Will Rogers State Beach, State beach in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, US.

Will Rogers State Beach is a 1.75-mile sandy beach park on Santa Monica Bay in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. The sand slopes gently to the water, with a light blue lifeguard tower on stilts near the lower left and dark rocks edging the sand to the far right. A low grassy bank separates the beach from a large parking lot above.

Will Rogers bought about 1,300 feet of oceanfront in the 1920s and assembled a 345-acre ranch in what became Pacific Palisades. After his death in a 1935 plane crash, his widow Betty planned to give the oceanfront to the state; the beach was dedicated on July 26, 1942, with Governor Culbert Olson and Mayor Fletcher Bowron present. Betty Rogers died in 1944, two weeks after deeding 186 acres for the adjoining Will Rogers State Historic Park.

Named after Will Rogers, an entertainer who owned a nearby ranch in the 1920s and 1930s, the beach reflects the area's connection to Hollywood and performance arts. His legacy remains visible in the way locals and visitors use the beach for recreation and casual gatherings, continuing a tradition that began almost a century ago.

Access is directly from Pacific Coast Highway, where several parking areas fill up quickly on weekends and during summer months. Facilities such as restrooms and outdoor showers are available near the sand, and the beach is relatively flat, making it easy to walk along the shore or set up for a day by the water.

The beach appears regularly in television shows and films, so parts of the shoreline may look familiar to viewers who have never visited in person. On certain days, film crews set up equipment along the sand, giving passersby a chance to watch productions in progress and see how coastal scenes are shot for the screen.