Visit the Santa Monica Pier

Visit the Santa Monica Pier

At the very end of Route 66, the vintage Carousel at the Santa Monica Pier has been entertaining families since 1922. A day spent boogie-boarding or surfing on the beach can make a kid hungry. In addition to the merry-go-round, the pier at Santa Monica has county-fair style attractions like food vendors, a game arcade and other rides. Also on the boardwalk is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, a family-friendly themed restaurant with plenty of fresh seafood dishes.

Kid have fun playing at the beach, running through the waves and picking up sea shells and building sand castles. The boardwalk is a world of fun on its own; kids enjoy looking down between the cracks to see the ocean waves underneath. If you walk out to the end of the boardwalk, there's a telescope and occasionally you can see Catalina island or spy on passing cargo ships. You may see California Sea Lions, dolphins playing in the surf or migrating whales. It's windy at the end of the boardwalk, though, so bring a jacket or keep moving.

If you happen to visit on a full moon between March and September, you can take part in a traditional Southern California Grunion Run. Thousands of silvery fish, five or six inches long flop around on the shore to spawn and then return to the sea. If you're quick, you can catch them by hand. For adults, removing them from the beach is only legal with a fishing license, but kids under 16 are permitted to remove them. Catching them, even just to throw them back, makes for a memorable bit of fun.

Santa Monica Pier
200 Santa Monica Pier # A
Santa Monica, California 90401
(310) 458-8900
www.santamonicapier.org

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
301 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, California 90401
(310) 393-0458
www.bubbagump.com

Source: www.trails.com