Palos Verdes Drive around the Palos Verdes Peninsula


As South Bay beaches give way to golden-hued bluffs you’ll encounter more than 10 miles of streets hugging the coast from the Torrance border to San Pedro. Start the drive with a dramatic clifftop view toward the Santa Monica Mountains from a small parking lot at the intersection of Paseo del Mar and Palos Verdes Drive in Palos Verdes Estates.
The first third of the drive sticks mostly to spectacular real estate a few blocks inland, but after you round Point Vicente, the drive changes dramatically. For a few miles past Terranea, there’s nothing but undeveloped oceanfront hillsides and winding roads, as well as the former site of Wayfarers Chapel, which was dismantled due to rapid land movement in PV (so, you know, maybe tackle this route sooner rather than later).
Once you enter San Pedro, the drive turns more residential and industrial, but I happen to think there’s something visually arresting about that first glimpse of the Port of L.A. Consider wrapping up at the Korean Bell of Friendship for a more idyllic terminus.
14 miles; 30 minutes