Boot Camp, Neptune’s Net Await

Count snowy plovers: Watch seasonal birds at the Malibu Lagoon with the Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society. Outings meet the fourth Sunday of every month at 8:30 a.m. (for adults) and 10 a.m. (for families with kids) in the lagoon parking lot. Information: home.att.net/~cgbraggjr

Pick up some trash: Or a lot of it, depending on the weather, by joining one of Heal the Bay’s six Beach Emergency Response Teams. The volunteer squads rush to local beaches 12 hours after a rainstorm to clear washed-out city trash. (800) HEAL-BAY, Ext. 145.

Eat: At Neptune’s Net, 42505 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, you can sit outside (actually, you don’t have a choice) to fully enjoy the glories of the beach in the off-season (or any season): inexpensive seafood and a weekend Harley crowd.

Get in the water: Or at least in a boat that’s in the water. Plenty of places rent kayaks (and jet skis and party boats) year-round, including Marina Boat Rentals, 13763 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey. (310) 574-2822.

Clear your mind: Join Carol Moss’ beachfront meditation circle, every Thursday as close to the waves in Malibu as possible. (310) 456-3591.

Run: Sand Challenge: Boot Camp on the Beach is a coached group workout class on the sands of Long Beach that meets every Saturday and Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. For info, see www.justinrudd.com/sandchallenge.html

Sleep indoors: Maybe in the nearly new, bright and breezy “lofts” (not suites) at the Beach House, 1300 The Strand. Built in the bull’s-eye of Hermosa Beach’s beachiest stretch, the place is flip-flop distance from boardwalks, food, shops and vast deserts of off-season sand.

Sleep outdoors: And make a trip out of it, perhaps by hitching a ferry to Catalina Island’s Two Harbors port and hiking seven (fairly easy) miles along the rocky coastline to one of six campsites at Parson’s Landing, all near very secluded beaches. Information: Two Harbors Visitors Services at (310) 510-1550.