Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is the best free aquarium in Southern California and a favorite of LA families who know the Long Beach giant is not the only option. Run by the City of Los Angeles at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, it focuses entirely on local waters — the rocky shores, sandy beaches, kelp forests and open ocean of Southern California — so the tanks show you what you would actually find snorkeling or tidepooling nearby. The aquarium itself dates to 1935, when it began as a small museum of local shore life, and it marked its 90th anniversary in April 2026 by reopening its main exhibit hall after an $8 million renovation that upgraded the life support system, redesigned the Jelly Lab, refreshed the welcome exhibit and added a new Collections Room. The campus, designed by Frank Gehry and opened in the early 1980s, is low and open, with chain-link canopies and courtyards connecting the galleries. Highlights include touch pools with sea stars, anemones and sea cucumbers, kelp forest and rocky-shore tanks, jellies, and exhibits on the grunion, the little fish that famously spawn on Cabrillo Beach on spring and summer nights. Admission is free year-round, with a suggested donation; there is a modest parking fee at the beach lot. The aquarium is closed Mondays and opens at midday on weekdays, so plan around the schedule. Honest framing: it is a small, community-scale aquarium without sharks in tunnels or big marine mammals; think of it as a learning stop that pairs with the beach and tidepools. Fit: families, budget travelers, and road-trippers adding a free stop to a Long Beach or LA aquarium day.
The local focus is the point. Cabrillo teaches you to recognize garibaldi, sheephead, sea hares and kelp, which turns a later walk at the Point Fermin tidepools or a Catalina snorkel into something richer. The aquarium's education programs, including its well-known grunion run evenings in season, have introduced generations of Angelenos to their own coast.
How to visit
Come on a weekend morning or a weekday afternoon, spend an hour inside, then walk out to Cabrillo Beach and the harbor-side jetty. If the tide is low, the tidepools around Point Fermin are a short drive and the best free marine-life experience in the city. Follow the tidepool etiquette posted by the aquarium: look, touch gently with wet fingers, and leave everything in place.
Inside, the Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Exhibit Hall moves through five local environments, the Aquatic Nursery is a working lab where you can watch research in progress, and the Exploration Center is the hands-on room for younger children.
Practicals
Free admission with suggested donation; Cabrillo Beach parking is charged by the hour with a daily maximum, card only. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Pair it with the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, about twenty minutes away, for a paid-and-free LA aquarium day.
What to expect
The experience
A community-scale, free city aquarium at Cabrillo Beach focused on Southern California sea life — touch pools, kelp and rocky-shore tanks, jellies and grunion exhibits in a Frank Gehry-designed campus.
Best time
Weekend mornings or weekday afternoons; time a visit with a low tide for the nearby tidepools.
How long
One to two hours, more with the beach.
Tips
It is closed Mondays and opens at midday on weekdays. Bring a card for the beach parking. Leave a donation if you can.
Quick picks
- Best for
- A free, local-waters aquarium that makes the LA coast make sense.
- Families
- Excellent — touch pools, friendly staff and the beach outside.
- Couples
- Pair it with a sunset walk at Point Fermin.
- Pair with
- Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, about twenty minutes away.
- Time needed
- One to two hours.
Good questions
Is Cabrillo Marine Aquarium free?+
Yes — admission is free year-round, with a suggested donation. Parking at Cabrillo Beach is paid by the hour.
When is it open?+
Tuesday through Sunday, with afternoon hours on weekdays and longer weekend hours; it is closed Mondays and major holidays.
What will we see?+
Southern California species — touch pool sea stars and anemones, kelp forest fish, the redesigned Jelly Lab and exhibits on sandy beaches, mudflats, rocky shores, kelp forests and the open ocean.
What are grunion runs?+
Spring and summer nights when small grunion fish spawn on the beach; the aquarium has long offered programs to watch them in season.
Should I combine it with Aquarium of the Pacific?+
Yes — Long Beach provides the big tanks, Cabrillo the local, hands-on side, and they are about twenty minutes apart.
