Manhattan Beach Pier

Manhattan Beach is wide, open Santa Monica Bay sand split by a roughly 900-foot concrete pier, with county lifeguard towers along the beach and surfers working the peaks near the pier and up at El Porto. It is the finish of the International Surf Festival's two-mile Pier-to-Pier Swim every August. Give the pilings and surfers a wide berth, and stay out of the water for three days after rain.

Directions

Photo: Jacob Gelman · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Latest reading · SwimScore 77/100 (Good swim) for a typical swimmer: air 24°C, wind 17 km/h, waves 0.8 m, UV 8. Updated 23 Sept, 22:00 UTC.

Know before you go

Getting in: Over 2 miles of open beach along The Strand (400–4500 block); the pier is at the end of Manhattan Beach Blvd. Bus: Beach Cities Transit 109 and Commuter Express 438.
Parking & transport: Public lots and street parking; LA County lists more than 450 public spaces.
Lifeguards: LA County lifeguards on duty during daylight hours.
Water quality: LA County surf-zone monitoring for fecal indicator bacteria (total coliform, E. coli/fecal coliform, enterococcus). Heal the Bay 2025–26 Beach Report Card, Manhattan Beach Pier: B summer dry, A winter dry, A+ wet weather.
Season: Beach open year-round; the Pier-to-Pier Swim is held on a Sunday in early August.
Who swims here: Finish of the Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier Swim, a 2-mile International Surf Festival race from south of the Hermosa Beach Pier around both piers; more than 1,000 swimmers finished in 2026. Swimmers who did not finish the previous year's race must pass a 500-meter lifeguard check-out swim.
Watch for: Surfers around the pier and at El Porto at the north end
Bacteria rise after rain; county rain advisories last 72 hours after rainfall ends
Avoid water near flowing storm drains such as the 28th St. drain (F in wet weather, 2025–26)
Facilities: Restrooms · Showers · Concession stand · Access mat and beach wheelchair · Bike path access · Volleyball courts · Playground