El Matador State Beach
Malibu · Los Angeles County · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = our reading
Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.
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Coastal Bulletin
About El Matador State Beach
Why it reads 14–18 ft
Medium confidence
7-Day Forecast
Today is the live headline above. Tomorrow onward is the algorithm's forecast from predicted swell, wind, and rain, updated each morning and at 6 PM Pacific.
Map and parking
Malibu, CA 90265
Small bluff-top paid lot at 32350 El Matador Beach Road off Pacific Coast Highway, day-use fee. The lot holds approximately 30 cars and fills before 9am on weekends. Free shoulder parking on PCH is unsafe and ticketed. Beach access is via a dirt path and a steep stairway down the bluff.
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See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
About El Matador State Beach
El Matador State Beach sits at the base of a 100-foot bluff in western Malibu, one of three pocket beaches that together make up Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach. La Piedra State Beach lies about half a mile to the east, and El Pescador State Beach another half mile beyond that. The defining feature at El Matador is a cluster of sandstone sea stacks rising directly from the surf, with channels, small arches, and sea caves between them that can be walked through at low tide. Tide pools form in the rock at the base of the formations. The only public way down is a dirt path and steel stairway from the bluff-top lot at 32350 El Matador Beach Road, off Pacific Coast Highway. Photography is the most visible use; swimmers stick to the central sand pocket between the stacks.
Biomes here
Species found here
Researched habitat and range candidates. A listed species may be seasonal or depth-limited; this is not a confirmed sighting at this location.
Spot strategies
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