If you talk to locals about Venice Beach, you’ll get mixed reviews. Some people enjoy it; some people hate it. Of course, many people will tell you, “It used to be great, but now it’s horrible.”
I’ve been enjoying Venice for over 30 years and I can tell you that Venice Beach is one of the parts of LA that has changed the least in that time. It has been and remains a place where much of the diversity of LA comes, to participate in, or just observe, that which is classically LA, as well as that which is just beyond the border of “respectable.”
My history with Venice Beach
When I was in high school, I’d skip school and drive over an hour to sit on the sand, admire the graffiti art, and use the inspiration to conjure up an essay I was stuck on.
After college, as I decided if I should go to grad school or not, I went to Venice to walk and ponder. When I made the decision to get a Ph.D. I sealed the deal with a naval piercing at Ocean Front Tattoo.
As a mom, I brought my kid here to ride the berms and taught him to boogie board in the light waves and catch sand crabs under the pier. A funnel cake always capped beach days nicely. In my lifetime, Venice has always been a place for fun, inspiration, and a little bit of edge.
Venice Beach moves with the times
Of course, that’s not to say Venice hasn’t changed! When I was a teen, folks would stand on the boardwalk handing out pamphlets about sex acts that I had never heard of before (so informative and interesting that I still have some of them!). Then, in the early 2000s, hustlers tried to usher as many people as possible into seedy shops that provided medical marijuana prescriptions. Now that we have the Internet and pot is legal, those folks have faded away, but the sense that you can learn and buy that which is illicit still hangs in the air.
See every part of LA at Venice Beach
Unlike most parts of LA, Venice is not white, black, Latino or Asian. It’s neither young nor old. With homeless folks (and general nomads) camped out in front of multi-million dollar beach houses, it spans class lines. Venice draws tourists, but also plenty of locals, probably because there’s plenty to do!
In the summer, Venice draws a lot of tourists. Like so many beaches, it can get crowded enough for the locals to find other spots. But, the rest of the year (notice the May gloom in many of these pics), Venice Beach calls the locals. Many, like me, consider Venice our beach.
Something for everyone
Some people come to play pickleball (don’t have your own gear? You can rent from a vender!), exercise (the Muscle Beach gym requires a membership, but the gymnastics equipment and handball courts are open to the public), play pick-up basketball, surf, ride bikes or skates (also rentable along the boardwalk), skate in the skatepark, fish (you’ll always see folks fishing on the shore and pier), do graffiti art, shop, eat, or let their kids play in the playground or sand (sand toys and tiny boogie boards also easily purchased nearby).
Venice Beach shopping
If you aren’t interested in getting wet or sweaty or sandy, options still abound. The Venice Beach boardwalk is, essentially, a beach-side shopping center. Shops and stalls offer all manner California souvenirs. You’ll find the classic souvenir booths with “California” and “Venice Beach” hoodies and stalls with California Bohemian flair (flowy pants, funky bags, fun jewelry). Other shops focus on crystals and sage and SoCal “mysticism.” You can also still find head shops and all kinds of options for pipes and bongs. Still others vend ponchos, Mexican blankets and trinkets that you can get cheaper over the border, but that still capture an essential Los Angeles vibe. And, when you’re looking for something inappropriate to bring home, stalls here sell t-shirts and booty shorts with all manner of inappropriate text!
Venice as craft fair
Venice Beach has another special quality: it serves as a full time artisanal fair. Along the east side of the boardwalk, stores, shops and restaurants sell more traditional fare. On the west side, artists and performers set up tents and booths to sell art and trinkets. Watch artists make art from found materials (wind chimes from tea pots anyone?), spray paint, and old LPs. Chat with painters who capture the beach, the people, and their own abstract visions. From Venice you can reliably bring home a one-of-a-kind piece of art. And you can probably bring home the origin story of the piece from the artist as well.
Venice Beach for those LA experiences
Los Ángeles offers all manner of quirky personal services. You can find them all at Venice beach. You can get your palm read or your fortune told, a henna tattoo, a real tattoo or piercing, a hair wrap or a chair massage.
Or, do you just want to soak it all in? Venice Beach has an amazing skatepark. Depending on when you go, you may see near professional (or maybe professional!) skaters doing incredible tricks or kids trying their best to learn the trade. When I visited last, I saw a small kid (maybe 8?) doing multiple flips on a razor scooter — incredible. The park is open to all comers of all levels and if you watch you’ll see they have their own code of conduct, waiting their turns and watching out for each other. When last there, I enjoyed watching to young women (girls tend to be less well represented at the park), including one in hijab, trying out their skills. You can watch for hours.
