If you’ve spent any time surfing the South Bay, you already know El Porto. It’s the spot you check first on Surfline when a northwest swell is coming — the break that’s reliably pumping when everything else is flat. But El Porto is more than just a surf spot. It’s a neighborhood with its own identity, its own strip of restaurants, and a character that feels genuinely distinct from the rest of Manhattan Beach. And for the right buyer, it’s one of the most compelling real estate stories in the South Bay.
I’m Cecilia Agraz, and I sell real estate in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach. I grew up around sports, competition, and community — and El Porto is the kind of neighborhood that gets you. It’s not trying to impress you. It just is what it is: a tight ten-block stretch at the northern tip of the city, squeezed between the Pacific and a Chevron refinery, in the shadow of LAX flight paths, and absolutely unapologetic about all of it. That authentic edge is exactly why so many people fall hard for this place.
Where El Porto Sits
El Porto is the northernmost section of Manhattan Beach, running from roughly Rosecrans Avenue north to 45th Street — where the city border with El Segundo begins. The beach itself is a California State Beach managed by Los Angeles County, and the neighborhood backs up against the Chevron El Segundo refinery to the east and the El Segundo Energy Center to the north. That industrial backdrop is not something you’ll see in a real estate brochure, but longtime residents will tell you it’s part of what gives El Porto its personality. It’s always drawn an eclectic crowd — surfers, artists, writers, young professionals — precisely because it was never trying to be the polished version of Manhattan Beach.
Its history is genuinely unusual. El Porto spent over six decades as an unincorporated county island — not officially part of Manhattan Beach — before being annexed in 1980. It didn’t even join the Manhattan Beach Unified School District until 1998. That independent streak shows up in the neighborhood’s character to this day.
The Surf Break
Let’s talk about what El Porto is actually known for: the wave.
The El Porto surf break is consistently one of the best in the South Bay, and arguably the most consistent beach break in the greater Los Angeles area. The reason comes down to geography. An underwater canyon sits offshore, and the deep Santa Monica Trench funnels swell energy directly into the break, producing waves that are typically larger than anything else along this stretch of coastline. During winter months, El Porto is almost always bigger than neighboring peaks — you can be looking at 3 to 12 feet here on a northwest swell when spots a mile south are barely waist-high.
The best swells come from the northwest to west-northwest, and a combination of NW winter swell and Southern Hemisphere summer swell keeps the break active year-round. Autumn, particularly October, tends to produce the cleanest and most consistent conditions. Waves break over sandbars and can hold double-overhead sets. Lefts and rights are both available depending on where you paddle out and what the sand is doing.
Skill-level wise: El Porto accommodates everyone from beginners to advanced surfers, but the more powerful winter conditions are squarely in intermediate-to-advanced territory. In summer, when the swell is smaller and more manageable, it’s one of the best beginner spots in LA — multiple surf schools operate here specifically because of the consistency and the space. Camp Surf runs the official City of Manhattan Beach surf program here. Several other schools and lesson operators work the break throughout the season.
One honest note: the wave is powerful and the crowd reflects it. On a good day, El Porto draws surfers from all over the South Bay and beyond. It’s not a secret spot. You’ll find everyone from kids taking their first lessons to seasoned locals who’ve been surfing this break for 30 years.
The parking situation is better than most South Bay surf spots. The large El Porto lot, accessed from the west end of 45th Street off Highland Avenue, runs the full length of the beach down toward Rosecrans. There’s a two-hour option and an all-day option, both with credit card machines. Arrive before 10am and parking is free — a fact that every local surfer knows.
The Strip: El Porto’s Own Little Downtown
Highland Avenue through El Porto functions almost like a second downtown for north Manhattan Beach — a low-key commercial strip with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and a surf shop that caters to people who actually live and surf here.
A few El Porto institutions worth knowing:
- Two Guns Espresso (3516 Highland Ave) — Founded by two New Zealanders who wanted to bring flat white culture to the South Bay, Two Guns has been a fixture since 2011. It’s become the neighborhood’s de facto morning gathering spot. They even have a menu item called the El Porto sando. This is the coffee shop where you’ll run into half the neighborhood on a Saturday morning.
- North End Caffe (3421 Highland Ave) — Breakfast, brunch, burgers. A neighborhood staple for years, the kind of place where the staff knows regulars by name.
- FISHBAR (3801 Highland Ave) — Seafood, mussels, clams, sandwiches. One of the neighborhood’s most established dining spots with a long history at this address under various names.
- OB’s Pub & Grill — A neighborhood bar with deep roots in El Porto, the kind of sports bar where locals actually watch the game together.
- Pancho’s — Mexican food with a history that goes back to the neighborhood’s wilder days. It’s a fun place for a meal and has become a Manhattan Beach comfort classic.
- El Porto Surf Shop — A proper neighborhood surf shop where you can rent a board, buy wax, or just talk waves with people who surf this break every morning.
