Zuma Beach Parking 2027 — Cost, Tips & Best Time to Arrive

Zuma Beach has the largest car park in Malibu: eight lots holding roughly 2,000 vehicles, per LA County Beaches & Harbors. The size is the good news. The problem is that almost every rate quoted online is wrong in one direction or the other — some sites still print a flat "$8 a day", while others say "$3 to $15" without explaining which day costs what. This page gives you the county's actual 2026–27 rate card, the hours the gates really run, the times the lot fills, and the free alternatives that work.

Zuma Beach parking rates for 2027

Rates are set by the LA County Department of Beaches and Harbors and are the same across the five Malibu lots (Zuma, Point Dume/Westward, Malibu Surfrider, Topanga and Nicholas Canyon). The county splits the year into two seasons, not two halves of the calendar:

• Winter runs from the day after the last Sunday in September to the Friday before Memorial Day.
• Summer runs from the Saturday before Memorial Day to the last Sunday in September.

Here is the county's own grid for Zuma, taken from the sheet stamped 10.06.2026. The winter weekday prices themselves ($3 / $6 / $3) have not moved since 2016, but the current sheet starts the cheap band an hour earlier than the 2016 one did — 6–8 a.m. now, not 6–9 a.m. — so read the clock band on the sheet itself rather than the one copied across the web:

Three footnotes matter. First, Zuma is the one lot on the county coast whose price really jumped: a summer Saturday here went from $10 on the 2016 sheet to $15 today, and the meters went from 25¢ per 10 minutes to 50¢ per 15. Nearly everything else on the county rate card has not moved in a decade. Second, the $3 tier is a winter-weekday thing only — on a weekend the day rate applies from the moment the gate opens, so there is no cheap early-bird weekend slot at Zuma. Third, the three summer major holidays sit outside that grid altogether: the sheet's note allows "special holiday/event parking rates ranging between $11–$20 per vehicle", and the four comparable Malibu lots print $20 in that column — budget up to $20 on Memorial Day, 4 July or Labor Day and arrive before 8 a.m.

Once you know the two seasons, the "conflicting" prices people quote resolve themselves: the $8 weekday and $15 weekend figures are the summer rates; the $3–$15 spread is the winter early-morning price up to the summer weekend price. A flat "$8 a day" is the summer weekday rate, nothing more.

How to pay — and the rules that catch people out

• Pay by licence plate at the pay-and-display station if no attendant is on the gate. Keep the receipt face-up on the driver's side dashboard.
• One vehicle, one entry. Payment buys a single entry for the day and there is no re-entry — if you leave for lunch, you pay again.
• If an attendant is on the gate, you pay the full-day rate (this is usually how it works on busy summer weekends).
• Card and cash: the pay stations take Visa and Mastercard, and $1 and $5 bills only. No change is given and there is a $2 minimum on a card, so bring a card or exact bills.
• No overnight parking at Zuma or any other LA County beach lot. The one exception in the whole county system is RVs with a reservation at Dockweiler RV Park.
• Broken machine? Call LAZ Parking on (310) 821-1081.

Zuma Beach parking hours

The county lists parking and street parking at Zuma as 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. — that window is the car parks', not the beach's. Our opening hours page carries the beach's own rule: sunrise to sunset every day, with the county's beach rules prohibiting loitering between midnight and 6 a.m. Be aware of a detail the big review sites miss: the attended lots close earlier than the street, on a seasonal calendar of their own. The county's lot-hours table puts Zuma's gates at roughly 6 a.m.–6:30 p.m. in winter and 6 a.m.–8:30 p.m. in summer, and those closing times stay on summer hours until 1 November even after the prices have flipped to winter. If you are coming for sunset in October, plan to park on the street or arrive before the gate time posted at the entrance. You can confirm the current gate hours with the county on (310) 821-1081.

