Los Angeles Guide
The South Bay and LA Harbor
Stretching south of LAX and South Central all the way to the edge of Orange County, the oceanside cities of the South Bay and the LA Harbor share little in common except their proximity to the sea and insularity from the rest of the metropolis. While the bluffs around the beaches are the province of wealthy whites, poor and working-class whites, blacks and Latinos reside many miles inland, in bland suburbs like Carson and Hawthorne, and in bleak districts like North Long Beach. Overall, though, the area's balmy climate and windswept scenery make this one of the city's most visually appealing regions, at least by the shoreline.
The South Bay begins south of the airport, with three south beach cities that are smaller and more suburban than LA's other seaside towns, and worth a brief idyll. Further south, and visible all along this stretch of the coast, the Palos Verdes Peninsula occupies a wild, craggy stretch of coastline, with some rustic parks and pricey real estate – much of it behind locked gates – while rough-hewn San Pedro is a gritty working town that forms part of the site for the LA Harbor. Its counterpart, Long Beach, is best known as the home of the Queen Mary, even though it is also the region's second-largest city, with nearly half-a-million people. Hardly a major draw for visitors, LA harbor itself is a massive complex divided between San Pedro and Long Beach, consisting of so many ship passages, trucking routes, and artificial islands that the huge Vincent Thomas Bridge had to be built to carry travelers over the entire works.
Perhaps the most enticing place in the area is Santa Catalina Island, located twenty miles offshore and easily reached by ferry. Little visited, the interior of the island remains largely a wilderness, with many unique forms of plant and animal life.