In the City of Los Angeles, Playa del Rey is the section of beachfront just south of the Ballona Wetlands and Ballona Creek and Marina del Rey; thus, the beach population is divided here. This makes Playa del Rey an enclave and keeps the crowds a little smaller. For beachgoers, one danger is the uncontrolled water runoff from the creek, and the occasional overflow from the giant Hyperion treatment plant to the south. The term also refers to the neighborhood that is adjacent to the beach.

The lifeguard and park services are uniform across the entire twenty mile stretch of beach, a fact which goes unremarked in Los Angeles. The ground of this area was largely wetland, but is currently contained by the concrete channel which contains Ballona Creek. A bridge between Playa Del Rey and the jetty between Ballona Creek and the Marina is accessible to foot traffic and bicycle traffic, but not to automobiles. Skaters and bikers probably have the best chance of traversing the sidewalks of the beaches north to Santa Monica, and to the South Bay, here at this bridge. UCLA's crew team practices on the Ballona Creek channel.

Topographically, Playa del Rey sits just above sea level, beneath the Westchester hills on a flood plain which slopes gradually, north to the Santa Monica Mountains. Westchester and the Beach Cities to the south (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Palos Verdes), which lie on dunes which rise at least 50 feet above sea level. The Palos Verdes Peninsula serves as the southwest "corner" of Los Angeles, and rises several hundred feet above sea level.