Best and worst times to arrive

The rule of thumb: on a summer Saturday or Sunday, treat 9 a.m. as your deadline. The main lot fills on peak summer weekends, and the county charges the full $15 summer rate from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., so a late arrival queues, takes an overflow lot, or falls back on the street. Weekday mornings in winter are the opposite extreme — you can have most of the sand to yourself for $3.

Free and cheaper alternatives

• Street parking on Pacific Coast Highway. The roadside along PCH is free, but it fills fast on summer weekends. Treat every posted sign as binding, whoever put it there.
• Westward Beach Road (the road to Point Dume, five minutes south of Zuma) has free street parking. Do not count on it as the fallback when the main lot shuts, though: the county lists the Point Dume lot closed due to service road erosion, the access road beyond the pay gate is closed until further notice, the Birdview Avenue entrance shuts 5 a.m.–3 p.m. on construction days, and State Parks posted on 28 August 2026 that road access to the lower lot at Point Dume is unavailable. The county's Point Dume page is the one to check before you drive over.
• Arrive by bus. Metro Line 134 (Malibu – Santa Monica via Pacific Coast Highway) covers this stretch of PCH. The old Route 534 no longer exists here: it was renumbered 134 and its Point Dume loop was discontinued, so any page still quoting 534 is stale. Check Metro for current stops and times before you plan around it — no parking fee at all.
• Municipal summer beach buses. Two city-run services do reach Zuma in summer: the City of Thousand Oaks Summer Beach Bus (it drops at the Zuma lot) and the Calabasas Beach Bus. Both are seasonal and need booking ahead. The county's seasonal Beach Shuttle is not one of them — it runs the Playa Vista / Marina del Rey / Venice loop and does not serve Malibu, so do not plan around it on beaches.lacounty.gov.
• The meters, for a short stop. At $0.50 per 15 minutes, a 90-minute meter stop costs $3 — cheaper than the day rate if you are only there for a quick swim or a look at the surf.

Discounts, passes and accessibility

• Disabled placard: vehicles displaying a valid placard park free on non-holiday weekdays and pay the standard rate on weekends and holidays. Zuma has accessible spaces and beach wheelchairs available at no charge.
• Annual Senior Parking Pass: $25 a year for California residents 62 and up, valid at select county lots on weekdays and on weekend mornings until 9 a.m. (not valid on holidays).
• No annual pass gets you in free on a summer weekend at Zuma — the weekend day rate still applies.

Zuma Beach parking FAQ

How much is parking at Zuma Beach?

$3–$15 for a day, depending on season and day, and up to $20 on Memorial Day, 4 July or Labor Day. A winter weekday is $3 early or late and $6 midday; a winter weekend is $8; a summer weekday is $8; and a summer weekend or county holiday is $15. Short-stay meters are $0.50 per 15 minutes.

Is there free parking at Zuma Beach?

Not in the county lots, but there is free street parking along Pacific Coast Highway and on Westward Beach Road — though the Point Dume lot and the Westward Beach Road approach to it are closed at present (see the fallback notes above). Both fill quickly, so treat them as a fallback rather than a plan.

Does Zuma Beach parking fill up?

Yes. On peak summer and holiday weekends the main lot fills in the late morning and stays full; weekday mornings in winter are quiet year-round.

Can I park overnight at Zuma Beach?

No. Overnight parking is prohibited at Zuma and every other LA County beach lot.

What time does Zuma Beach parking open?

The lot opens at 6 a.m. Parking and street parking run to 10 p.m., though the attended gates close earlier — roughly 6:30 p.m. in winter and 8:30 p.m. in summer.

Ready for the rest of the day? See our complete Zuma Beach guide for hours, amenities and what to bring, or compare Zuma with the rest of Malibu in Zuma Beach vs Malibu Beach. The county's own parking detail lives on our parking page and in the Malibu beach access & parking master guide.

Rates and hours were verified against the LA County Department of Beaches and Harbors' parking rate sheet stamped 10.06.2026 and the county's Zuma Beach page for the 2026–27 season. LA County sets these fees and can change them; confirm before you travel.