Our Editor has selected the top seven senior-friendly destinations in Malibu and Santa Monica Mountains. These destinations offer a balance of wonderful experiences, with a safe venue and extra abilities to assist with special needs that seniors may need. The leading criteria for the selections is the enriching experience offered in a safe and healthy environment with the ability to offer the extras that appeal to modern seniors. All of these destinations have been thoroughly vetted to ensure that expectations are not just met but exceeded.
Paradise Cove Beach Café
Our top choice is the lovely Paradise Cove Beach Café in Malibu. Paradise Cove (PCBC) is located in a perfect location near Point Dume and is easily accessed from both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Bob Morris and his family have been a part of Malibu for decades delivering the quintessential California beach dining experience. Bob, his wife Kerry, their son Tim and the entire staff at PCBC are geared around delivering a wonderful meal in a beautiful beachside setting. Their highly trained staff ensures that every detail from a cleaning venue, to assisting mobility-challenged visitors, to split checks and generous portions are all covered. The walls of PCBC are adorned with historic images that encompass the history of Malibu, the development of the Pacific Coast Highway, and most notably the deep and rich history of Hollywood that has touched Paradise Cove. Celebrities from Hollywood’s golden era, numerous films, TV shows, and exotic photo shoots have made PCBC a hot spot of stardom that still continues today. Guests that meet the ever-present Bob Morris will hear tales of his personal upbringing with his family at the cove. Bob generously treats many guests to his famous ‘Gold Coins’, which can be redeemed for a free beverage or kept as a keepsake.
Cielo Farms Vineyard
The Hirsch family opens their slice of heaven to guests and members of their wine club perched high atop Malibu’s Wine District in the central Santa Monica Mountains. Cielo, translated from Italian means ‘heavenly’ lives up to its namesake. Like a slice of Tuscany in the Malibu Mountains, their neighbors include Saddlerock Ranch, Rocky Oaks Vineyard and Calamigos Ranch. Located just 15 minutes from the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, making Cielo accessible yet feels dreamy like a journey to a faraway land. Cielo pours generou,s flights of their Estate grown wines and carefully curated Woodstock label. These flights when paired with a meat and cheese board or quality chocolate selection are delivered in an architectural jewel known as The Barn at Cielo. The Barn showcases our Woodstock and Estate wines. Whether you opt for one of our tasting experiences or choose to enjoy a glass with friends or a loved one, you are bound to fall in love with all that is Cielo Farms. While the wine tasting is the event, the enchanting views and sunsets, along with the ocean-scented air, combine to make your experience uniquely wonderful.
To book an experience, click on MAKE A RESERVATION, call 424.234.7242, or email thebarn@woodstockmalibu.com
Reservations are required but you can typically gain access via their reservation system within 15 minutes. Use our special promo code: MALIBU and you’ll receive special treatment, which may include extra pours with your tasting!
Malibu Café at Calamigos Ranch
Located across the road from Cielo is the historic Calamigos Ranch home of Malibu Café which sets a mood for a wonderful experience. Relax and converse in a large outdoor area next to Love Lake. Bring your dog or watch your children play chess or corn hole as they explore a rich and vibrant setting. My personal favorite is sitting above the waterfall enjoying the tequila Bloody Mary made fresh every day from a secret Gerson family recipe. The grounds here are spacious and beautiful with the surrounding hills so relaxing, making Malibu Café a perfect place to unwind.
King Gillette Ranch Visitor Center
One of the most stunning locales in the Santa Monica Mountains, the 588-acre King Gillette Ranch is situated in the heart of the Malibu Creek Watershed, by the confluence of some major tributaries, and adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park. Located at the lower end of the Las Virgenes Valley is a haven for large mammals of the Santa Monica Mountains. At the same time, it offers a rare unspoiled view of California’s rich cultural and historic resources, including some structures designed for razor magnate King C. Gillette in the 1920s by Wallace Neff, architect of California’s Golden Age.
The broad meadows and low ridgelines serve as a wildlife corridor in the geographic center of the Santa Monica Mountains range. Several sensitive species are present. Raptors and other birds forage and nest among the plant communities of valley and coast live oak savannah, grassland, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, riparian woodland, and southern willow riparian vegetation. The park features include Gillette’s historic Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion and other structures that were part of the original landscape plan. These include a long tree-lined alleé and grand entry, a large constructed pond, a formal courtyard and terrace, bridges, and lawns. The Visitor Center is an engaging place to learn about the flora, fauna, and history of the area making it a well worth the visit. Take a deeper dive by reading our feature article, 'King Gillette Ranch - A Center Worth a Visit'.
