Playa del Rey Beach
The beach stretches north to the inlet of Marina Del Rey. Activities such as swimming, volleyball, biking, even at times surfing and kite flying on this very wide beach area. Good water conditions except when rain prevails and pollution exits to the bay via the LA River. DO NOT swim at the beach for a three day period after a heavy rain until bacteria levels subside.

Marina del Rey
This is the largest man-made small-craft marina in the world !It’s just north of Playa, but if you travel by car, you will need to travel around the Marina to enter it. If you travel by bike or by foot, you can simply take the bike path or Pacific straight across the bridge into Fisherman’s Village.

The Ballona Wetlands
The Ballona Wetlands is one of the last remaining saltwater wetlands in Southern California. The 16.3 acre tidal wetland is a nursery and habitat for marine and mudflat creatures. It is a refuge for migrating birds and a source of peace and serenity for Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey. The wetlands have been considered sacred ground by native peoples for thousands of years. Several federal and state listed endangered species inhabit the Ballona Wetlands Ecosystem, including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, the most endangered songbird in North America. The National Audubon Society gives nature tours of the wetlands.

How do we bring surf back to del Rey?

Gillis needs to be restored to a safe jetty without destroying one of our last local surf spots. We don't need another Culver Jetty disaster (Nicknamed Tareyton Jetty in the '70's).

Playa del Rey's slowly losing it's rideable surf spots, at least within walking distance of it's community. It's reputation for good surf goes way back to the '50's with shapers like Dale Velzy R.I.P. and Hap Jacob's having a shop just north of the Creek until the Marina was built, Robert Millner of Robert's surfboards on Culver Blvd and Vista del Mar. Dewey Weber on Lincoln, Pat Rawson and Marc Verchelli from del Rey and Russell (Bob Brown and Don Anderson) from Westchester. All these shapers still very well know in the surf community, were all part of del Rey's surf community in our early days.

​The Marina has forced the surf south, No more Hubbyland and rarely does the creek break because of the breakwall protecting the Marina. And when the Culver Jetty was rebuilt after the '84 storm, that was ruined. It's rarely surfable and has become even more dangerous. The large surf breaks even closer to shore where the occasional beachgoers play. The jetty no longer holds sand like it used to. With the rocks surrounding the stormdrain, the sand would build up and create a bar for great surf and a safer shallow area for the unskilled beachgoers. Since the rocks were completely removed, the sand naturally travels south through the openings under the stormdrain. Yes, less dredging, but more dangerous shorepound for the swimmers while eliminating real surfing in the heart of del Rey.

All over the world surfing has become much more popular and is now the official state sport of California. The equipment, boards and wetsuits have improved immensely and surfing has been realized as a very powerful exercise and social activity for healthy minded people.

Salvaging the last couple surf spots and making them a little safer I believe would restore a surf culture and even better reputation than what the surfers once had in this town. Even the real estate and businesses profit in a surf community.