I want to share with you about a topic near & dear to my heart: parking.
If you’re here for your first swim at Tower 9, you probably want to park along PCH by Huntington Street & feed the meters. It’s about $2.50/hour, so $4 should cover you. It’s about 30 meters from the beach and then another 80 meter trudge on the sand to Tower 9.
If you want to swim regularly, your most cost-effective option is the HB City Beach annual pass, for $150. You can purchase it online, but better in person, at PCH & First street. That large lifeguard building has free 10-minute parking, so at least you don’t have to pay for parking to buy your parking pass.
About half the year, the Huntington Street entrance to the parking lot is closed, so you’ll have to enter through Beach Blvd. and turn to your right upon entering. This way, you can drive through to park a mere 20 meters from the showers at the edge of the beach by Tower 9.
Otherwise, if you bike, be sure to lock your bike with something thick as Bike thieves abound.
Should you be using an Uber: the cross-streets are PCH & Huntington Street. When spinning around slowly, you should see 3 medium-sized Hotels, Jack’s Snack Shop & Bike rentals along the bike path, and Tower 9 with the buoy bobbing solemnly in the distance.