Fig. 1: Point Dume State Park, Malibu, California
This was my first time visiting the beautiful Zuma Beach peninsula right by Malibu, California. Driving right to the tip of the peninsula is the wonderful state park area. You can hike to the top of the hill with beautiful views, you can hike down to the beach ( Matthew McConaughey surfs there, by the way, Surfer, Dude is up in theaters in September 2008 ). Story continues, below...
But I needed to park my car first. There is a miniscule parking space for about 10 cars on the beach side of the Cliffside Drive, and there is what looks like, additional parking on the other side. Driver beware! There are super small no parking signs there! However, many people park there so more people park and feel it is okay, and they do not look for the signs. Possibly because of the beautiful ocean view!?!
Anyhow, today I and ten (10!) other cars got a $64 parking violation ticket for parking there!!
Fig. 2: The ten cars that got a $64 ticket today!
I'm posting this blog to raise the awareness of these hideous and annoying "parking" places that are just local community money machines!
What alternatives does one have for parking there and enjoying the beautiful Pt Dume Park and the beach?
The 10 parking spots are definitely insufficient, and even they are limited to 2 hours! It takes at least 1 hour to hike the cliff and it takes at least 30 minutes to hike down to the beach!
I have not seen any street parking anywhere near?! Is there any?
I have seen a bus stop saying that bus stops there every 1/2 hour in the summer. But where does it take you? Where would be a good place to park the car (for hours) and take the bus to Pt Dume?
Fig. 3: The two-hour limit miniscule parking lot.
I invite anyone to comment with any of these answers and to post links to other parking ticket traps in the Los Angeles, CA, USA, or for that matter, the entire world! Maybe we can create a map of nice places to visit with instructions on what to be careful about. So we can enjoy the places to the fullest!
P.S.: See the exact location on panoramio:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12791684
P.P.S: Here is the official web site for Pt. Dume State Beach where the annoying parking ticket was issued:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=623. Here are the other beautiful California State Parks:
http://www.parks.ca.gov.
I'd like someone to comment if they found parking or traffic issues at other state beaches or state parks.
