Malibu, Zuma and Santa Monica
Lost a ring or phone at Malibu?
Zuma and Westward, the pocket beaches at El Matador, Leo Carrillo, Surfrider and the raked sand at Santa Monica.
A phone over a pier rail lands in one of three places, and which one decides everything. On the deck it is a lost property question. At the base of the piles, where sand is uncovered at low tide, it is a search. Out in the water it is a job for a diver. A ring in the dry sand at Zuma or Santa Monica is the easier case, so long as you know roughly where you were.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch or phone lost in Malibu, at Zuma Beach, Leo Carrillo or Santa Monica on the California coast. The search is done by an experienced detectorist who knows the area. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the coast, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor. A lost ring, an Oura ring, an earring, keys, glasses or a phone are the same job to us.
What to do in the first hour on a Malibu or Santa Monica beach
Stay at the spot or go back to it. Note the nearest landmark: the lifeguard tower number at Zuma or Leo Carrillo, the parking lot number at Santa Monica, or which pocket beach and stairway at El Matador. Photograph the landmark, drop a pin on your phone, and do not dig with your hands, because that spreads the sand and pushes a ring deeper.
Then message us on WhatsApp with where you were, the time you noticed, and whether it was dry sand, the wash or the water. The two low tides in a day here are of unequal height, so the lower one uncovers the widest band of sand. If it went off a pier, say how far along the deck you were and which side.
Places we cover in Malibu, Zuma and Santa Monica
- Malibu
- Zuma Beach
- Westward Beach and Point Dume State Beach
- Broad Beach
- Leo Carrillo State Beach, North Beach and South Beach
- El Matador State Beach
- La Piedra State Beach
- El Pescador State Beach
- Malibu Lagoon State Beach and Surfrider Beach
- Malibu Pier
- Santa Monica
- Santa Monica State Beach
- Santa Monica Pier
- Will Rogers State Beach, Pacific Palisades
Beaches from Leo Carrillo to Santa Monica Pier
Each of these behaves differently, and that changes what a detectorist can do.
Zuma Beach and Westward Beach
Zuma is a Los Angeles County beach with 1.8 miles of frontage, eight lots with about 2,000 spaces and 14 numbered lifeguard towers, and the county notes rough surf, rip currents and colder water than at other Los Angeles beaches. Westward Beach sits below Point Dume at the south end. State Parks said on 28 August 2026 that road access to the lower Point Dume parking lot was unavailable because Westward Beach Road was closed.
El Matador, La Piedra and El Pescador
These three pocket beaches form Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, 10 miles west of Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway, with paths and stairs down from limited parking on the bluff top. State Parks says they can be crowded in summer. They are small beaches below the bluff, so a precise spot matters more here than on a wide one, and the stairs are worth checking as carefully as the sand.
Leo Carrillo State Beach
Leo Carrillo has 1.5 miles of beach, 28 miles northwest of Santa Monica, with reefs, tide pools and coastal caves as well as sand. Lifeguard Tower 3 is the dividing line the park uses between North Beach and South Beach, which is the quickest way to halve the ground.
Surfrider Beach and Malibu Pier
Surfrider Beach belongs to Malibu Lagoon State Beach, where Malibu Creek reaches the ocean, and it was named the first World Surfing Reserve in October 2010. Malibu Pier stands just east of the lagoon. State Parks closed the end of the pier in January 2025 over structural concerns and the rest of it stays open, so a phone dropped off the side goes into the water beside that open section.
Santa Monica State Beach and the pier
Santa Monica State Beach stretches over three miles and covers 245 acres of sand, managed by the City of Santa Monica with California State Parks. The city rakes it clean every morning, which is why a pin dropped the same evening is worth so much more than one dropped a week later.
Will Rogers State Beach
North of Santa Monica, in Pacific Palisades, Will Rogers State Beach has over 3 miles of frontage. When we checked in September 2026 the county listed Lot 5 as closed for wildfire recovery, so tell us which lot you used.
What you get when you message us about a Malibu or Santa Monica beach
One person on WhatsApp
You message one person on WhatsApp and stay with them to the end.
Your map and photos go to the detectorist
Whoever searches gets your tower or lot number, your pin and your photos before they set off.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost in the surf at Surfrider several days ago in a big swell is a poor case, and you hear our honest read on it before anything is booked.
