The western side of the Lège-Cap Ferret peninsula faces the open Atlantic and is lined with a nearly continuous strip of sandy beach stretching for about 25 kilometres from Lège in the north to the lighthouse at the tip in the south. The water is clean, the waves are powerful (making it popular with surfers), and the crowd is generally thinner than at the better-known beaches of Biarritz or the Landes coast to the south.
The beaches at La Plage de l'Horizon, Plage du Truc Vert, and Plage de l'Escourtin are among the most accessible and popular. Lifeguards patrol during the summer months, and the designated swimming areas are flagged and supervised. The undertow can be strong outside supervised areas, so take the flags seriously. The path through the dunes from the bassin side to the Atlantic side is a pleasant walk of about ten to twenty minutes depending on where you cross, and renting a bicycle — widely available throughout the peninsula — is the best way to explore the full length.