Named after the famous European explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is a recreational complex established in 1927 and located at the foot of one of the worlds largest breakwaters protecting the Port of Los Angeles. A regional destination for beachgoers, the wave-swept Cabrillo attracts beachcombers to the tide pools in the adjacent rocky shores of the rugged Palos Verdes Peninsula. During spring and summer, onlookers watch the grunion mate and lay their eggs in the outer beachs wet sand. The protected beach has long been popular with young families who enjoy the calm harbor waters. A public boat launch allows easy access, and the breakwaters boulders have traditionally attracted fishermen and pelicans. Many of the million annual beach visitors enjoy exploring local marine life at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Los Angeless regional clearinghouse for ocean issues, which began in 1935 as the Cabrillo Marine Museum in the Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse.

Named after the famous European explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is a recreational complex established in 1927 and located at the foot of one of the worlds largest breakwaters protecting the Port of Los Angeles. A regional destination for beachgoers, the wave-swept Cabrillo attracts beachcombers to the tide pools in the adjacent rocky shores of the rugged Palos Verdes Peninsula. During spring and summer, onlookers watch the grunion mate and lay their eggs in the outer beachs wet sand. The protected beach has long been popular with young families who enjoy the calm harbor waters. A public boat launch allows easy access, and the breakwaters boulders have traditionally attracted fishermen and pelicans. Many of the million annual beach visitors enjoy exploring local marine life at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Los Angeless regional clearinghouse for ocean issues, which began in 1935 as the Cabrillo Marine Museum in the Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse.

Located on the edge of one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, the Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park is comprised of several seashore habitats found in Southern California. All are within easy walking distance of each other near the main channel of the Port of Los Angeles. They include a windswept beach and a protected harbor beach separated by one of the largest breakwaters in the world, as well as tide pools, a fishing pier, a man-made mudflat, and coastal cliffs that provide living spaces for coastal marine organisms. The combination of natural and man-made habitats here bordering the San Pedro neighborhood of the huge metropolis of Los Angeles makes this an unusual environment, representative of an urban ocean.