At 27420 Pacific Coast Highway, a wooden public staircase now ends above the sand instead of on it. High surf has stripped the shore sand at Escondido Beach and left the stair's base exposed. The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority has closed the Cliffside accessway while it looks at repairs and a possible extension of the staircase, The Malibu Times reported on October 1. No reopening date has been announced.
The 51 homes behind the gate on Malibu Cove Colony Drive face this beach, and two public routes onto Escondido Beach are still open. One of them runs under the highway, and MRCA says it is always subject to the tide. The beach itself is a narrow public-private stretch. So through the winter, the tide chart decides whether you can reach the sand and walk it far more than any gate does.
Two Gates Open, One Stair Closed
MRCA manages the public accessways on this stretch with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Its status page was last updated September 18, 2026, and lists all three Escondido routes.
| Accessway | Address | MRCA status | How you reach the sand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Escondido Creek Beach | 27148 PCH | Open | Penelope, Cole and Ava PCH Undercrossing, west of Via Escondido Drive |
| Hidden Beach | 27400 PCH, at Geoffrey's | Open | Through the restaurant grounds, then down several flights of stairs |
| Cliffside | 27420 to 27428 PCH | Closed until further notice for repairs | Wooden staircase, now cut off from the sand at its base |
The two open routes ask different things of you. The stairs at Geoffrey's work at any hour the gate allows. The undercrossing needs the right tide. With Cliffside closed, the stretch has one stair route and one tide-dependent route.
The Route Under the Highway Answers to the Tide
When MRCA opened the Penelope, Cole and Ava PCH Undercrossing, it described the path as a way to reach Escondido Beach "without having to worry how to cross the busy Pacific Coast Highway." MRCA's walkthrough video follows the route from the Metro 534 bus stop to the sand. It also notes that roadside parking is available on the inland side of PCH in this area.
The entrance sits just west of the intersection of Via Escondido Drive and Pacific Coast Highway, where Escondido Creek passes under the road. Because the route follows the creek, MRCA posts the same warning wherever it lists the undercrossing:
Access here is always subject to tidal action. Do not use this access during Los Angeles County flash flood warnings and other emergency warnings due to increased creek flow.
That language appears on the MRCA Coastal Access Program page. On a low morning tide, the undercrossing is the easy way down, with no stairs and no restaurant lot to cross. When the tide is high, it is not a reliable way down at all. It is also the open route closest to the eastern end of the beach.
Through Geoffrey's, Down the Stairs
The second open route takes you through one of the longest-running businesses on this part of the coast. The Los Angeles Times described the approach in a 2022 guide to Malibu's public beaches.
- Park on PCH where the signs allow, then walk toward the valet lot at Geoffrey's, which the Times noted has operated since 1983.
- Near the entrance, look for the brown coastal access sign and the "Hidden Beach" placard.
- Follow the arrows past the restaurant patio.
- Push through the wooden gate and take the stairs, a few flights, down to the beach.
The same Times guide noted that Escondido Beach has no restrooms. MRCA's page currently lists Hidden Beach as open. This route doesn't depend on the creek, so it works on days when the undercrossing is under water. The stairs reach the sand, but how far you can walk once you're down is still up to the tide.
Walking West Toward Paradise Cove
The walk west from Escondido toward Paradise Cove is where the tide matters most. The California Coastal Commission's older printed Malibu beach access guide warns that public-private beaches east of Broad Beach "are often not passable at high tide." Its tide-chart panel gives the rule of thumb in plain terms: avoid tides over five feet. It also reminds readers that high tide arrives about 50 minutes later each day. The guide is more than a decade old, but neither of those points depends on the year. A walk that works at 9 a.m. on Saturday needs to start closer to 10 by Sunday.
At the far end, Paradise Cove publishes its own terms. Its parking information page says the public may walk in from PCH to the pier at no charge and use the beach below the mean high tide line along the full length of the property. The restrooms, the Beach Cafe and the tables are for paying guests only. That line on the sand also moves with the tide. A low-tide walk leaves a wide public strip in front of the cove. Near high water, the strip shrinks, and so does the beach between Escondido and the pier.
If you plan to end with a meal, the Beach Cafe takes reservations and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, according to Paradise Cove. A falling tide in late morning is the easiest way to arrive on foot and still have a dry walk back.
The Dates on the King Tide Calendar
The highest tides of the season fall on three short windows this winter. The California Coastal Commission's King Tides Project lists them statewide:
- November 24 to 26, 2026
- December 23 to 25, 2026
- January 21 to 22, 2027
The first window runs through Thanksgiving Day, November 26. The second covers Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Both are weeks when guests are in town and someone suggests a walk to the cove after lunch. On those days, plan the undercrossing and the stretch toward Paradise Cove around the low point of the tide, not around the meal. Geoffrey's already has a Thanksgiving 2026 page up on its website for anyone booking a holiday table near the stairs.
Inland closures are announced separately. MRCA's October 14 notice closing its parklands for the Red Flag Warning of October 15 to 17 included Escondido Canyon Park, the trail side of this neighborhood. The notice did not name any of the Escondido beach accessways. Before heading down on a day with a warning in effect, check the MRCA Coastal Access Program page for the current status of each accessway.
The rules above come from the agencies and businesses that publish them. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the posted rules on site before you go.
At Irene Dazzan-Palmer, we follow how the routes onto Escondido Beach change with the seasons and the surf, because for homes along this stretch, access to the sand is part of what an owner holds. If you own on Malibu Cove Colony Drive and want to know how your stretch of beach figures into today's value, request a private market valuation.
