Seen in: Rocky III
“Mickey never had me do this.”
After working out at Apollo’s grungy L.A. gym, a depressed Rocky joins him on Santa Monica beach to race in the sand to build his speed and flexibility.
The two fighters run south along the beach towards the famous Santa Monica Pier, which is visible in the distance. Adrian delivers her pep talk in the surf just a few hundred feet north of the pier.
In the training montage, Rocky and Apollo jog at sunset in this same spot, and then cap off the sequence with their famous slow motion race which culminates in a wet hug.
The pier itself definitely looks different today – the latter third actually fell away into the ocean in 1983 during a pair of violent winter storms which occurred not long after filming wrapped here. The pier has since been rebuilt, and now features its popular ferris wheel, restaurants and other attractions.
We recommend parking in the beach level parking lot adjacent to the pier and then heading north along the beach.
The Rocky/Apollo race area is just a short walking distance from that parking lot.
If you visit, don’t miss checking out the pier itself, used in dozens upon dozens of major films and television series.
