Before I moved to LA from the landlocked Midwest, my anticipatory fantasies usually included me carrying a striped parasol and picnic lunch to the beach every weekend. Four and a half years later, I have actually driven the few miles from my apartment to the beach maybe eight times. (It might actually be closer to six.) I just hate battling the crowds, fighting the parking wars, being at the mercy of unforgiving traffic.

Then I ventured a little beyond the Santa Monica/Venice/Dockweiler usuals, and I’m suddenly remembering why I was excited to live so close to the ocean. I found Topanga State Beach, a small stretch of sand hiding between Santa Monica and Malibu at the Topanga Canyon turnoff. Because it isn’t very big, casual driver-bys on the PCH usually don’t stop there. You’ll mostly find a handful of surfers catching waves and a sprinkling of sunbathers. It’s never crowded, there’s always tons of free parking along the PCH, and it isn’t that much farther from the other beach spots.

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