Pokémon GO in Santa Monica: The Best Places to Play

Santa Monica is up there with Tokyo for Pokémon GO. That's the highest praise I've got.

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In this guide 8 sections

For Pokémon GO in Santa Monica, everything is packed into a small area. The pier, the beach, and downtown are a few blocks apart, and someone is always playing.

Cream and I spent a month living in Santa Monica in early 2025, and we've played the city days of two GO Tours here.

Pokémon GO at the Santa Monica Pier: My Quick Answer

• Best spot: the Santa Monica Pier, in the morning or afternoon. It's full of stops and gyms, and there's always someone to raid with.
• When the pier gets busy: walk the beach path, or head up into downtown and the Third Street Promenade.
• Best route: the beach path from the pier to Venice Beach, about 2 miles (3 km) each way. We walked it almost every day we played.
• Finding raids: just show up at the pier. Other players are there, so you don't have to coordinate much.
• GO Tour city days: Santa Monica was inside the citywide area in 2025 and 2026, and it's where most trainers stay and play.
• The downside: the sun. Bring sunscreen and a hat.

Coming for GO Tour? Stay where you can walk to the pier.

That's what we'd do again. The Hampton Inn is where a friend of ours stayed for GO Tour, and the pier is a straight walk down Colorado Avenue. Our own GO Tour: Sinnoh hotel was the DoubleTree in Little Tokyo, a 10/10 for us and about an hour away on the E Line. Only here for the park day? Then stay in Pasadena. The Courtyard in Old Pasadena is about 1.3 miles from the Rose Bowl. If Santa Monica's prices sting, where to stay for GO Tour LA has nightly rates and hotel taxes for every base.

Why Santa Monica Is So Good for Pokémon GO

It's a really good concentrated area. The pier, the beach, Palisades Park, and the Promenade all sit inside a few blocks. You never walk far between stops, and you can switch spots the moment one gets crowded.

It also has history. In July 2016, days after the game came out, NBC Los Angeles reported a "monster crowd" on the pier at 10 p.m. on a Monday night, there just to play. Discover Los Angeles still calls the pier a top spot, with "multiple stops and lures."

GO Tours are our favorite Pokémon GO events, and Santa Monica is one of the best places we've played one. The other one we'd plan a whole trip around is Pokémon GO Fest Japan. On city days, the shiny rates felt better, the egg pool was actually good, and the raids were fun.

Where Tokyo wins is size. Santa Monica is a few great blocks by the beach, but in Tokyo the whole city plays. Every station and side street has stops, and so many people are playing that a raid fills up wherever you are. Tokyo also has more to do between raids, with Pokémon Centers, Poké Lids, and card shops. It's still the best city we've played in, and where to play Pokémon GO in Tokyo has our favorite spots there, if it's on your list.

The Best Places to Play Pokémon GO in Santa Monica

The pier, the beach path, and the Promenade are where we played the most, in the order we'd walk them. Palisades Park is the early-morning option.

1. Santa Monica Pier // Stops, Gyms, and the Pacific

The pier is the heart of it. Mornings and afternoons are the best time to play. It's relaxed, there's room to stand and raid, and there are still plenty of people around to raid with.

Evenings are different. The pier gets very crowded, and that can be a lot. That's our cue to leave the pier for the beach path or walk up into town.

• Who it's for: everyone, and anyone with a GO Tour city day
• Best time: morning and afternoon; evenings are the busiest
• Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
• Getting there: the Metro E Line ends at Downtown Santa Monica station, at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue; walk west down Colorado to the pier
• Good to know: the pier has restrooms, benches, and Wi-Fi. If you drive, the pier itself points you to the Downtown Santa Monica parking lots.
• Heads-up: the neon Santa Monica Yacht Harbor sign came down in October 2026 for restoration during the pier bridge rebuild, and it should return in late 2027. A lit half-scale replica stands just before Pier Burger in the meantime.²

2. The Beach Path to Venice // Our Daily Route

Each day we'd do a route from the pier to Venice Beach. It's always fun. You walk south along the beach, spin stops, hatch eggs, and raid with whoever you're with. On GO Tour days, this walk is our catch-and-hatch time, straight out of Catch, Hatch, Raid.

The path is the paved trail that runs along the sand, under the pier and on toward Venice. It's about 2 miles (3 km) to the Venice Beach Boardwalk. We'd stop in Venice, then walk back.

• Who it's for: players hatching eggs, and anyone who'd rather walk than stand at a gym
• Best time: the afternoon, when the pier starts to fill
• Distance: about 2 miles (3 km) each way to the Venice Beach Boardwalk
• Good to know: it's in full sun most of the way, so wear sunscreen. LA County's beach path map marks the restrooms along the route.

3. Third Street Promenade // Downtown on Foot

When the pier fills up, go into town. The Third Street Promenade is three car-free blocks of Third Street, between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway, a few blocks up from the pier. It's lined with shops, restaurants, street performers, and dinosaur topiaries by the French artists Les Lalanne. Other players gather here too.

