Marina del Rey, CA

Marina del Rey (Spanish for “Docks of the King”) is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The marina, which includes residential, light commercial, and office facilities, is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is North America’s largest man-made small-craft harbor with slips for approximately 5,000 boats. The area is a popular tourism destination for both land and water activities, such as paddleboard and kayak rentals, dining cruises, and yacht charters. Land activities include bicycling on several bicycle paths, walking paths along the waterfront, and birdwatching (birding). Wildlife watching opportunities include California sea lions and harbor seals. Dolphins and whales occasionally visit the deeper waters of the harbor. This Westside locale is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Santa Monica, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Los Angeles International Airport, and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) west-southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles.

The harbor is owned by Los Angeles County and managed by the Department of Beaches and Harbors (DBH), but the waters are environmentally regulated by the state and the federal governments through their many agencies and departments with overlapping oversight. The Los Angeles Times in a 1997 editorial called the harbor “perhaps the county’s most valuable resource.” For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Marina del Rey as a census-designated place (CDP). The population of the CDP was 11,373 at the 2020 census. The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name; for example, the 90292 ZIP Code includes all of Marina del Rey and portions of neighboring Los Angeles (including parts of Venice) as well as the far western portion of Culver City, and has a population of 21,576, more than double that of the CDP. Many residents of the 90292 ZIP code consider themselves to live in Marina del Rey even if they in fact live outside the official boundaries of the CDP.