Two beaches in LA county allow bonfires: Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. Every other stretch of sand from Malibu to Long Beach is off limits for open flame, no exceptions, no personal fire pits, no grills on the sand. Before you load the car, check current pit status. Dockweiler's pits were pulled in early 2025 over wildfire air quality concerns, and you need to confirm they're back before you drive out.
That last part matters more than most guides let on. A lot of what's floating around online about Dockweiler bonfires predates this year's disruptions entirely, so treat anything you read (including this) as something to verify same week, not same season.
the only la county beaches where bonfires are legal (and one 2025 status update you need to check first)
Fires of any kind on LA county beaches are allowed only at two spots: Cabrillo Beach and Dockweiler Beach, and only inside designated rings. That's the entire list. Every other beach in the county, Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Zuma, whatever's closest to you, prohibits open flame on the sand entirely.
The reason there are only two comes down to air quality regulation more than anything else. Open beach fires got scrutinized hard over the years for smoke and particulate impact on nearby neighborhoods, and the county narrowed legal bonfire spots down to these two locations with permanent, contained rings rather than let people build fires wherever on open sand. That's the tradeoff: fewer legal spots, but the ones that remain are actually set up for it.
Here's the update that most existing guides miss entirely. Dockweiler's fire pits were temporarily removed in early 2025 due to ongoing wildfire air quality issues in the region. If you're planning a night out there, do not assume the pits you saw in a five-year-old blog post or a friend's Instagram story from 2022 are sitting there ready to go. Call ahead, check the county beaches site, or ask in a local group chat before you commit a Saturday night to it. There's also an ocean water advisory tied to fire runoff contamination that has, at various points, extended from Surfrider Beach down toward Dockweiler near World Way. If you're bringing people who want to get in the water before the fire starts, check whether that advisory is still active.
dockweiler beach fire pits: the rules, the pit count, and exactly how early to arrive
Dockweiler has roughly 40 fire pits clustered in front of the RV Park and the first two parking lots off the Imperial Highway entrance. That's the number per LA county's own beaches site, though it's worth noting the LA Times has described the beach as hosting "more than 80 free firepits" in past coverage, so the discrepancy likely reflects pits removed during the 2025 disruption rather than a reporting error. Confirm the current count before you go.
The rules themselves are simple but strict. Any grill or BBQ has to fit inside the two-foot-wide pit itself. No grilling directly on sand, no flames outside the ring, no personal fire pits or portable grills set up anywhere on the beach or in the parking lot, even if you brought your own. Rangers do check.
On timing: if you've done this before, you already know the real answer isn't posted anywhere official, it's tribal knowledge passed between people who've been burned (pun intended) by showing up too late. One reader put it plainly: 6am is the latest she'll go to be sure of a good spot. That's not an exaggeration for a Saturday in summer. Pits fill fast, especially the ones closest to the RV Park, and by mid-morning on a warm weekend the whole front row is claimed with coolers and folding chairs marking territory hours before anyone lights anything.
Parking runs up to $13, and as of August 2025 the Dockweiler RV Park lot went cashless, so bring a card or mobile pay, not cash. If you're rolling up with a group and someone's planning to grab cash from an ATM on the way, tell them not to bother.
cabrillo beach in san pedro: the quieter second option most guides ignore
Cabrillo Beach, at 3720 Stephen M. White Dr in San Pedro, is the other legal LA county bonfire spot, and almost nobody writes about it with any real detail. Most guides mention Dockweiler and stop there, as if it's the only option in the county. It isn't, and if Dockweiler's packed or its pits are still down, Cabrillo is worth the drive south.
The tradeoff is real: Cabrillo draws a smaller crowd than Dockweiler on a given Saturday, which means better odds of getting a pit without a 6am arrival, but also means less of the roaming, mingling energy that makes Dockweiler nights social by default. Same rules apply, contained rings only, no personal pits or grills outside them. If you're bringing a smaller group, or you specifically want a quieter night with fewer strangers wandering between pits, this is your move.
near-county options worth knowing: leo carrillo, point mugu, and bolsa chica when dockweiler is full
When Dockweiler's pits are full, gone for the season, or just too far from wherever you're starting, LA residents reportedly head to two spots just outside county lines: Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu and Point Mugu State Beach in Camarillo. Neither is technically LA county, but both get real use from Angelenos who've struck out closer to home.
Leo Carrillo sits at 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, right up near the Ventura county line, close enough that it functions as a de facto backup for LA county residents rather than a separate destination. Point Mugu State Beach, further out in Camarillo, is the same story: not LA county, but firmly in the rotation for people who've made the Dockweiler-is-full drive before. Neither of these swaps replaces the convenience of staying in county, but both beat driving home disappointed with a truck full of unburned firewood.
If none of the beach options pencil out, there's a non-beach backup worth knowing: El Segundo Recreation Park at 401 Sheldon St has fire pits too. It's not sand and surf, but it's a real fallback for a group that just wants a fire and doesn't care where.
| spot | neighborhood | best for | logistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dockweiler State Beach | Playa del Rey | big groups, meeting people | ~40 pits, arrive by 6am weekends, parking up to $13, cashless RV lot |
| Cabrillo Beach | San Pedro | quieter, smaller groups | fewer crowds, same ring rules, easier weekday access |
| Leo Carrillo State Park | Malibu, near Ventura line | backup when Dockweiler's full | not LA county, further drive |
| El Segundo Recreation Park | El Segundo | non-beach backup | fire pits, no sand or surf |
what to bring to a beach bonfire in la: the complete list from wood to water
The essential list is shorter than people expect, but skipping any one item turns a good night into a cold, dark one. Bring firewood (pits don't come stocked), matches or a long lighter, water for dousing, and something to sit on since sand chairs sink fast once the tide comes in.
