One Of California's Most Accessible Beaches Is A Golden Sand Beauty With A Lively Community Center

As much as it's completely worth it, planning a vacation often feels overwhelming. Where to stay, how to get there, and what to do opens a Pandora's box of options. Layer in a need for accessibility options for travelers with disabilities, and it can seem pretty daunting. Businesses are catching on to this underserved community, which represents a $58-billion industry, sustainable tourism expert Brooke Hansen tells the BBC. 

It's been a market long embraced by the city of Santa Monica and its 3.5 miles of dazzling coastline, dubbed one of the country's top 11 family destinations when traveling by wheelchair. Thanks to logging screentime in television shows and movies such as "Baywatch," "Forrest Gump," and "Barbie," everyone wants to visit Santa Monica State Beach, one of the best beaches in Southern California, and its iconic pier so the city has made it a mission to be all-inclusive with wheelchair-friendly activities and accessible businesses, including an aquarium and community center. You can fly into Los Angeles International Airport, about 16 miles south of the beach, and a short drive later, feel those balmy breezes that day. 

There's ample beachfront parking, a mat on the wooden pier for a smoother ride, spacious restrooms, and free wheelchairs to help you ease into your visit. Take advantage of the no-cost beach/all-terrain wheelchair rentals — either electric or manual — available on a first-come, first-served basis from three seaside Perry's Cafe locations, where you can also enjoy lunch and stunning ocean views. Getting closer to the beach is also a possibility. Just under the pier, there's a boarded access ramp to the beach, which reaches about 1/4 of the way to the water. Ramps are also available at Montana, Arizona, and Ashland avenues, Bay Street, and Ocean Park Blvd.

Whether you're with family, friends, or go solo, this beach will keep you busy. Visit the pier's shops and restaurants and support the occasional outdoor performers. The pier is also famous for its indoor carousel that includes an accessible chariot with a portable ramp. Below the pier is the Heal the Bay Aquarium, home to more than 100 species and touch tanks, which also rents wheelchairs. Another popular attraction with accessible travel paths is Pacific Park, the West Coast's only amusement park on a pier, featuring an oceanfront roller coaster and a Ferris wheel. While the rides can't accommodate wheelchairs, customers can either be transferred onto the ride or stop by the boardwalk-style midway games.

You can also soak up the sunshine on Ocean Front Walk, a paved, multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists that connects the pier to nearby Venice Beach, one of the world's most filmed beaches. Part of the broader Strand, a 22-mile bike path which runs from Pacific Palisades to Torrance, this 3-mile stretch is where you can watch the agile swing through the air on the rings at the Original Muscle Beach, hit up some touristy shops, or see the fearless catch air at Venice Skatepark. 

Along the way, you can play at two universally accessible playgrounds. South Beach Park has a pirate ship, climbing structures, and swings, and North Beach Playground offers wide open spaces for littles and older kids and a sensory garden. Or relax and park yourself at the Annenberg Community Beach House. What was once the 110-room beach mansion of Marion Davies, the mistress of publisher Randolph Hearst, is now a free community hub with wheelchair rentals, a splash pad, beach courts, a playground, and a swimming pool (which does charge admission).