The strip has improved meaningfully over the past several years. Local business owners pooled resources to invest in beautifying the commercial area, and it shows. It’s still low-key — you’re not going to find valet parking or white tablecloths here — but that’s the whole point.
Who Lives in El Porto
El Porto has always drawn a particular kind of person. Not the buyer who wants the most polished block in Manhattan Beach — that person ends up on the walk streets near the pier or in the tree-lined streets in the Tree Section. El Porto attracts people who actually use the beach, who care more about paddling out at 7am than about having the fanciest street address in the city.
Historically: surfers, artists, bikers, beatniks, hippies. Today: young professionals, couples, surfers who never stopped, and aerospace workers from the Boeing-Northrop-Raytheon cluster in El Segundo literally next door. SpaceX is headquartered in Hawthorne, 10-15 minutes away — and SpaceX engineers who surf are exactly the profile you see buying in El Porto. You want to live at the break you surf. That makes sense.
There are also a significant number of renters here. The duplex and triplex inventory is high — more on that below — which means El Porto has a proportionally larger rental population than the south end of the Sand Section. That’s not a negative or a positive; it’s just a fact to understand about the neighborhood’s composition. It gives El Porto a slightly younger, more transient energy compared to the family-heavy blocks near the pier.
Families exist here too, but they’re less common than in other parts of the Sand Section. The higher-traffic nature of Highland Avenue, fewer flat residential streets for kids, and the heavier concentration of multi-family housing all push family buyers toward the southern end of the Sand Section or into the Tree Section. El Porto’s sweet spot is the buyer who values surf access and price point over school-yard proximity.
Real Estate in El Porto: What You’re Actually Looking At
El Porto is the most affordable entry point into the Sand Section of Manhattan Beach — and the reason is structural, not accidental. When the neighborhood was originally subdivided in 1911, the 30-by-90-foot lots that are standard in the Sand Section were split in El Porto, creating half-lots that typically measure around 30 by 45 feet. Smaller lots equal smaller homes equal lower absolute prices.
The overall Manhattan Beach median hit a record $3.325 million in 2025. El Porto homes typically start in the mid-to-high $1.8 million range and can reach $4 million or more for newer construction, Strand-adjacent properties, or homes with meaningful ocean views.
The property mix is notably different from the rest of the Sand Section. A significant portion of El Porto’s housing stock is duplexes and multi-family buildings — many of them older, legal non-conforming structures with a two-bedroom unit upstairs and a one-bedroom or studio below. This creates genuine investment appeal: you can live in one unit and rent the other, using rental income to offset your mortgage. For buyers who want to enter Manhattan Beach real estate with an income offset, El Porto is the neighborhood that offers this most consistently.
There’s also a major new development worth knowing about: the Highrose/Verandas project at Rosecrans Avenue — a four-story, 79-unit apartment complex that was approved in 2023 after significant community opposition and is currently under construction. Six of the 79 units are set aside as affordable housing. This is the most significant new multifamily development El Porto has seen in decades, and it will change the character of the Rosecrans-end of the neighborhood once completed.
Getting Around from El Porto
The location story for El Porto is genuinely strong for certain buyers:
- El Segundo is immediately next door — Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon are all a short drive or even walkable for some El Porto addresses.
- SpaceX Hawthorne is 10-15 minutes east, depending on traffic. Engineers who surf at El Porto can be at their desks in under 20 minutes.
- LAX is under five miles away — if you travel frequently, the flight path noise is noticeable (you’ll hear it), but the proximity is a genuine convenience.
- South Manhattan Beach downtown is about 10-15 minutes by bike down The Strand. Walking takes 20-30 minutes. It’s accessible but not your immediate backyard.
- The Strand bike path runs right through El Porto, connecting north toward Playa del Rey and south through Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. You can bike a long way without touching a car.
El Porto vs. the Rest of the Sand Section
I want to be honest here rather than just sell you on the neighborhood. El Porto is a genuinely excellent fit for some buyers — and genuinely wrong for others.
El Porto makes a lot of sense if:
- You surf — especially if surfing is a real part of your life, not just something you did once.
- You work in El Segundo or Hawthorne and want to minimize commute.
- You’re an investor who wants Manhattan Beach real estate with income-producing potential.
- You want Sand Section beach access at a lower price point than the pier-area commands.
- You value a laid-back, community-oriented neighborhood over a high-polish one.
- You’re a couple or single professional who doesn’t need the best school-zone location right now.
El Porto may not be the right fit if:
- You have young children and want flat, quiet residential streets within walking distance of an elementary school.
- You want the full MB downtown scene — restaurants, farmers market, pier — immediately walkable.
- Highland Avenue traffic bothers you. It’s a real arterial road through this stretch.
- You want a neighborhood with a predominantly single-family feel. El Porto leans multi-family.
