The South Bay splits its walking into two kinds. Flat and paved along the coast, where the Strand and the old railroad greenbelt run for miles without a hill. Steep and unpaved up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where about 1,500 acres of preserve sit above the water. Most people here end up using both.
What are the main hiking and walking trails in the South Bay?
The South Bay’s walking network runs from sea level greenbelt paths through the beach cities up to roughly 30 miles of trail across the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. The table below covers the routes people actually use week to week.
| Trail or preserve | Where | Terrain | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Parkway and the Hermosa Valley Greenbelt | Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach | Soft unpaved, flat | About 3.5 miles end to end on the old Santa Fe rail line. Easier on joints than pavement |
| The Strand | El Segundo through Torrance | Paved, flat | Shares the route with the Marvin Braude bike path. Walk the pedestrian side |
| Portuguese Bend Reserve | Rancho Palos Verdes | Dirt, steep in places | 424 acres, the largest reserve. Parking reservations required on part of Crenshaw |
| Abalone Cove Reserve | Rancho Palos Verdes | Bluff and beach | 64 acres with two coves, tide pools and bluff top views. Paid parking lot |
| Ocean Trails Reserve | Rancho Palos Verdes | Rolling coastal | 99 acres on the hillside above the water, reached from Ocean Terrace Drive |
| Forrestal Reserve | Rancho Palos Verdes | Dirt, quarry terrain | Old quarry benches and exposed rock, distinct from the rest of the Preserve |
| Madrona Marsh Preserve | Torrance | Flat, level paths | A vernal marsh in the middle of the city. Free, no reservation |
| Charles H. Wilson Park | Torrance | Paved loops | Open 6 am to 10 pm, wide paths and a lake |
| Sand Dune Park | Manhattan Beach | Loose sand, very steep | A workout rather than a walk. Reservation required from age 13 up |
What is the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve?
The Palos Verdes Nature Preserve is about 1,500 acres across 15 individual reserves, owned by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and co-managed with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy for habitat value. Eleven of the reserves have public access, including Abalone Cove, Alta Vicente, Forrestal, Ocean Trails, Portuguese Bend, San Ramon, Three Sisters, Vicente Bluffs and Vista del Norte.
Reserve hours are one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. The City publishes a separate trail map for each reserve, and posts closures and circulation changes on its trail conditions page. Separately, the Conservancy runs free public nature walks led by trained naturalists on the second Saturday of each month.
The practical point for anyone new to the Peninsula: this is not one trailhead with one map. Pick a reserve first, pull that reserve’s map, then go.
Do you need a parking reservation for Portuguese Bend?
Yes, for part of it. Street parking along Crenshaw Boulevard is available from 7 am until one hour after sunset, and reservations have been required south of Crest Road since 6 July 2022. North of Crest Road no reservation is needed. The pedestrian gate at the Burma Road Trail opens at 7 am.
Portuguese Bend Reserve was preserved in 2005 and is the largest single reserve at 424 acres, made up of rolling hills, steep canyons and rock outcrops below and east of Del Cerro Park. The City’s own description of the reserve includes the area it calls the active landslide, which is a reminder that ground conditions here move and trail alignments change with them. Check the City’s trail conditions and alerts page before you drive out, and follow posted signs on the ground over any map, including the City’s own.
Where can you walk a long way without hills?
Veterans Parkway, known through most of its length as the Hermosa Valley Greenbelt, is the flat option. It runs roughly 3.5 miles on the former Santa Fe Railroad right of way, opened as parkway in 1986, sitting between Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue and crossing from Hermosa Beach north into Manhattan Beach. The surface is soft rather than paved, which is why so much of the local running and dog walking happens there instead of on the Strand.
The Strand is the other flat route, paved, continuous through the beach cities, and shared with the Marvin Braude bike path. Walkers keep to the pedestrian side. It has the views. The greenbelt has the shade and the softer ground.
What is Sand Dune Park and do you need a reservation?
Sand Dune Park at 33rd Street and Bell Avenue in Manhattan Beach is a 100 foot open sand dune that people climb repeatedly as a workout, and it is the most demanding thing in the South Bay that does not involve a hill on the Peninsula.
Everyone aged 13 and over needs a reservation to use the dune. Reservations open at 6 am and can be made up to seven days ahead, right up to the minute before the slot. The fee is nominal and lower for Manhattan Beach residents. Children 12 and under may use the dune and the dune play area without a reservation, seven days a week, 8 am to 7 pm. The surrounding park is open 6 am to 8 pm. Book through the City of Manhattan Beach reservation page.
Where can you see native habitat without leaving town?
Madrona Marsh Preserve at 3201 Plaza del Amo in Torrance is a vernal marsh, a seasonal wetland that fills with winter rain and dries through the summer, surrounded on all sides by city. The Preserve and Nature Center are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free and no reservation is needed. The paths are level.
It is one of the few remaining vernal marshes in the Los Angeles basin, and the seasonality is the point: the same loop in February and in August shows two different places.
Are the trails open today?
Usually, but the Peninsula is the exception worth checking. Trail closures on Palos Verdes follow ground movement, storm damage and habitat work rather than a schedule, and the City’s published maps can run ahead of or behind conditions on the ground.
Two habits solve this. Check the Rancho Palos Verdes trail conditions and alerts page the morning you go, and treat the signs at the trailhead as the final word. On the flat side, the greenbelt, the Strand and Madrona Marsh are open on their posted hours year round and need no planning at all.
Hours, fees and reservation rules were verified against city sources in September 2026. Reserve access on the Palos Verdes Peninsula changes with ground conditions. Confirm with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes at 310-544-5353 or the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy before a first visit.