It took 40 years but finally people who want to check out Malibu's famous "hidden beach" near the Paradise Cove area will get a public walkway to get from P-C-H to the sand.

The Coastal Commission settled a long-running fight over an easement that grants public access to a quiet stretch of Escondido Beach.  The homeowners straddling the pathway ... who have been obscuring, blocking and otherwise making it very difficult for anyone to use the easement ... will be responsible for building a new walkway.

Lisa Haage, chief of enforcement at the Coastal Commission, tells KNX there are a lot more spots like this that they're targeting.

This marks the first new direct path from P-C-H to the beach opened up in Malibu since 2015.