| This is one of the best spots for a family retreat. A park on the bluffs has convenient wheelchair access and sweeping views of Catalina Island. The paths are smooth and level, and the entire children’s play structure has a wheelchair-accessible surface. Look for the historic photographs mounted in a case near the entrance. In the 1920s and ’30s, the beach below was the site of a hotel and spa popular with Japanese-Americans. You can still see the ruins on the beach.
The paved road to the beach is steep, so it’s best to drive down. The large patio at the upcoast end of the beach was once the dance floor of the Royal Palms Recreation Center. Now the area is a lovely picnic spot shaded by palm trees and furnished with benches. A stream (dry in the summer) runs down the cliff face, under the patio, and out to the ocean.
White’s Point, at the downcoast end of the beach is less accessible. Boulders line the shore and surround the ruins of mineral baths. In 1933 an earthquake closed the warm-water vent. There are tidepools among the rocks and ruins, but you’d have to leave your chair behind and climb over the boulders to see them.
Parking/Restrooms
There are six blue spaces in the lot at the beach, none in the blufftop lot. Park restrooms have wide stalls and grab bars.
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