If you are planning summer travel to the Los Angeles area, there are almost too many great options for fun. They include Hollywood, Universal Studios and Six Flags Magic Mountain, shopping, dining, museums, the Zoo, Griffith Park and the many ethnic neighborhoods to be explored. But don't forget that some of the best beaches in Southern California can be found in Los Angeles County. Here, then, is a brief introduction to the numerous beach communities awaiting you.

We begin at the south, in Long Beach, home of the Queen Mary floating museum. The Queen Mary is a magnificent cruise ship that retired in 1967 and was purchased by the good city of Long Beach and turned it into one of the most talked about tourist destinations in California. It lies in Long Beach Harbor, on a peninsula out from the downtown area. There are hotels, restaurants, watercraft and boat rentals and many other activities here; the harbor keeps Long Beach from being a great surfing beach, but with charming communities like Belmont Shores and Naples (with real canals and gondoliers waiting to show you around) you can easily spend a day of your summer travel in Long Beach.

Moving north on Pacific Coast Highway, or Route 1 (aka PCH to locals) past the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, we come to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and its rocky cliffs. There are a couple of great parks and viewpoints of the ocean along the perimeter drive, but not many beach opportunities.

The next community with serious beach action is Redondo Beach. Esplanade Street runs along a nice section of sandy Redondo Beach State Park, and at the north end of town is the Redondo Beach Pier and surrounding King Harbor water sports and entertainment activities. Fisherman's Wharf and the Seaside Lagoon are there as well.

Continuing north along PCH we arrive in Hermosa Beach. This is a very respected beach community and actually is particularly well known for its beach volleyball facilities. There is fishing from the Hermosa Beach Pier, midway along The Strand beach promenade. You will find plenty of shopping and restaurant action along with the great beach; you could fill a day of summer travel in and around this town and its neighbors.

Next is Manhattan Beach, which also has its own pier and Manhattan State Beach park. Take Manhattan Beach Blvd west from the I-405 freeway and you'll find yourself right in the middle of things.

To the north of Manhattan Beach are some industrial areas and the LAX Airport complex. Dockweiler State Beach runs parallel to the airport frontage and above that is the marina del Rey small boat harbor (and many multi-story, ocean-view residential buildings along with some good restaurants).

Just north of Marina del Rey is the funky town of Venice. It's hard to describe Venice Beach, except to say that a good percentage of the most eccentric folks tend to gravitate here, especially on summer weekend afternoons. The beach is nice, though, and this town is worth trying to fit into your summer travel plans.

Santa Monica has its pier and amusement center along Santa Monica State Beach. Downtown Santa Monica is just at the top of the bluffs; look for shopping and a variety of dining options on and around Montana Avenue.

Continue on PCH another 10 miles or so and you'll arrive at Malibu, home to many celebrities and Pepperdine University. There are a couple of great surfing beaches in and around Malibu, where the original Gidget movie was located.

There are many miles of great beaches in Los Angeles County. One thing to realize though, is that parking can be a challenge on a busy summer weekend. You might consider hitting the beach on weekdays if that works into your summer travel schedule.

Michael Key has written about a variety of technical and travel topics for three decades. For more information on summer travel to LA check out the SoCal Vacation Guru website at http://www.socal-vacation-guru.com.