Right next to the skatepark is the grafitti zone, where graffiti art is sanctioned. The art on the walls changes constantly. Photo-ops abound (just watch out for wet paint) and often, you can watch people spray painting the walls. It’s intriguing to see how the images emerge.
Don’t forget the actual beach
Finally, as the name implies, Venice Beach is a gorgeous beach. Walk north towards Santa Monica (the pier is quite a hike but doable) or walk south towards the Venice Pier or the jetty that separates the pier from the Marina del Rey. Along the way you find a jetty with crabs and barnacles, shells and rocks, and maybe even some jelly fish. When you get to the south jetty, you may hear sea lions. They perch out on the breakers around the entrance to the marina. As you walk, you’ll pass the iconic blue life guard towers and even the pride tower.
Hungry in Venice?
Venice offers a wide range of eateries. You can get a great sit-down brunch right on the board walk (get there early so you don’t have to wait). You can choose from the iconic Sidewalk Cafe (attached to an indie bookstore) or the more eclectic Fig Tree for a delicious breakfast. For my money, I love the street food and fair food options. Look around for a vendor selling LA’s famous bacon-wrapped street dogs, especially if you have not had one yet. They’re delicious (you usually find the best versions of these outside sports games… you’ll find vendors every where when you leave an LA arena).
The boardwalk also offers all manner of “eat while you walk and look” food. You’ll find tons of ice cream and hot dogs and burgers (as well as food from around the world: tacos, empanadas, kebabs, etc). I’d argue that you shouldn’t miss the fair food — especially if your don’t have good access to funnel cakes and deep fried oreos on the regular.
Venice Beach downsides
Are there negatives to a Venice Beach visit? Of course there are. You will encounter homeless people on the beach and (more often) on the boardwalk. Venice Beach has always had its share of panhandlers and people sleeping rough, with an occasional person with a whole train of shopping carts. But, Venice Beach takes a pretty live and let live philosophy: they sleep and you walk past. During the pandemic, it’s true: the boardwalk became a significant encampment. The city struggled to clear it. But, the number of homeless folks you see now is pretty consistent with what we saw before the pandemic. People sleeping rough on the edges of the beach won’t bother you or hinder your experience (in fact, it’s part of the vibe).
You will, however, want to try to avoid using the bathroom in Venice Beach. I’ve used the public stalls many times. I don’t enjoy it, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. I prefer the ones at the very south end of the Boardwalk – one that seems to cater more to beach-goers than Boardwalk dwellers. But, regardless of which restrooms you go to, imagine urban public beach restrooms. They do get cleaned fairly often, but if you can eat lunch somewhere with a proper bathroom, do it.
Beyond the griminess, Venice Beach is crowded in the summer. That’s also part of the charm: packed boardwalk, a beach full of umbrellas, a shoreline full of swimmers. But, if you don’t love to be jostled, plan a trip in the morning. Venice people do not tend to be early risers, so arriving at 10am will probably allow you to skip the afternoon crowds.
Finally, parking is also a little tricky. But if you arrive early (again, between 9am and 10am is usually great) you should be in good shape. I can almost always find street parking within a couple of blocks of the sand. There’s also a lot at the end of Venice Blvd (right before you get to Pacific Avenue). In the morning, it’s $5 to park all day. That price will increase (maybe as high as $40 by the later afternoon!). So go early! There’s also parking right along the beach, but getting to and from it can be a little gnarly. I’d rather walk. But, if you have a lot of gear, go early and go through that Pacific Avenue light to pull right up to the beach side lot.
Venice Beach: A must-do for tourists, even if the locals are not so keen
All this to say, if you’re a local and Venice Beach is not your thing, I get it. Why struggle to park and face throngs of tourists for something you don’t enjoy? (But, if you go early, street parking is easy and Venice is the winter or in the morning, sans tourists, is a whole different beast!). But, if you’re visiting LA, put Venice Beach on your to-do list. It’s got the iconic feel of Hollywood Boulevard (the grittiness too!) mixed with the cool bohemian vibes of Melrose, mingled with the sand and the sea and the salt-smell of summer. Even if you don’t love it, you won’t forget it.