The best traffic-free bike rides around Manhattan Beach

Long stretch of car-free public beachfront, only accessible by an excellent bike/pedestrian boardwalk trail.

This is your quintessential beachside food stand: Lots of shade, cold drinks, frozen treats, and good food, too. It typically opens in mid-May.

Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove. The region shared by Torrance and Redondo Beaches is often called “RAT Beach” (short for “Right After Torrance” Beach or “Redondo and Torrance Beach”). This beautiful, soft sand beach has 40 acres of beach and is at the foot of cliffs which extend to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. There restrooms, a concession stand, showers, bike path, beach wheelchairs, and volleyball nets. Torrance Beach is great for swimming, fishing, scuba and skin diving, and surfing.

This is the northern end of the beach section with fire rings, the only one on LA Bay allowing fires🔥, BBQ parties, the works. At low tide the sand along the water is firm enough to ride for most tires. Dockweiler State Beach has 3.7 miles of ocean frontage and 288 acres of beach. Amenities include restrooms, showers, picnic facilities, fire rings, and volleyball nets. The Marvin Braude Bike Trail, also known as the beach bike path, is readily accessible, which many visitors use for roller-blading, jogging, and of course, bicycling. Jetties at the north end of the beach provide ideal fishing opportunities. Shore fishing is also popular. The beach is home to a fenced enclosure for the western snowy plover, a federally protected shore bird. The beach is quite expansive with lots of sand. In the summer it can get quite busy, especially towards the evening when everyone is trying to gather around one of the various fire rings. The only drawback here is its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport; the noise can get quite loud for some. The nearby parking lots have over 1,200 spaces and there are so many activities available and the south end has a Recreational Vehicle Park with 118 full hook-up spaces. Nearby is the Dockweiler Youth Center, which offers a multi-purpose room and terrace, youth camps, and community programs. Free access on bikes https://beaches.lacounty.gov/dockweiler-beach

Noble Park is a small park right on The Strand. The Millennium Walkway winds through this small park that is a little more than an acre in size. This is a popular place for kids to learn how to ride a bike before graduating to the strand. There are tall palm trees here and a few grassy hills, but not much else. It's small and a nice stop along a beach ride.

Torrance Beach sometimes goes by another name: locals call the last sandy stretch before the Palos Verdes cliffs "RAT" Beach, meaning "Right After Torrance." Torrance Beach, nestled between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove, features 40 acres of soft sand at the base of cliffs extending to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. With over 300 parking spaces, many at the end of the Esplinade, the beach offers restrooms, showers, a concession stand, bike paths, and volleyball nets. It's a popular spot for swimming, fishing, scuba diving, and surfing.

Miramar Park, located on 1.6 acres above Torrance Beach, offers pristine ocean views and easy access to the shoreline via a ramp or staircase. Owned and maintained by the City of Torrance, the park was dedicated in 1984 after a collaborative effort with Los Angeles County to secure beach access. It features benches, security lighting, whimsical animal statues, and a plaque marking the historic site of the Hollywood Riviera Beach Club, which existed from 1931 to 1958. The park also includes a “Fido Fountain” for dogs and marks the end of the upper Esplanade.

Wonderfully soft sand and water that only gets deeper slowly. Quite cool though, the Pacific doesn't warm up as quickly as the Baltic Sea. The infrastructure is very good, everything you need is there.