No neighborhood comparison here is meant to be negative — it’s just different products for different lifestyles. The buyers who end up happy in El Porto usually knew what they were choosing. They wanted the break. They wanted the price point. They wanted the vibe. And El Porto delivers all three.
Schools
El Porto falls within Manhattan Beach Unified School District. Grandview Elementary (455 24th St) serves the northern Sand Section including El Porto. Grandview feeds to Manhattan Beach Middle School and then Mira Costa High School, one of the strongest public high schools in California.
Worth noting: El Porto spent decades in the El Segundo school district before being transferred to MBUSD in 1998. There’s no practical impact on current buyers — the schools have been MBUSD for nearly 30 years — but it’s an interesting piece of the neighborhood’s history.
Events and Community
El Porto has a few community touchstones worth knowing. The surf schools run summer programs here from May through September, so the beach is especially active with kids and beginners during those months. The parking lot draws serious surfers year-round — you’ll see the same faces in the water week after week.
The Manhattan Beach Open beach volleyball tournament happens every August — it’s been called the Wimbledon of beach volleyball, and the AVP tour has brought world-class players to these courts for decades. That energy reaches El Porto through The Strand and adds to the overall beach sports culture of the area.
Tuesday Farmers Market in downtown Manhattan Beach (11am–3pm) is accessible by Strand bike or car — about 15-20 minutes from the north end. It’s less walkable than if you live downtown, but it’s an easy Tuesday routine.
Is El Porto Right for You?
El Porto is a neighborhood that rewards the buyer who understands what they’re getting. The surf break is legitimately world-class by South Bay standards. The price point is the most accessible in the Sand Section. The character is real and unpolished in the best way. And the location — immediately adjacent to the aerospace cluster in El Segundo, a quick shot to SpaceX in Hawthorne, under five miles from LAX — works hard for a specific type of buyer.
If you’ve been thinking about Manhattan Beach but felt priced out of the walk streets near the pier, El Porto deserves a serious look. And if you’re coming at this from a surfing angle — if you want to live where you surf — there’s no better answer in the city.
I’d love to show you around. Call or text me at 310-803-9338, or send me a note at cecilia@manhattanhermosahomes.com. I know this neighborhood well, and I’ll give you the honest version — not the pitch version.
Frequently Asked Questions: El Porto, Manhattan Beach
What streets make up El Porto in Manhattan Beach?
El Porto runs from Rosecrans Avenue on the south to 45th Street on the north, where Manhattan Beach borders El Segundo. The east-west numbered streets from approximately 38th to 45th define the neighborhood, with Highland Avenue serving as the main north-south commercial corridor and The Strand running along the beach to the west.
Is El Porto the most affordable part of Manhattan Beach?
El Porto is the most affordable entry point into the Sand Section, largely because many of the original lots were split into half-lots (approximately 30 by 45 feet) rather than the standard 30-by-90-foot lots you find further south. Smaller lots mean smaller homes and lower absolute prices — typically starting in the mid-to-high $1.8 million range. By Manhattan Beach standards, that is relatively accessible, but it’s still Manhattan Beach.
Why is the surf so good at El Porto?
The El Porto surf break benefits from an underwater canyon offshore and the funneling effect of the deep Santa Monica Trench. This geography pushes more swell energy into the break than nearby beaches receive, producing waves that are consistently larger — often significantly so — than what you’ll find a mile south. On northwest winter swells, El Porto is almost always the biggest break in the South Bay.
Are there walk streets in El Porto?
Yes. The numbered walk streets in El Porto run east-west from Highland Avenue toward The Strand, offering the same pedestrian-only, car-free lifestyle as the famous walk streets near the pier — at a lower price point. They attract buyers who want walk street living with direct surf access.
Is El Porto good for families with kids?
El Porto is within Manhattan Beach Unified School District and feeds to Mira Costa High School, one of the top public high schools in California. That said, the neighborhood is more popular with young professionals, couples, and investors than with families. The higher concentration of multi-family housing, the traffic on Highland Avenue, and the relative distance from downtown elementary schools make the southern end of the Sand Section — or the Tree Section — a more common choice for buyers prioritizing school proximity and quiet residential streets for kids.
What is the Highrose development in El Porto?
The Highrose/Verandas project is a four-story, 79-unit apartment complex approved in 2023 and currently under construction at Rosecrans Avenue. It replaces the former Verandas Beach House event venue. Six of the 79 units are designated as affordable housing. It’s the most significant new multifamily development in El Porto in decades.
Also Worth Reading
- The Manhattan Beach Sand Section: Full Neighborhood Guide
- Manhattan Beach Real Estate for Investors
- Manhattan Beach for SpaceX Employees
- Manhattan Beach for Aerospace Professionals
- Moving to Manhattan Beach: The Complete Guide
Cecilia Agraz
South Bay neighbor and Realtor® focused on clear guidance and low‑stress moves in Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach.