Malibu , at the top of the bay twenty miles north of Santa Monica, is a whole other world, its beach-colony houses owned by those famous enough to need privacy and rich enough to afford it. It's not all that impressive on arrival, however, with ramshackle surf shops, fast-food stands and real-estate agents scattered along PCH around the graceful Malibu Pier , 23000 PCH. Surfrider Beach here was the surfing capital of the world in the 1950s and early 1960s, as seen in the Beach Blanket Bingo movies of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon (the surf is at its best in late summer). Just beyond is Malibu Lagoon State Park (daily 9am-7pm; parking $6), a nature reserve and bird refuge, and nearby is the Adamson House (daily 8am-sunset; $3), a stunning Spanish Colonial home, mixed with Moorish and Mission Revival elements, featuring opulent decor and colorful tilework.

Most Malibu residences are tucked away in an insular community in the narrow canyons on the fringes of town. There's very little to see, despite tourists' futile attempts to peek into the exclusive Malibu Colony celebrity retreat, located along an unmarked stretch near PCH. You'd do better to visit Malibu Creek State Park , on Las Virgenes Road to the north near Mulholland Drive, once used by 20th Century-Fox, which filmed many Tarzan pictures here, as well as the TV show M.A.S.H. The 4000-acre park includes a large lake, some waterfalls and nearly fifteen miles of hiking trails. Another park further west, the Paramount Ranch , 2813 Cornell Rd, provided that movie studio's exterior sets, and still features a faux-Western town that may be familiar to viewers of TV's Dr Quinn Medicine Woman .

Five miles along the coast from Malibu Pier, Zuma Beach is the largest and most crowded of the Los Angeles County beaches. Adjacent Point Dume State Beach , below the imposing promontory of Point Dume, is a lot more relaxed, and the rocks at its southern tip, Pirate's Cove , are a good place to view seals and migrating gray whales in winter.

Malibu

• Malibu

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