General Travel Tips

• A map of this park can be found HERE.

• The sea anemones, urchins, and starfish are safe to touch, but do not grab them off of the rocks, as this will injure them. Also, keep your distance from the seals, this is their home.

• This park and the surrounding area is part of a nature preserve, so please follow all posted rules. Do not take anything from the area (shells, animals, etc.) and do not bring your dog unless you plan to keep it on a leash the entire time (required).

• Visit the park during low tide to see the best tide pools. Click HERE to see the tide schedule.

• The hours for the Abalone Cove parking area are from 9am to 4pm. However, you can stay in the park until sunset - you just have to get inside the parking lot by 4pm. If it’s a nice day out, be sure to arrive earlier as the parking lot can get full.

• The park rangers lock up the entrance to the parking lot at 4pm (or earlier if the parking lot is full) and if you’re lucky, the park rangers will leave for the day before you leave the park. If they do, they always leave the exit gate up which means your parking is then free.

Directions to Most Beautiful Views

You can park at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park (fee), or on the street next the fire station just North of the park (free, but limited). To see the best views, walk along the road past the park, past the mansion, and past the sharp downward dip in the road until you reach the Sacred Cove View Trail. Take this trail down to the water and walk to the far right of the cove to view some tide pools (depending on the tide) and the first cave.  If the tide is low, cross over the tide pools, turn the corner and you'll see where the water enters the front of the cave (1st photo below).

To see the other two caves, head back to where you first reached the water's edge and continue left around the corner - here you’ll find the second cave (3rd photo below).  To see the third cave, you can swim across the channel.  DO NOT attempt this if you are a poor swimmer or if the conditions are too rough.  The timing must be just right to swim across and you should never attempt this if the water is not calm.  Also, be sure to scope out where you will enter and exit the channel for any hazards, sharp rocks, sea urchins, etc.  People have been seriously injured and/or died in this location because they were not prepared.  Once you see the third sea cave (4th photo below), you can swim south across the channel and hike up the Archery Coastal Trail to start making your way back to your car.  There is no sign for this trail, so please familiarize yourself with a map of the area which can be found HERE. Before hiking back to the street and to your car, make sure to take a mini detour to the top edge of the bluff.  To get there, when you reach the highest point of the Archery Coastal Trail, take a sharp left onto the Inspiration Point Trail.  The trail goes straight to the edge of the bluff.

If you don't want to swim across the channel at the second cave to be able to see the third cave, you can hike up and over the bluff to the other side to get down to the third cave. To do this, take the Cliffside Trail to the Inspiration Point Trail, to the Archery Coast Trail. When you reach the water, head all the way to your right and you'll see the third cave.

If you have additional time, you can see another bluff top view by crossing over the locked gate along the roadside on your way back to the parking area. The gate is located between the beginning of the Sacred Cove View Trail and the mansion. The trail there is called the Portuguese Point Loop Trail. You'll be rewarded with some of the best views of the entire park and you may even see some seals swimming around in the clear blue/green water below. Great spot to take photos!