Malibu Farmers Market & Malibu Lagoon
Every Sunday, many of LA's finest chefs gather at the Malibu Farmer’s Market to offer the most mouth-watering dishes, made right in front of your eyes. The high caliber, diverse culinary talent, and farm vendors are handpicked and participate by invitation only; this is a part of what makes the thriving Farmers’ Market extremely unique. This Malibu jewel is somewhat of a rainbow itself; every color you could possibly imagine sprinkles the tops of the tables. Bright green watermelons, corn the color of the sun, and even coffee as dark as the soil it came from makeup just some of the special products on display each Sunday.
Once inside the market, you’ll find the Farmer’s Market Cafe, where you can dine casually alfresco while enjoying a rotating and diverse selection of gourmet cuisine to tantalize each and every taste bud! The cafe caters to a foodie’s dream: sweet, savory, vegetarian, organic, and everything in between. These chefs bring their best every Sunday and serve only the highest quality fare to their hungry guests. The scents will excite your mind as you prepare for your culinary tour.
Malibu Farmer’s Market - Open Every Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. - cornucopiafoundation.net/location/
Either before or after your visit to Farmers Market, Malibu Lagoon State Park is within a short walking distance. The walk starts at Legacy Park, across Civic Center Way from Famers Market. Walk past giant mosaic animals, past a surfer statue to Cross Creek Road. Turn right on Cross Creek Road and walk a short distance to Pacific Coast Highway. Cross PCH at the signal and you’ll be a few yards from the well-marked signs for Malibu Lagoon. At the lagoon, you’ll find informative displays about the many local and migrating birds. You’ll also find displays about the Malibu Creek watershed and how the lagoon functions as an ecosystem.
The Adamson House & Malibu Pier
The Adamson House at Malibu Lagoon State Beach overlooks the Malibu Pier and Surfrider Beach. This bluff-top showplace of Malibu historical artifacts is a California Historical Landmark that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Stiles O. Clements in 1929, this Spanish Colonial Revival home contains the best surviving examples of decorative ceramic tile produced by Malibu Potteries. The home was built for Merritt Huntley Adamson and Rhoda Rindge Adamson, daughter of Frederick Hastings Rindge and May Knight Rindge—the last owners of the Rancho Malibu Spanish grant.
The adjacent Malibu Lagoon Museum allows visitors to walk through the history of the area from the days of the California Indian "Chumash" tribe, to the gentlemen ranchers, and finally to the birth of the surfing era. Museum docents give delightful tours filled with local legends and anecdotes.
Guided tours of the Adamson House or the wetlands and other natural elements such as grunion, the monarch butterfly, tide-pools, and the gray whale are scheduled seasonally. The Malibu Lagoon beach features wetlands, flower gardens, and a sandy beach.
A short walk down PCH from the Adamson House, past world-famous Surfrider Beach, is the Malibu Pier featured in this in-depth article, Malibu Pier – Malibu’s Iconic Landmark.
Malibu Wine Safari
Located on Malibu’s iconic Saddlerock Ranch, which is also home to Malibu Wine Hikes and Salvaje Malibu Yoga, the tours were impacted by the Woolsey fire but have since resumed with new additions. The safari tour, complete with different varietals of Malibu wines from both the Semler Estate and Saddlerock collections, was a vision of the owner and family patron, Ron Semler, and became a reality in 2013. Wine tasting occurs at various spots throughout the tour of the park—in between feeding the animals on site. According to Ranch Manager Jesse Harrison, the ranch is home to a wide variety of animals, including llamas, alpacas, zebras, American bison, donkeys, goats, sheep, yaks, and water buffalo, horses, turtles, cockatoos, and camels. There’s also a Shetland pony—“we call her Fabio because she has these really crazy bangs,” Harrison said—and a mountain lion who invited himself to the party, and, of course, Stanley the giraffe. Stanley was featured in the movie, 'The Hangover.
Open seven days per week, 362 days a year, with tours every day from morning to evening. To book your tour go to lasafaris.com or call 805.603.6267.