Mother's Beach in Marina Del Rey

Mother's Beach

4101 Via Marina/Washington

Marina Del Rey, CA

Parking is located off of Admiral Way next to the Cheesecake Factory.

Hours: Open daily, sunrise - sunset

Admission: Free. Parking is $6.

Ages: Toddler to 8 years old

This beach was recommended in the book "Fun and educational places to go with kids in Southern California".

Description:

"This tiny patch of waveless water, where younger children can swim, is adjacent to a large marina. A half circle of sand has play equipment, such as a big play boat, several swings, a tire swing, and slides. There are numerous picnic tables set up under a covered area right on the beach, near volleyball nets. It has pleasant scenery."

When I pointed out the little minnows swimming in the water, Astrid ran out of the water like she'd seen a shark. After reassuring her that the fish were more scared of her than she was of them, and that they were harmless, she kept reminding me she was, "Scared."

Playing inside the boat where it was nice and shady.

We're both wearing our hats. Word of caution, kids pee in the sand at the front of the boat. Astrid tried to go over there and there was a girl there throwing sand at Astrid trying to get her to go away - and we saw her squatting in the sand peeing. Her mom was no where in sight.Astrid tried so hard to make small talk with this kid. She first started talking about the water, "Water wet huh?" No response. Then she pointed to the boats and said, "Boats." Still no response. It cracks me up to see her hands behind her hips like that while she's talking to this little boy.

Five minutes later after Astrid had given up on him, the boy said to him mom, "Boat."

A picnic lunch.

Feeding the pigeons.Standing in front of the boat.

Review
Overall I liked this beach. It's perfect for toddlers in that the water is shallow and is more like a lagoon, so you don't have to worry about waves or an undertow and there's a nice playground and picnic area. But it took me 2 hours to get there because of LA traffic. Ouch! The bathrooms were also a bit icky (but that's a public restroom for ya). I may go back, but I'd like to check out the other "Mother's Beach" in Long Beach to see how it compares (and if the traffic is better going out that way).