Your Santa Monica / Los Angeles CME conference.

Santa Monica after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM local time. The Santa Monica Pier extends into the Pacific at Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue, and Palisades Park is a bluff-top park above the Pacific, so a walk along the water is an easy first choice. Third Street Promenade is the pedestrian shopping street downtown. Leave time for coastal cloud, which can linger on the beaches in late spring and early summer.

Travel, lodging and attraction entry are arranged separately. The city is simply the setting for a study day you run yourself, so pick one outing each afternoon.

The pier and Pacific Park

The municipal pier opened on September 9, 1909, and its first job was carrying sewage pipes offshore. Charles Looff built a separate pleasure pier beside it in 1916, and the Looff Hippodrome, a National Historic Landmark, still holds a carousel with 44 hand-carved wooden horses. In the 1970s the city council moved to demolish the pier, but a Save Our Pier campaign kept it, and winter storms in 1983 destroyed more than a third of it before a major restoration.

Pacific Park, on the pier, has 12 rides, including the West Coaster and a solar-powered Ferris wheel called the Pacific Wheel. Its operating hours change from day to day, so check its calendar against your 2:00 PM finish before you head out.

Palisades Park and the bluff

Palisades Park sits on a bluff above the Pacific and runs about two miles, from Adelaide Drive at the city’s northern border south to Colorado Avenue. The city describes a 26-acre park dating to 1892, with more than 1,200 trees, nearly half of them palms, planted in north–south rows. Inspiration Point is at the north end and the Millennium Wall is near San Vicente Boulevard. It is a straightforward place for a long walk when you want ocean views without a plan.

Third Street Promenade and downtown

Downtown Santa Monica describes the Promenade as a pedestrian-only esplanade of three blocks between Wilshire and Broadway, walking-only since 1965. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops and clothing and souvenir stores line it, and street performers play along the route. A renovation in 1989 gave it its name and added six topiary sculptures known as the Dinosaurs of Santa Monica, designed by Les LaLanne. The Downtown Santa Monica Farmers’ Market runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Santa Monica Conservancy offers walking tours named Main Street Walk, Third Street Walk and Downtown Walking Tour, and it keeps the Shotgun House, built in 1897 and described as the last intact shotgun house in the city. Confirm tour days ahead of time.

The beach path and the Beach House

The Marvin Braude Bike Trail is a 22-mile paved path along Los Angeles County’s coast, running between Will Rogers State Beach and Torrance Beach and open year-round. It has mile markers between beaches. LA County Public Works maintains most of it but not the Santa Monica State Beach section, so check the county’s bikeways page for closures before you plan a ride.

The Annenberg Community Beach House, at 415 Pacific Coast Highway, has a splash pad, playground, beach volleyball courts and soccer fields, plus a historic pool that is open in summer. It also offers year-round tours of the Marion Davies guest house.

Beyond Santa Monica

The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, run by the National Park Service, reaches the Malibu coast and cites more than 500 miles of trails, including the 67-mile Backbone Trail across the range. Old movie ranches such as Paramount Ranch and King Gillette Ranch are among its historic sites.

Griffith Observatory sits in Griffith Park on the south slope of Mount Hollywood and is closed on Mondays. Its page says public transportation is the easiest way to get there and that roads and parking get busy, so plan the trip rather than improvise it. Both are separate excursions from the beach, so check how far they are from your address first.

When to visit Santa Monica

The National Weather Service says marine layer clouds are most likely to form from April to August, with the greatest chance of reaching coastal land in May and June. They usually reach their greatest extent around sunrise and then thin as the surface warms, which is why mornings are often grayer than afternoons. The city notes that extreme heat, with temperatures near 90 degrees Fahrenheit, can occur for a few days at a time. Check the forecast before planning outdoor time.

Getting to Santa Monica and your study setting

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is at 1 World Way, Los Angeles, and its website covers traffic and ground transportation. Discover Los Angeles lists hotels in the Westside, Downtown, Hollywood and the Beach Cities near LAX, so the area you choose will shape your afternoons.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.