Manhattan Beach Sports & Outdoors

The waves are nice, and if you can avoid the pier, this is a great place to surf.
There are lifeguards nearby and this place is not so far from Los Angeles city, so is great access to the Pacific Wave.

Equipment: Of course you need a surfboard, and bring your sun cream too. Parking can be hard depending on when you come.

The Surf festival is held the first weekend in August, for more information check out website below for the calendar of events. You will find on this calendar an event for every day in August.

A few of the activities during the Surf Festival.

WRSA Surfing Championships by Body Glove — Manhattan Beach at 45th Street.

International Bodysurfing Championship — Manhattan Beach Pier.

Volleyball Tournament — Manhattan Beach Pier 6-Man / 6-Woman

Velzy-Stevens Pier-to-Pier Paddleboard Championship --- Manhattan Beach Pier,

Sand Castle Design Contest — Manhattan Beach Pier, South Side.

Equipment: What you can't bring with you, you can rent.

Many people like to ride their bikes along the beach area here. You can ride from Redondo Beach to El Segundo and beyond without having to get off. You will still find yourself stopping and getting a snack or a drink along the way at one of the many little shops or just stopping to take in the beautiful view of the beach, the sun and the people.

Equipment: Bike, rollerblades or feet

Manhattan Beach seems to be the Beach Volleyball mecca of Los Angeles. There are basically hundreds of poles here waiting for people to put up a net and play.

A big Beach Volleyball tournament takes place here every August.

Equipment: I have no idea where to get the nets from, if you rent them or bring your own ones.

In this picture is the Volley Ball Team sponsored by Virtual Tourist .
These guys were very good and much fun to watch.I am not sure how well they did in the
Competition.
I think the spectators thought they did very well.
Not bad playing for Hula Dancers.

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Well, what can I say? I live at the beach. We surf. We enjoy the water. The water doesn't get too warm, but in Sept, it will usually get warm enough that you can do away with just a rashguard. Most of the year, you will need a full suit. El Porto is the northern-most part of Manhattan Beach where you can surf. Most of the time, the waves are about 3-5'. Sometimes, we do get some pretty big swells and that's when you'll see a line of cars in the wee hours of the morning.

Equipment: There are plenty of surf camps and surf instructors. You can rent from a place called Player's Surfboards. It's located above a liquor store on Highland Ave. I've included their phone number and address below.

One of Manhattan Beach's annual volleyball tournaments also happens to be one of the craziest sports activities I have every seen. The 6 man tournament is a volleyball activity that allows anyone to participate as long as you have a team of 6 people and all of you dress up in a theme.

Beach volleyball is best played on the sandy terrain of Manhattan Beach. Host of the sport's premiere tournament (Manhattan Beach Open) since 1960, the city can boast of popularizing the
sport worldwide. Don't be surprised if you encounter a top pro athlete spiking and killing the ball while touring the main beach.