Palisades Park (Santa Monica)

Palisades Park is a 26.4-acre park in Santa Monica, California.[1] The park is located along Ocean Avenue on top of an uplifted unconsolidated sedimentary coastal Quaternary terrace with exposed bluffs, offering views of the Pacific Ocean and the coastal mountains. The park extends over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Santa Monica Pier at the south to Adelaide Drive at the north. This long linear park is lined with more than 30 species of plants and trees, including gum, yate, pine, palm, and fig trees.[2].

Palisades Park in Santa Monica

Palisades Park informational sign

The park includes benches, picnic areas, pétanque courts, restrooms and the historic Santa Monica Camera Obscura. The park has two stone monuments with plaques honoring two noted tree experts, George Hastings and Grace Heintz, who both wrote their own books on the trees of Santa Monica, spanning 5 decades from 1944 to 1989, thereby giving us 5 baseline studies for understanding the history and geography of the urban woodland of not only this park, but also linking to all the trees of Santa Monica and neighoring portions of Los Angeles, between and alongside streets, and embracing the trees also at cemeteries, schools, colleges, and businesses. A bust of Arcadia Bandini is located in the park's rose garden. A nearby wood sculpture entitled Gestation III is notable because of its alignment with the setting sun on the winter solstice. A distinctive Native American Totem Pole donated to the City in 1926 is located at the park's northern end. Cannons are on display at the park's southern end. Near the California Incline, a sculpture named Overlook Beacon evokes a sailing ship with mast and wooden deck.

A Santa Monica City Ordinance prohibits smoking in any City park.[3] Barriers discourage visitors from approaching the cliffs, which are prone to erosion and landslides.[4] Use of the park by fitness instructors has generated some controversy.[5]