Trancas and Broad Beach, Malibu, CA

Trancas and Broad Beach is the far western stretch of Malibu, where the city thins out into bluffs, canyons and pocket beaches on the way toward the Ventura County line. Past Trancas Canyon, houses space out, the hills get closer to the highway and the coast turns rocky and quiet. Homes in Trancas and Broad Beach come in a few distinct forms. Broad Beach Road holds a long row of oceanfront houses on the sand, mostly large contemporary builds with the beach at their back doors. The beaches are the reason many people land here. Lechuza Beach is reached from Broad Beach Road, and Nicholas Canyon Beach at the west end draws surfers. Inland, Charmlee Wilderness Park up Encinal Canyon has miles of trails and a strong spring wildflower bloom, and Trancas Canyon Park adds a playground, picnic tables and a dog park. There is very little to eat inside the neighborhood itself. Trancas Country Market, just east in Zuma and Malibu Park, is the everyday stop, with Vintage Grocers for groceries and Malibu Brewing Company for a beer. Bigger shopping means Point Dume Village or the Civic Center. Distance is the tradeoff. Every errand is a drive, Santa Monica is a long haul down PCH, and summer weekends fill the shoulder near El Matador with parked cars. The highway now has roundabouts near El Matador and at Encinal Canyon Road, added to slow drivers down. Out here the sound at night is mostly wind and surf, and on a clear evening the lights of the rest of the Santa Monica Bay coast look far away.