El Pescador Beach in Malibu
/El Pescador Beach ("The Fisherman") has the distinction of being the closest beach in terms of auto mileage from central Thousand Oaks, located at 32900 Pacific Coast Highway, just east of the intersection of Decker Canyon Road and PCH. Along with La Piedra Beach and El Matador Beach, El Pescador is part of the Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach.
El Pescador Beach is located about 2 1/2 miles east of Leo Carrillo State Beach and 5 miles west of Zuma Beach. Along with the other two beaches, El Pescador has a parking area (for a fee) and a porta-john. Dogs are not allowed on state beaches. There is also limited parking on PCH available, but be sure to look at the signs to make sure you don't park in a "no parking" zone.
Steep, uneven stairs lead you to the beach. Not particularly stroller friendly as a result, but it's not that far to go. This beach never seems to be crowded, which is a good thing.
You can explore trek over to La Piedra Beach from here, at least when the tide is not too high.
More information at www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=146 and at www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=633.