Just a few miles from the campground in the previous feature, Malibu, CA beaches have a tradition of camping. By Patty Holroyd
The drive to Paradise Cove Trailer Park in Malibu, California is an easy 30 minute drive from Santa Monica. The Pacific Coast Highway hugs the coastline with miles of sand and surf, small ocean front cottage homes that were once mostly summer rentals and the Getty Museum on the bluff overlooking the ocean. Drive past the town center until you reach Paradise Cove Road. When you turn left onto a narrow single lane winding road, you are surrounded by pine trees and tall eucalyptus trees as you gradually descend down to beach level. Your first view of the ocean is slightly obscured by the Paradise Cove Café. You know you’ve arrived at the trailer park when you see the vintage Airstream trailer on display to your left. At first glance, you’re greeted with a coded entry to the Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park. If you have the code, you have a steep climb up to the bluff where the trailer park is now located.
The Cove, originally called Ramirez Canyon Beach, was developed in the 1940s after the Malibu Colony pier was damaged by winter storms. The owner held a contest to rename the area and the locals picked “Paradise Cove.” In the 1950s Fisherman brought their trailers and campers down to the water in the Cove. They had a tackle shop, a boat rental and barge. The kelp beds offshore created a haven for sea bass, halibut, and yellowtail. The trailers were set in no particular order, but in 1972 the owners of the Cove decided to grade the bluff above the original plot, which at that time had 100 trailers. Those trailers, in the lower section, were mostly beach rental vacation spots. The graded bluff allowed space for an additional 165 double wide units. Back then you could buy one of the larger mobile homes for around $70,000. Director Sam Peckinpah moved into Director Sam Peckinpah moved into the Park and loved it. In his biography, by author David Weddle, he said, “Sam burned through a lot of marriages, and had given up on the idea of having a house and family. Sometimes, he’d put multiple bullet holes through the back wall of his trailer – but when he got rowdy, he always sent flowers to the owner of the park as an apology.” Peckinpah lived in the Cove until his death in 1984 when his ashes were scattered off the coast in front of the trailer park.
The early 1960s brought the movie industry to the cove, filming Beach Blanket Bingo, Gidget and the television show Sea Hunt. In 1962 the Beach Boys’ Surfin’Safari record was shot at the Cove. In the 1970s, filming began on The Rockford Files, starring James Garner; his character lived in a trailer in the parking lot of Paradise Cove.
In the 1990s some of the trailers went for as little as $25,000, but trailers with an ocean view sold for up to $400,000. The owner of the park has control of the land; you’re just buying the trailer on that piece of property. It’s an 85 acre trailer park on a secluded stretch of the Pacific Ocean, with access down a steep stairway or just a short golf ride cart away.
The vibe today continues to be the same as it was in the early days — laid-back and peaceful. The change (besides prices) is those who live here. In the old days, it was all some could afford. The Cove’s newer residents are entrepreneurs, financiers, designers, filmmakers and a few actors (Matthew McConaughey, Minnie Driver & Pamela Anderson to name a few). There is a coziness and sense of community here. With the abundance of trees and lush grounds and a friendly safe neighborhood, the residents have use of the clubhouse, tennis court, basketball court, children’s playground, a beautiful beach, plus a million dollar view on the bluff of the Pacific Ocean.
At present, a 1 bedroom/1 bath single wide is listed for $450,000 nestled in the back of the park. At the other end of the price range, there’s a 4 bedroom/3 bath with full ocean bluff view listed at $5.5 million.
