Living in Southern California means having a lot of beautiful hikes along the coast. Rancho Palos Verdes is a community south of Los Angeles known for its beautiful cliffs and many coastal hikes. One of our favorites hikes in this area is the Terranea Discovery Trail.
It’s a 2.2 mile out-and-back moderate hike that goes along the ocean cliffs down to the beach.
About the Terranea Discovery Trail
The Terranea Discovery trail is a gradual slope from the parking lot off of Palos Verdes Drive down to Terranea Beach. It’s mostly dirt with some pavement, and is stroller-friendly, except for some stairs towards the end. Since the trails is very gradual with a well-marked path, it’s very family-friendly and you can take children of all ages on it.
On most of the trail, you have beautiful views of the ocean and some scenic stops along the way. The trail is lined with bushes and palm trees, but there’s no shade so it may get hot during the middle of the day.
Midway through the trail, you walk a short distance on a paved road through the buildings of the Terranea Resort.
After walking down some wooden stairs, the trail ends at Terranea Beach, a small sand and pebble cove. So it’s not the best beach to hang out at and play, but it does have some nice scenic views.
Next to it is Hudson’s Bluff Sea Cave, a cave that you can climb up to and see the tide go in and out of. Though not too difficult or dangerous, climbing up this section is recommended of older kids and adults.
Trail map of Terranea Beach Hike
Here’s a map of the trail from All Trails:
How to get to Terranea Discovery Trail
This is a map with the marker at picnic area just shortly after the start of the trail. Routing it here will take you to the trail entrance. There are plenty of parking spaces, and the trail starts from the south end of the parking lot.
Terranea Bluff Park
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Watch our video to get an idea of the trail:
