Dockweiler State Beach in the Playa del Rey area of Los Angeles extends 3.75 miles along the coast and occupies 91 acres at the western end of Imperial Highway. Established in 1948 as part of Venice-Hyperion Beach State Park and renamed in 1955 for Isidore B. Dockweiler, it is an unusual urban shoreline beneath the flight path of Los Angeles International Airport, near the former settlement of Palisades del Rey. Known for bonfires, picnics, and a bike path, it is especially significant for hang gliding: pioneers used its dunes and steady breezes in the 1960s, and after a 1986 ban, the sport returned in 2000 with the Dockweiler Hang Gliding Center.