El Porto Beach, Public beach in Manhattan Beach, California

El Porto Beach is a public beach in Manhattan Beach with volleyball courts on the sand and a paved path for cycling and skating along the coast. The shoreline runs north to south with distinct areas for different water and land activities.

El Porto Beach lies in Santa Monica Bay beside El Porto, now part of Manhattan Beach, between El Segundo Beach and Manhattan Beach, and is protected under the state park system. The County of Los Angeles manages it as a public beach, with the entrance to its metered parking lot at the west end of 45th Street off Highland Avenue.

El Porto takes its name from the old El Porto district, now part of Manhattan Beach. Surfers from near and far come for the underwater canyon that makes waves here bigger than at neighbouring beaches, with lefts and rights breaking over sandbars even when other spots are flat.

The beach entrance and parking with meters are located at the western end of 45th Street, with restrooms, showers, and a snack stand nearby. The area can get busy during warm months, so arriving early gives you better choices for parking and space.

El Porto's waves break over sandbars as lefts and rights, and can hold up to double overhead — twice a surfer's height — when neighbouring beaches are flat. The beach sits beside the Chevron oil refinery and a gas-fired Edison generating facility, with the Hyperion sewage plant and Scattergood generating station also close by.