Zuma Beach is a County beach located at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in the Los Angeles County, Zuma is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf. It consistently ranks among the healthiest beaches for clean water conditions in Los Angeles County.

Features

Zuma is protected by the Lifeguard unit of the Los Angeles County Fire Department

Los Angeles County Fire Department

The Los Angeles County Fire Department , serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including La Habra. It should not be confused with the Los Angeles City Fire Department, which serves the city of...

, with 14 lifeguard towers on the sands proper and one of four L.A. County Section Headquarters located at the center of the beach.
Like all beaches with good surf, Zuma has its share of rip current

Rip current

A rip current, commonly referred to by the misnomer rip tide, is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore, typically through the surf line. Typical flow is at 0.5 metres per second , and can be as fast as 2.5 metres per second...

s. Visitors are encouraged not to swim or surf in front of the Lifeguard Headquarters between Towers 8 and 9, an area particularly prone to rip currents. In fact, rip currents are so prevalent that as of 2007 the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Unit uses Zuma Beach to illustrate a rip current.

Zuma Beach hosts several premier surfing events each year. With optimum wind conditions nearly daily in the late afternoon, Zuma draws many to kitesurfing

Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...

 on the northern end of Zuma Beach.

Zuma Beach can be accessed directly from PCH, and lies between the major access corridors Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Road and Kanan-Dume Road to the south, and Las Posas Road to the north. Parking is available in a large fee parking lot. Additional parking is available on the adjacent PCH.

On its southwest side, Zuma is bordered by Westward Beach. Westward is geographically situated on Malibu's westernmost promontory known as Point Dume

Point Dume

Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean.Point Dume, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island...

. Westward includes a stretch of 2-way road right at the sand's edge. Parking is available on the road as well as a fee parking lot. Westward Beach is marked by a shorter sand shelf than Zuma, a veritable pipeline, making the waves of less duration and higher impact. Westward Beach is recommended for strong swimmers, as the wave action compared to Zuma Beach is stronger, can push down on swimmers, and delivers more of a "crunch." Westward Beach is where former lifeguard Jesse Billauer

Jesse Billauer

Jesse Billauer is a well known surfer from Pacific Palisades, California.Billauer suffered an accident at the age of 17 on March 25, 1996, hitting his head on a shallow sandbar after being knocked off his surfboard by a wave...

 suffered the accident that left him paralyzed.

Facilities

• Swimming; lifeguard on duty during daylight hours
• Surfing
• Kiteboarding
• Windsurfing
• Fishing
• Bodysurfing
• Bodyboarding
• Diving (shallow)
• Volleyball courts
• Restrooms
• Outdoor showers (cold)
• Food stands, seasonal
• Parking lot
• Walkway (wheelchair accessible)

Parking: 2025 spaces (43 disabled)
Electric Vehicle - 3 inductive, 1 conductive

Emergency Usage

During emergency conditions, e.g., fire, mudslide, earthquake, Zuma Beach is the designated emergency evacuation center for evacuees. With its flat terrain, open parking lot, miles of pristine sand, and xeriscape landscaping, it serves as an optimal first response open air shelter.

Zuma Beach also sports a dedicated helicopter landing area for medical emergency airlifts to local trauma centers.

Film Location

With its proximity to the film and television industry in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Zuma Beach has been a popular filming location. It was a frequently used site for the television series Baywatch

Baywatch

Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...

 as well as numerous films, television episodes, and advertisements. The beach is referenced in the 1978 TV-movie Zuma Beach http://imdb.com/title/tt0078531/ starring Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....

.
Westward Beach has been used for innumerable films, television shows, and advertisements for decades. Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes (1968 film)

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...

s famous final scene was filmed near here (on the cliff face of Point Dume

Point Dume

Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean.Point Dume, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island...

). Countless advertisements, both film and print, that require beach scenes are shots of Westward Beach.

Event Site

Zuma Beach is home to the annual Malibu Nautica Triathlon, a benefit for Children's Hospital of LA. The swim portion begins at Zuma Beach, followed by a bicycle segment along the length of Zuma Beach north to Deer Creek Canyon, capped by a run along the sidewalk fronting Zuma Beach. In its 34th year as of 2008, the Malibu Nautica draws competitors from around the world but is best known in popular culture for the Hollywood celebrities and retired Olympic medalists who compete. Stars in recent Nauticas are Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...

, Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

, William Macy, Felicity Huffman

Felicity Huffman

Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as executive producer Dana Whitaker on the ABC television show Sports Night , which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination, and as hectic supermom Lynette Scavo on the ABC show Desperate...

, Carl Lewis

Carl Lewis

Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...

, and David Duchovny

David Duchovny

David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...

. Many television stars also compete. In 2008, athletes participating in the Nautica raised nearly $980,000 for Children's Hospital.

Music

Zuma Beach is the source of the name of Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

's album Zuma

Zuma (album)

Zuma is the seventh studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, his second with Crazy Horse, released in 1975. Some believe the album was named after Zuma Beach in Malibu; however, it seems more logical that the title comes from Montezuma, as he is featured prominently in the song Cortez The...

. It is also mentioned in the songs "Some Girls" by the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 and "Why I Came To California" by Leon Ware

Leon Ware

Leon Ware is a soul music singer, songwriter and producer. Best known for crafting the hit album, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye was assigned to the album in 1976...

.
Singers Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

 and Gavin Rossdale

Gavin Rossdale

Gavin McGregor Rossdale is an English musician, known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush as well as an actor. Following Bush's separation in 2002, which lasted for eight years, he was the lead singer and guitarist for Institute, and later began a solo career. He...

named their second child (born August 21, 2008) Zuma [Nesta Rock Rossdale]

External links

• L.A. County Coastal Monitoring Network: Zuma Beach current conditions - Current weather conditions & images website
• Zuma Beach profile