On a Community Day, play from the pier up into town and along the Promenade. That's how we spent our best one.

• Who it's for: players who want to shop and eat between raids, and anyone playing a Community Day
• Best time: the evening, when the pier is packed
• Getting there: a short walk up from the pier along Colorado Avenue or Broadway
• Good to know: Santa Monica Place, the open-air mall, sits at the south end

4. Palisades Park // Early Raids Above the Beach

Palisades Park runs along the clifftop on Ocean Avenue, just north of the pier. It's 26 acres of palms, benches, and paths, with public art and monuments along the way, and it has restrooms.

• Who it's for: early risers and anyone who wants a calmer walk with an ocean view
• Hours: 5 a.m. to midnight daily
• Good to know: it opens an hour before the pier, so it's the place for raids before 6 a.m.

Finding Raids and Other Players in Santa Monica

You don't have to plan much here. We used Campfire, the app Pokémon GO uses for local groups and meetups, but mostly we just showed up at the pier, and people were there.

On GO Tour weekends, local Community Ambassadors host official meetups in Santa Monica too. They're posted in Campfire, and you can RSVP or just stop by.

Pokémon GO Events in Santa Monica: GO Tour City Days

Santa Monica is where most trainers stay and play during GO Tour Los Angeles. The GO Tour park day is at the stadium, but the city days are better for spawns and shinies.

In 2025 and 2026, your ticket's bonuses worked anywhere in Los Angeles County and Orange County on your ticketed day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Santa Monica counted. The bonuses included a better shiny chance, half hatch distance, up to six special trades, and up to nine raid passes a day from gyms.

The next one, GO Tour: Alola, comes to Los Angeles on February 19 to 21. As of October 2026, the venue and the citywide area haven't been announced. If we go, we'll be staying and playing in Santa Monica again.

Coming from Downtown or Little Tokyo? The Metro E Line runs straight to Downtown Santa Monica with no transfers, since the Regional Connector opened in 2023. It takes about an hour.

Tips for Playing Pokémon GO in Santa Monica

Plan for the sun. It's the worst part of playing here. The pier and the beach path are out in the open, so bring sunscreen, a hat, and water.

Take breaks. It's easy here. You can find bathrooms in the city and at the pier, there are lots of places to sit and chill between raids, and the views are amazing. The McDonald's on 2nd Street, a few blocks up from the pier, was really handy too.

Bring a battery pack. A day of walking and raiding empties a phone fast. The battery pack we carry is in our Amazon storefront.

Leave the pier before dark if crowds bother you. Evenings are the busiest time on the pier, and the night crowd comes for the lights.

Play here in person. The pier's coordinates are one of the most searched things about Pokémon GO in Santa Monica, mostly by people looking to spoof. Faking your location breaks Pokémon GO's Player Guidelines and can get your account banned permanently.¹

Our Best Moments Playing in Santa Monica

The Palkia Hundo on the Pier

It was a city day at GO Tour: Sinnoh, in 2024. I got a hundo, a Pokémon with perfect stats, on the pier. It was an Origin Forme Palkia with the LA background, and it was brand new. Everyone was there. Our friends gathered around and cheered me on while I was catching it.

Our Best Community Day: Fuecoco

Fuecoco Day was Saturday, March 8, 2025, from 2 to 5 p.m. We started at the pier and played our way up into downtown and along the Promenade. It was such a good Community Day. I think it's our best ever.

"888! 888! Shundo!"

We were eating at Pier Burger and doing lucky trades with our friends. Lucky Pokémon tend to have strong stats, so everyone watches the screen. Cream traded with our friend for a Spiritomb, and everyone gathered around.

Our friend knew the CP a perfect one would have. "It's going to be 888," he said. Then the trade came through, and he was yelling, "888! 888! Shundo!" A shundo is a shiny hundo. Everyone cheered. Those are the best moments.

Raid Circles on the Way to Venice

We do raid circles. On our walk to Venice, we usually stop for a few raids. When you finish a raid, everyone puts their phone down in a circle and claims the catch at the same time. Then we see who got a shiny. That's always really fun.

Is Santa Monica Worth It for Pokémon GO?

Yes. If you're in LA with a phone and a free afternoon, go to the pier. Play there in the morning, walk the beach to Venice, and come back through town. On a GO Tour weekend, it's where we'd stay and play. For a change of scene, Pokémon GO in Los Angeles has six more places to play, from Downtown to Long Beach.

It won't feel like Tokyo, where the whole city plays, but those few blocks by the beach are still some of the best we've played.

Next Steps for Your Santa Monica Trip

• Pokémon GO Tour Los Angeles: the whole GO Tour weekend, from tickets to budget
• The best places to play Pokémon GO in Los Angeles: the rest of LA, area by area
• Where to stay for GO Tour LA: the four bases we'd consider
• Pokémon GO in Tokyo: the one city that beats Santa Monica for us
• Pokémon GO Fest Japan: our other favorite in-person event