Hermosa Beach is a friendly town in the South Bay of Los Angeles. If you're looking for the "typical" Southern California beach town experience, you'll enjoy the laid back attitude, athleticism, and festive nightlife of the Beach Cities: Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach. Each provides a unique cultural experience, but they're connected by the strand paved path that runs along the beach.

By day, locals can be found playing volleyball on the beach, running/cycling/rollerblading along the Strand, or congregating around the Pier Avenue shopping area. By night, the bars and restaurants along Pier Avenue become crowded with young people, while the patios and decks of the tightly packed residences buzz with the chatter and bustle of private parties.

Get in

From downtown or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) take terminal shuttle or Green line to LAX/Green Line Station. Then take Beach Cities Transit (BCT) 109.

The Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) is the main north-south route through Hermosa Beach.

Get around

On foot, bicycle, car, bus, or ferry. Use beach cities transit.

See

• Hermosa Beach. The main thing to see in Hermosa Beach is the beach itself along with the bicycle and pedestrian walkway called The Strand. The sand and sun, combined with the tanned, fit beachgoers strolling down The Strand exemplify the stereotype of California beach culture. 
• 1 Hermosa Beach Pier. This pier has a statue dedicated to a pioneer in surfing. On a summer weekend, go to the Strand at the Hermosa Beach Pier, and see how many wheeled devices will pass you in 10 minutes. Bicycles, tricycles, roller skates, scooters, roller blades, etc.  

Do

• Grab a towel and soak up the sun on the beach.
• Rent a bicycle or rollerblades and travel along The Strand from Redondo Beach up to Santa Monica. Shops near Pier Avenue will rent bicycles or rollerblades.
• Play in the water. Although the water along California comes down from an Alaskan current and can be chilly, when the weather's warm, it can be very enjoyable. Shops around Pier Avenue will rent surfboards or you can buy a boogie board.
• Go fishing off the Hermosa Beach Pier.
• Fiesta Hermosa. Memorial Day and Labor Day. For the past 36 years, the "largest arts & crafts fair in Southern California". Over 270 artists and crafters are featured, including painters, photographers, ceramicists, jewelers, sculptors, and handicrafters. People flock to Fiesta Hermosa each year for not only the art fair, but for the Music which is always of the highest caliber. Fairgoers rave about the Food Court, which offers 18 different kinds of ethnic food choices. The festival offers something for everyone, there is a Kiddie Carnival that features a 30 foot slide, mechanical rides, rock climbing wall and bungee jump, and games for kids from 3 to 10 years old. Pony rides, a Petting Zoo, and facepainters are sure to delight the little ones. The festival takes place every Memorial Day and Labor Day Weekend (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) in downtown Hermosa Beach, along Pier and Hermosa Avenue. With the ocean as a backdrop, Hermosa Beach is an ideal place for a summer festival with temperatures of 80 degrees and balmy sea breezes. 
• Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association Annual All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast. The HBFA Pancake breakfast is a fundraising event held on Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and is a unique opportunity to join over 900 members of the community for a breakfast cooked and served buffet-style by your firefighters. Eat breakfast inside the firehouse, meet the firefighters, and bid on many of the exciting auction items all to benefit your community. Kids can sit in the fire trucks and ambulances, get their photos taken with the firefighters and Sparky the Fire Dog, and see the inside of the firehouse. 

Eat

• Paciugo Gelato Caffe, 1034 Hermosa Ave (Pier & Hermosa Avenue), ☏ +1 310-379-2525. 11AM - 11PM. Paciugo freshly prepares its authentic Italian gelato and sorbet each morning, serving 30 to 38 flavors daily. Based on third-generation Italian recipes, Paciugo has faithfully and authentically created over 200 flavors of gelato. Paciugo gelato is authentically made with the highest quality ingredients and no preservatives. Since Paciugo recipes call for no cream or butter, the fat content is 3.5% (a little higher for flavors that contain cocoa and nuts), considerably less than ice cream, making Paciugo a more wholesome and nutritious product. The milk-based gelato is 70% lower in fat than premium ice creams, while the fruit-based product is fat free. This results in a richer taste and smoother texture versus conventional ice cream. 
• Good Stuff, 1286 The Strand (at 13th Street), ☏ +1 310 374-2334. A South Bay landmark, Good Stuff has good lunch/brunch food at affordable prices. There's a large outdoor patio facing the beach with great opportunities for people watching as they bike or skate down The Strand. Fills up fast on weekend mornings. $10-15. 
• The Spot, 110 Second St, ☏ +1 310-376-2355. Another South Bay landmark, The Spot is a vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant is off of the Strand and as with most beach cities parking is strictly enforced, read the signs. 
• Planet Earth Eco Cafe, 509 Pier Ave, ☏ +1 310 318-1888. A recently opened all-organic vegetarian cafe/sweet shop. Ground-breaking and full of vegan options, including great raw organic hemp shakes made by the famous Tommy Adams. Free wi-fi as well! 

Drink

• Lighthouse Cafe, 30 Pier Ave, ☏ +1 310 376-9833. M-Th 6PM-2AM, F 4PM-2AM, Sa-Su 11AM-2AM. A venerable jazz institution in Los Angeles County, the Lighthouse has also seen the best of the LA area's rock music get its first start. 
• Pier Avenue. The hot spot for singles and the young. 
• Sangria. Hip-hop club 
• Patrick Malloy's. Irish Pub with suburbanites letting off steam for the weekend 
• Sharkeez. Young party crowd, always crowded. Good food. 
• Blue 32, Hermosa Ave (1/2 block north of the Pier). Smaller Hollywood-type club. 
• The Shore (next door to Blue 32). Another smaller Hollywood-type club. 
• Fat Face Fenners Fishshack (Fenners), 53 Pier Ave, ☏ +1 310 379-5550. Boston themed bar. Local watering hole. 
• The Poopdeck (The 'deck), 1272 The Strand. Cash only dive bar. Come for the name, stay for the atmosphere. 

Sleep

• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 125 Pacific Coast Highway, ☏ +1 310 798-9898. 
• Quality Inn and Suites, 901 Aviation Blvd, ☏ +1 310 374-2666. 68 rooms and suites. 
• Surf City Hostel, 26 Pier Ave (Enter at the door just left of waterman's bar the hostel is on the 2nd Floor). Cheap beds, perfect location. Easy transport to the airport $20 taxi or take beach cities transit bus 109 stop located along hermosa ave to the LAX/Green Line station then take the free LAX shuttle to airport terminal 

Go next

Routes through Hermosa Beach

Santa Monica ← Manhattan Beach ←

N  S

→ Redondo Beach → Long Beach