L.A. Walks: Abalone Cove Trail on Palos Verdes is a walk of awe

A visitor sits by a cliff-side fence leading to the trails at Abalone Cove on the Palos Verdes coastline. This quiet cove offers good walking, great ocean views, a secluded beach and some of Southern California’s most accessible tidepools.

Visitors walk up the Abalone Cove Trail on the Palos Verdes coastline.

Cactus alongside the Pacific Ocean

Visitors walk down to Abalone Cove.

Looking back at the beach at the bottom of the Abalone Cove trail on the Palos Verdes coastline.

Visitors arrive at the beach from the Sea Dahlia trail.

A woman walks along the rocky stretch of beach heading to the tidepools at Abalone Cove.

The rocky stretch of beach heading to the tidepools at Abalone Cove on the Palos Verdes coastline.

Birds flock together above Abalone Cove on the Palos Verdes peninsula.

Visitors spot a crab at Abalone Cove. There are terrific tidepools, where you can see starfish, sea anemones, crabs and maybe even one of the shiny shells of the abalone that give the park its name. Watch for incoming waves and slippery rocks.

A crab hangs onto a rock in the tidepools.

Eduardo Ramirez, left, and Hilario Ortega, both 20 and of Wilmington, run along the tidepools at Abalone Cove. Wear shoes that can get wet to get a close look at the aquatic animals.

A swimmer makes his way around the tidepools in high tide in Abalone Cove.

Two hikers cool off their feet on the beach at Abalone Cove, as seen from the cliffs above.

Wildlife can be seen from the Portuguese Point Loop trail.

A view from the Portuguese Point Loop trail at Abalone Cove.

Hikers follow the Portuguese Point Loop Trail above Abalone Cove.

Wayfarers Chapel, designed by Lloyd Wright, is seen on an inland hill above Portuguese Point Loop Trail on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The “Glass Chapel” is one of the South Coast’s premier wedding locations.