Beyond the basics: warm layers, because beach nights in LA drop temperature faster than the daytime heat suggests, especially near Dockweiler where the ocean wind picks up after sunset. Trash bags for your own cleanup. A cooler, food that doesn't need a grill grate since your grill has to fit inside the pit itself. Flashlights or headlamps, since the walk back to the parking lot in the dark with sandy feet and a cooler is nobody's favorite part of the night. And cash is out at the Dockweiler RV Park specifically, so a card or phone for payment is non-negotiable there.
What you can't bring matters just as much. Personal fire pits, portable grills set up outside the designated rings, and any flame directly on the sand are prohibited across every LA county beach, not just discouraged. Rangers patrol for this, and it's an easy way to get shut down early.
group bonfire logistics: when you need a permit and how to plan for more than 50 people
If your group is under 50 people, you don't need a permit, just a pit and a plan. Cross that threshold and LA county requires one, which changes the math if you're coordinating a big birthday, a work outing, or a multi-friend-group meetup that's ballooned past a casual hang.
Most bonfire nights never get close to that number. A typical group claims one or two pits, brings enough wood for a few hours, and calls it a night by 10 or 11pm. If you're the one organizing something bigger, the honest move is to check the permit requirement early rather than show up with 60 people and get turned away at the sand.
Across WashedUp right now, there are 8 live plans tied to this kind of thing, and 42 have already happened, so this isn't a rare or awkward thing to organize. Five of the current plans are happening in the next seven days alone. If you've never organized a group hang before and the idea of texting fifteen people to coordinate arrival times sounds exhausting, that's exactly the kind of coordination problem this solves. Want to get a group together for Saturday without being the one chasing RSVPs all week? find people to go with.
how a dockweiler bonfire night became one of the easiest ways to meet people in la
Dockweiler pits are famously communal, and that's not an accident of geography, it's just what happens when forty groups are packed shoulder to shoulder along the same stretch of sand with nothing to do but watch a fire and talk to whoever's next to them. Strangers share pits when space runs out. Coolers get passed. Someone's speaker becomes everyone's speaker for the night.
That's the real appeal buried under the logistics: LA is a hard city to make plans in, and an even harder one to make plans with people you don't already know. A bonfire strips a lot of that friction away. You're not making small talk at a bar over noise, you're sitting around a fire with nowhere to be and hours to kill. It's one of the lowest-pressure social settings the city has, and most people don't think to use it that way.
WashedUp's most active plans skew toward late nights, after 10pm, which tracks with how these nights actually go: the fire gets going around sunset, the crowd shows up in waves, and the real conversations happen once the group's settled in. Across LA county, Saturdays and Sundays are by far the busiest days for these plans, 23 and 15 respectively, which lines up with the 6am arrival window everyone's chasing for weekend pits. Los Angeles County broadly leads for these kinds of plans, with DTLA and Mid-Wilshire close behind. One recent example that filled fast: a Deep House Brunch boat party that pulled five people together on a Sunday, proof that people are actively building these nights out and other people are actually showing up for them.
If you've got the group already, great, coordinate a pit and go. If you don't, and the idea of a bonfire sounds better than another Saturday scrolling alone, that's the exact gap this fills. Want to meet a few new people over a fire instead of a crowded bar? find people to go with on WashedUp.
Start here: pick a Saturday in the next two weeks, confirm Dockweiler's pit status is current, and plan to be in the Imperial Highway lot by 6am. Bring wood, bring layers, bring people, and if you're short on people, go find some first.
frequently asked questions
which la county beaches allow bonfires?
Only two: Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. All fires at both locations must be contained inside designated fire rings. Every other LA county beach, including Santa Monica, Venice, and Manhattan Beach, prohibits open flame on the sand entirely, with no exceptions for personal pits or grills.
do you need a permit for a beach bonfire in la?
Not if your group is under 50 people. Groups larger than 50 require a permit from LA county before showing up. Most casual bonfire nights, even ones with fifteen or twenty people, fall well under that threshold and need no paperwork at all, just a pit, wood, and a plan.
can you bring your own fire pit to dockweiler beach?
No. Personal fire pits, portable grills, and any flame set up outside the designated rings are never allowed on any LA county beach, including Dockweiler. Any grill or BBQ you bring has to fit inside the existing two-foot-wide pit itself. Fires directly on the sand outside a ring are also prohibited.
how early do you need to arrive to get a fire pit at dockweiler?
On weekends, especially in summer, plan to arrive by 6am. Dockweiler has roughly 40 fire pits clustered near the RV Park and the first two Imperial Highway parking lots, and they fill fast once the day starts. Waiting until mid-morning on a Saturday often means no pit is left.
are bonfires allowed at cabrillo beach?
Yes. Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is one of only two legal bonfire locations in LA county, alongside Dockweiler. It's a quieter option that most guides skip entirely, with the same rules: fires must stay contained in the designated rings, and no personal pits or grills are allowed outside them.
