El Matador Beach

El Matador State Beach is widely considered the most dramatically beautiful beach in Southern California — a wild, rugged cove at the base of towering blonde sandstone cliffs, studded with monumental sea stacks and sea caves, and consistently bathed in the extraordinary golden light that has made this spot one of the most photographed coastal locations on the entire Pacific Coast. Located in western Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway, El Matador is accessible via a steep staircase from a small clifftop parking area, and is one of three adjacent state beaches (with El Pescador and La Piedra) that together form the Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach.

The sea stacks at El Matador are the defining element of the landscape — massive sandstone pillars rising from the ocean that create a maze of channels, arches, and caves passable at low tide. Walking between the rocks at low tide is one of the great Southern California beach experiences, with the combination of rock pools, sea caves, ocean vistas, and the towering cliff faces as a backing creating a visual spectacle unlike anything available at the city beaches to the south. Sunrise visits are especially magical — the light strikes the cliffs and rock faces at a low angle, turning everything to shades of gold and amber.

El Matador is not a beach for swimming or sunbathing in the conventional South Bay sense — there are no lifeguards, the surf can be powerful and unpredictable, and the rocky, irregular terrain requires careful footing. But as a destination for photography, quiet contemplation, hiking the clifftop, or simply experiencing the raw, wild Malibu coastline, it is extraordinary. The PCH drive here from Santa Monica through the Santa Monica Mountains passing the Malibu Colony and the Serra Retreat is one of the great California road experiences, and the beach itself is the perfect reward at the end of it.