We know how this coast behaves
Medium sand at Zuma, cove beaches at El Matador, reefs and caves at Leo Carrillo, a raked city beach at Santa Monica, and a mean tide range of about 1.15 metres (3.8 feet). That shapes when and where a search makes sense.
You know the costs before we book
The costs come to you in writing while you are still deciding, and nothing is booked until you say so.
Sand, tide and surf from Malibu to Santa Monica
What a detectorist works with on this part of the coast.
Sand and cleaning
A 2018 survey for the Malibu Living Shoreline Project found medium sand dominant at Zuma Beach and coarse sand dominant at Point Dume Beach, and a ring sinks faster in coarse sand. Part of Zuma is mechanically groomed and Santa Monica is raked every morning, so dry sand is best searched before the next clean.
Tides
The nearest NOAA tide station is Santa Monica (9410840). The mean tide range is 1.15 metres (3.76 feet) and the great diurnal range is 1.65 metres (5.43 feet), with two high and two low tides a day of unequal height. Wet sand and shallow water searches are planned around the lower low tide.
Surf and water temperature
Zuma is an open beach break known for rough surf and rip currents, and Surfrider is a point break. Ten year averages for Zuma put the water at about 14 C (58 F) from winter into spring and about 20 C (68 F) in August and September. Cold fingers shrink, and rings slip off in the wash.
What a detector can and cannot hear
A phone, a watch, a ring and metal-framed glasses all read well, and an Oura ring reads like any other because the shell is metal. Plastic sunglasses give nothing back and are found by eye. Depth is the other half of it, which is why a spot marked on the day beats a wide guess a week later.
Want a first idea of your chances? Try the lost ring recovery calculator.
From a pier rail to a raked city beach
I dropped my phone off Malibu Pier. Is that the end of it?
Where it landed decides everything. On the deck it may already have been handed in: at Santa Monica Pier lost property goes through the Harbor Guards or the police substation, so ask there first. In the water below, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. The end of Malibu Pier has been closed since January 2025, so note where on the open section you were standing.
I lost my wedding ring at Zuma Beach. Where do I start?
With the nearest lifeguard tower. Zuma has 14 numbered towers along its 1.8 miles and eight parking lots behind it, so take a photo with the tower in the frame and tell us which lot you used. A ring dropped in the dry, medium grain sand usually stays near where it fell. We have had an enquiry from Zuma Beach before, and the tower number is always the first thing we ask for.
My ring came off at El Matador. Can anyone search a pocket beach like that?
A small beach is easier than a wide one, as long as you can say where on it you were. El Matador, La Piedra and El Pescador make up Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, reached by paths and stairs from the bluff top. Say whether it went missing on the sand or on the stairs, because those are different searches.
I lost a ring at Leo Carrillo State Beach. Does it matter which part of the beach?
Yes. The park uses Lifeguard Tower 3 as the line between North Beach and South Beach, so tell us which side of it you were on. Leo Carrillo has reefs, tide pools and coastal caves as well as open sand, and rock ground is far slower to search, so say which you were on.
Santa Monica beach is raked every morning. Is my Oura ring gone?
Not necessarily. The City of Santa Monica rakes the beach clean every morning, which turns over the top of the dry sand and can move a ring or push it deeper. An Oura ring has a metal shell, so a detector picks it up like any other ring. What helps most is a pin dropped before the next morning and the nearest parking lot number, which run from Lot 9 North by the Annenberg Community Beach House to Lot 5 South on Barnard Way.
My wedding band came off while surfing at Surfrider Beach. Is there any chance?
There is, and it turns on where you were. Surfrider Beach is part of Malibu Lagoon State Beach, where Malibu Creek meets the ocean, and it is known as a point break. A band lost in the shallows at low tide has a far better chance than one lost out in the lineup. Tell us where you paddled out and what the tide was doing.
What if it cannot be found?
Some are not found. Before anyone travels you get an honest view of the case and the costs in writing, so the decision is yours. If the search comes up empty, you hear that plainly from the same person you spoke to at the start.
Malibu, Zuma and Santa Monica
Pin the spot between Leo Carrillo and Santa Monica Pier
Which beach, the nearest tower or lot number, the time, and a photo.
The morning rake in Santa Monica and the next high tide both move sand, so the sooner this reaches us the better. Take your photo, drop a pin, then message us with where and when it happened.