City of Hermosa Beach

SCANDAL! The parking enforcement team will find any excuse possible to give you a citation! They are thieves! I just parked in the structure behind Starbucks close to the Pier. And got a ticket for parking markings, because my wheels where touching the inside line of the marking!
This is an ABUSE. It is like stealing my oney, simply! I am so mad, I can’t believe they are fine doing that… I already know contesting won’t change anything. So easy for them to just take money from people!!!

I agree with all of the posts here about the overly aggressive parking enforcement. I had some friends visiting from out of town and they wanted to go to Martha’s (on 22^nd street) for breakfast. Finally found an open parking spot after 15 minutes of driving around and parked. After breakfast, about an hour and a half later, we returned to the car and it had a ticket. The offense was «parking space markings» whatever that means. After reviewing the parking code all I can assume is that they gave me a ticket because the front bumper was hanging about a foot or so over the painted parking mark. There was no other parking space in front of me so it’s not like I prevented someone else from getting a spot, and I didn’t want to back up the car any closer to the one behind me because they wouldn’t have enough room to get out. I am contesting the ticket. Needless to say, I will NOT be bringing any of my business to HB in the future and will instead give my business to Redondo Beach which is where I live anyway. This is very petty of HB and I hope the rat bastards read these reviews and change the policy.

I went here at about 11am on a Wednesday to get a parking permit. I can’t believe how well prepared they were. They had 3 people on staff taking parking permit customers. Though it surprised me to see 6 people all in need of parking permits on a Wednesday morning, they were ready for it. Also, everyone was very friendly, they took credit card, and there was plenty of parking. It’s good to see a city government run program operating so well.

My visit: I was here to relax for a few days prior to going to work in Culver City.
Atmosphere: Pier avenue was amazing. It was a less snooty Beverly Hills. Around 100 shops/​restaurants that are small businesses. The Strand (basically a long boardwalk) was great to bike on as they make sure people stay towards the right to ensure free flowing pedestrian, bike, skateboard and scooter traffic.
Quality of goods/​area and pricing: less tourists traps here. I had breakfast and lunch for a few days here and the meals were reasonably priced. $ 15/​pp approx. Much cheaper than other areas of LA I’ve been to.
Verdict: stay here for a couple of days if you want peace and relaxation as opposed to the hectic Santa Monica

One more here who will make it a point to never bring another dollar into the city of Hermosa Beach, thanks entirely to their super sleazy, overly aggressive parking enforcement. Not only do you have to carefully monitor your meter… making sure it properly reflects the money you insert (because they’re not 100% reliable)… you also have to make sure to move your car to another spot after two hours, even on a Sunday. If you need any more time than that, you will NOT be ok just feeding the meter a little more. They drive around chalking your tires & will issue a citation even if your meter shows you have more time remaining. One other thing… not all the meters are configured to accept payment by credit card. It isn’t very easy to tell until you’re ready to pay whether or not you’ll have to conjure some quarters. Such a disappointing & souring experience.

This is where everyone in the south bay comes to party. :P
Hermosa Beach is nice, but I prefer Manhattan Beach.
There aren’t too many places in Hermosa Beach you can park at that’s not metered.

I had a great time in Hermosa Beach!
If I told you about it, I’d have to kill you.
Or at least make sure you never talk to my mom.
Take your choice.

Party central.
If you’re over 25 in most of the bars on & around Pier Ave., you will feel very, very old. And if I were much younger that’s where I’d probably be on a regular basis cuz the streets are alive at night. I’m betting those Hermosa cops have stories to tell…
If endless pitchers of beer lost their appeal 20 years ago, pull up a bench near the Pier and just watch the action. If you can find parking, that is. And if you do snag a metered spot, it will now cost you 25 cents for 12 minutes, but meters are free near the beach in Hermosa before 10am and after 10pm. (Even parking police gotta sleep sometime, I guess.)
At dawn, Hermosa Beach is a great spot to view guys in wetsuits, I mean sunrises.
Any time of day there will be chicks playing volleyball in bikinis. Damn those hotties, all tanned and toned. Wait, where was I…
Oh yeah, I was in Noble Park at 14^th & the sand where the skateboarders hang out at dusk. This can be entertaining when the «old» guys are there to show ‘em how it’s done.
Hermosa is home to classic beach dives like The Mermaid & Poop Deck. You won’t feel old at The Mermaid no matter how old ya are, btw, and they even have a rare adjacent parking lot to provide easy access for those of us using walkers adorned with yellow tennis balls.
Obviously I have a love/​hate relationship with Hermosa. But mostly I love it & I walk the Strand frequently at sunset, like I did today.
South Bay would not be the same without the madness that is Hermosa Beach. It’s an especially wonderful place in «winter» when the fannypack-​wearing tourists are gone, along with the transients who camp out in the bathroom. It’s then that the locals have their beach back & can experience a good sandstorm in peace.
Bring lots of quarters, lots of patience, and all the tolerance you can muster.