el matador beach

My husband and I were looking for a nice beach north of LA where we could walk/hike & take in the scenery. We are not from the area & based on the trip advisor reviews, we chose El Matador. While the water splashing against the rocks are pretty, the beach itself was crowded & not big at all. We walked as far as we could and round trip was less than a mile. For a state park, requiring a $8 parking fee, I expected the facilities to be maintained. However, both the restroom facilities (Porta potties) were completely full of toilet paper and had not been emptied in quite some time. Yuck! All in all, I would choose another spot along the coast. This one was disappointing. :(

LA has various beaches and this one is spectacular and adventurous. A good scenic spot for beautiful pictures. Do not miss to take the camera with you. Kids will definitely love the place as they can play hide and seek in the cliffs

If you only have 1 hour to spend in Malibu go here! You pay for parking and walk down a crazy Hill and some stairs but it's remarkable. The caves, the boulders, the birds... So amazing. It's hard to describe the beauty. Make time to visit.

My mother and I stopped here because I had seen some pictures of the beautiful rock formations. This beach was prettier than the pictures. We went around sunset. It was a warm day and we were able to get many beautiful pictures of the rock formations. Well worth the visit if you like cool places. Parking fee was $8 at a machine and we saw a ranger checking on cars to make sure that they had a ticket as we were leaving. some cars did not pay the parking fee and received a ticket from the ranger. Thankfully we had paid for our ticket and didn't have to worry about such things.

Beautiful beach to just sit and enjoy the ocean and rocks. Went on a cool day and still Very highly recommended.

Near Primative small CA State provided parking lot well above beach on dirt drive from PCH. Pay parking machine crude, unruly and tortuous to operate (8). So get there early and have a CA State park pass on your dash. Beyond that, the long well-worn staircase takes you to the most dramatic of beaches. Off-shore kelp beds. Big surf rolls out onto the rocky coastline punctuated with towering rock formations. Walk westward (right from base of staircase) along beach. Natural tunnels allow passage out about 1/4 mile. It's a small beach. Geology indicates a major rock formation once protruded directly south from here into the ocean. Now eroded and degraded beautiful remnants remain. Beach stones are of all size. shapes, colors and compositon. Again, get there early. The locals bring beach gear and set up camp in special shaded spots and cliff caves. Bring your frisbee, water and sunscreen. The water is fridgid and rocks make for dangerous surf zones. No lifeguard.

This is a beautiful beach in itself. It has great rock formations coming off of the cliffs going into the water. In the rock formations, there are little tunnels that the waves crash into and through. This is a really awesome beach.

I used a program to determine where a nice spot near Malibu for a sunset photo would be and El Matador fit the bill. A beach with a cliff to walk down and rocks in the water. Funny, the girlfriend found that place as well through reviews. Well, it was crowded with photographers and models or engagement photo shoots. However, it was nice and the tunnels during low tide were accessible. Make sure you go during low tide. Dolphins swam by and there were the usual water fowl. Nice but crowded on a Saturday evening.

This is definitely a beautiful beach and well worth visiting, however you need to be aware of the trail and large amount of steps you have to take in order to reach it. We saw several sets of people walk towards the descent and then see how hard it was to get there (1 had a cane and another had high heels on) and then turn around and go back to their cars.There is a small parking lot at the top that requires $8 per car... and we saw the park people come around and ticket those that had not paid... so word to the wise. And the only bathrooms are 2 port a potties at the top.Once you get down to the beach it is just beautiful... clean sand, rock formations and cave areas. Fabulous place to take pictures. I actually saw whales from the beach (probably several miles out)... definitely worth going to.

This is my favorite beach in Malibu for exploring. Many stairs to get down to the beach but well worth it. Bring your camera.

The view is so beautiful! I'd like to go back!! Loved it!!! Parking was 8$ I thought it was expensive but when I saw the beach I thought it was totally worth it!

If you are in Malibu (e.g., visiting the Getty Villa, Pepperdine or other beaches), it is definitely worthwhile to stop by El Matador Beach to take some great pictures; particularly at sunset. Cool rock formations. $8 to park in the small parking lot; free parking a little farther away on Pacific Coast Highway. Be prepared to walk down a few sets of stairs and an uneven walking trail.

If you are from a city or country that does not have great beaches or a coast line, then you should not miss El Matador beach which is north of Malibu.There is a parking lot and also street parking. You can access the beach by gong thru the parking lot to steep stairs that will take you to a pristine beach called Broadbeach. Your can walk south, on the sandy beach, for several miles passing million dollar homes or just spread a towel and soak up the California.sun.When leaving the beach, if you head south on Pacific Coast Highway (CA.1), there is a great place to eat called Malibu Seafood--order a fresh seafood dinner and when they call your number, take the food to their outdoor picnic area and enjoy a great reasonable priced meal. I like to pick up a bottle of wine at the Trancas Vintage Market and enjoy if with the seafood dinner (tip--buy a wine with a screw cap if you don't have a cork puller with you). I guarantee if the weather is sunny, this will be a memorable day.

Amazing experience- very beautiful place for sunset viewing. There were several professional photo shoots going on when we were there- which made it interesting. The walk to the beach is kind of steep but worth it. There is a parking fee and parking is limited.

Amazing beach on the coast of Malibu. Less crowded than other beaches. It is different from other local beaches. There are beautiful rocks around which gives it a different look.Parking is easy. Paid parking is available inside the beach compound. One can park for free outside on the road as well.Absolutely recommended for anyone visiting SoCal