Herewith Part 2 of the Malibu Beaches Owner's Manual, for public owners who want to enjoy their extensive public lands on beaches that aren't always easy to find or use. Part 1 covered the three westernmost beaches with accessways--Lechuza, Broad, and Escondido. This second installment continues east to the Latigo Shore, Malibu Rd., and Malibu Colony beaches.

This is a great time of year to go. The sea turns to painterly grays and dark blues, and crowds are nonexistent. And the winter months bring spectacular super-low tides, generally around the full moon. Check the tide tables in the L.A. Times (look for negative ##s, esp. lower than -1), or on one of the tide prediction websites.

And do check the tables, because these beaches are very narrow--as are all the beaches east of Broad--and along many stretches, the tide often comes up to the houses. The obvious downside is that you often can't use them at high tide. The good news, though, is that while all these beaches are public to the "mean high tide line" (working definition: the wet sand), there often isn't a lot of private dry sand to worry about.

All these beaches offer plenty of public easements on whatever dry sand there is, too. Unfortunately, while the Coastal Commission has drawn up wonderfully user-friendly easement maps for Broad Beach, they haven't done so yet for the rest. The more technical maps are hard to read--but not impossible (go to p. 23 of the PDF) , if you want to find out where you can play volleyball or plant your umbrella. Or just call the Coastal Commission to find the easements on any particular stretch of beach--805-585-1800.

Use the same # to report any access troubles. Most visits are trouble-free, but problems are not unknown....

From west to east:

LATIGO SHORE -- The beach below Latigo Shore Dr. should get a lot easier to operate very soon. According to the Coastal Commission, this road is public. Well, right now it's plastered with "private st." and "no parking" signs, but the state is in the legal process of opening it up. Caltrans gave up ownership of this piece of the old PCH several years ago, and the homeowners snapped it up--but the public actually had the right to do so first, and the state treats the transfer as illegal and therefore invalid.

Access For All--the tireless nonprofit that works for access all along the Malibu coast--is working to bring the signs down, too, and is planning to open more accessways along the road.

Herewith Part 3 of the Malibu Beaches Owners Manual, for public owners who want to know how to find and use the 20 miles of public beaches (out of 27) that are lined with private development. This third installment covers the beaches east of the Malibu pier. Parts 1 and 2 covered the beaches to the west.

Happily, these beaches aren't nearly as sign-crazy as in the western half. Sadly, the access to them is minimal. The nearly six miles of beaches have three--count 'em, three--officially open accessways. Three. And why bother with all those inaccurate "private beach" signs when the public can't get there?

Remember: all California beaches are public below the mean high tide line (working definition: the wet sand). Like all Malibu beaches, these beaches also have abundant public easements on the dry sand. Check the easement maps on the Coastal Commission site (go to p. 23 of the PDF): they're a bit hard to read, but you can just call the good folks there at 805-585-1800.

Also, these eastern beaches are narrow, and are often covered at high tide--so check the tide charts in the L.A. Times (plug in 90265 for zip code) or at a tide-prediction website to make sure you haven't planned your walk too close to high tide.

Three accessways--which is all the more aggravating since this stretch includes two unopened accessways that are tied up in lawsuits and four fenced-off public properties along the PCH. And, rather incomprehensibly, one official accessway that's been closed for repairs for six years.

But know what's a good place to go when you get aggravated? Where you can forget about all these cares and woes and all those lawsuits? Where you can enjoy the fresh air and watch the sunset?

The Beach. Here's how to do it, from west to east:

CARBON BEACH--Zonker Harris Accessway--betw. 22706-22664 PCH

Carbon Beach, aka Billionaires Beach, is one of the widest and nicest of the eastern beaches. It's still far from a public-access paradise, but with the opening of the Geffen accessway (below), it has two access paths. The county Zonker Harris stairway has been open since 1981.

CARBON BEACH--new accessway--betw. 22140-22126 PCH

The world-renowned walkway next to David Geffen's house. Why not call it the Hooray for Geffen Accessway, since it's made Carbon Beach far more accessible--and the 22-year battle and new 24-hour video surveillance notwithstanding, the public now uses this walkway with nary an incident. Maintained by the indomitable nonprofit Access For All.

CARBON BEACH--Advanced features

Want to visit your Carbon Beach accessway that's stalled in litigation? It's easy to find with a lovely stroll along the beach--just 13 houses downcoast from Zonker Harris and 31 houses (or compounds) upcoast from Hooray for DG. Look for the big white several-story house with the tennis court on the east side. Your accessway is on the east edge: well, it has a wall in it right now, but one would hope that the victory at DG means that all the money on the continent won't stall the opening of new entrances for too long.

LA COSTA BEACH

Zip. Nada. (Though you can make a roadside visit to the big Coastal Conservancy lot betw. 21746-21660 PCH, which is now free of lawsuits and should open in the near future.)

LAS FLORES BEACH--a sort-of accessway--betw. 20516-20466 PCH

A sweet little Caltrans-owned empty lot, which the Coastal Commission would like to see un-fenced and developed for public access. Still, the gate (east end) is unlocked, so check it out if you like. The neighbors have got boats and chairs in there, and the rest of the public should use it freely as well.

BIG ROCK BEACH--the backward-progress accessway (aka the fix-it-already accessway)--betw. Moonshadows-20340 PCH

This official county accessway has been closed off for repairs. For six years. The county keeps declining to fix it despite the state's offers of help.

It's inexcusable. And can you imagine the frustration of anyone who lives across the street? The closest accessways to a beach they can see out their windows are 1/2 mile downcoast and 2+ miles upcoast.

BIG ROCK BEACH--big wide accessway--betw. 20000-19958 PCH

A great wide staircase. This is a pretty stretch of beach, with big rocks, yes, in the tide and an especially scenic view upcoast.

LAS TUNAS BEACH

If you're driving east on the PCH to get home, feel free to pay your respects to your other unopened accessway that's under litigation, at 19016 PCH. I'm told that the locals have a way of getting to this Las Tunas stretch, that involves a culvert, a rickety ladder, and wading through sludge--access deprivation leads to desperate acts--but best to wait until this accessway opens, which we trust and hope will be soon.