The Marvin Braude Bike Trail, also known as The Strand, is a 35-km-long bike path along the most beautiful beaches in the County of Los Angeles. Park your car and rent a bike for a delightful day on two wheels. Ride a beach cruiser from Hermosa Beach to Santa Monica.
Lesser-known to most people, Hermosa Beach is secretly one of the best beach towns in Los Angeles. Bars with an industrial chic vibe share lively Hermosa Avenue with interesting boutiques. The beautiful beach is a paradise for beach volleyball players, and skaters of all ages strut their stuff on the palm tree-lined Pier Plaza. Like any self-respecting California beach town, Hermosa Beach boasts its own pier where you can go for a pleasant stroll.
Ferraris, mansions and cute chihuahuas in designer bags: Manhattan Beach oozes glamour. The mansions high up on the hill sell for millions. However, you can still have a great time even without a platinum credit card. Park your bike at the bottom of the hill, grab a slice of pizza at Manhattan Pizza and eat it on a bench by the pier overlooking the throngs of surfers waiting to catch the perfect wave. The round white building at the head of the pier houses a small aquarium with free admission.
Right after Manhattan Beach, the bike path winds through the harbour of Marina del Rey before swinging back to Venice Beach again, where the sand is strictly secondary. Street artists, fortune-tellers, hippies and tattooed bodybuilders transform the famous Venice boardwalk into one of the best people-watching destinations in LA. Here you will find LA at its most colourful and eclectic. This is partially thanks to the amazing street art everywhere. Admire the impressive murals along the beach promenade but also duck into the smaller side streets to look for some hidden gems.
Venice Beach is synonymous with sport. In addition to the famous Muscle Beach where suntanned bodybuilders bench press in the burning sun, you can admire some impressive skating skills at the Venice Beach Skate Park. The design of the pool is inspired by the empty pools where skaters used to practice their skills in the 1970s.
Santa Monica may be the most famous beach in Los Angeles. The laid-back beach lifestyle mixes effortlessly with the urban energy of the City of Angels. Combine a day at the beach with a lengthy shopping trip along car-free Third Street or take a spin on one of the many colourful rides at the end of the pier. This is also the end of the world-famous Route 66. No need to leave your bike at the top of the pier as you’ll find plenty of bike parking at the bottom.
Officially, the Marvin Braude Bike Trail runs from Will Rogers State Beach in the north to Torrance County Beach in the south. But you can also ride just a section of the bike trail. Some stretches of the trail go along the beach boulevard but other sections cut right across the beach. As a biker, you share the trail with pedestrians, skaters and runners. The trail isn’t suitable for racing bikes, but who wants to speed when you can soak up the relaxed Californian vibe?
