Beach parking $12.00!!!

Last night we went to Santa Monica Pier. We didn't park on the pier, but just to the side of it - and it was $12.00 - ouch!! Normally we would have parked at the nearby mall earlier (for free) and walked it, but this time we wanted to take the kids to the water. I needed to take the beach bags with the clothes, snacks, and toys - so we weren't about to walk with a load. A parking spot was found just steps away from the entrance/pier - so changing afterwards at the car was a snap - and we could just take a short walk to get on the pier afterwards to go get dinner. Considering it was a packed Saturday night, I think our $12.00 was well spent - although I would have rather not paid that much of course. We had recent stayed in Long Beach - and they had metered parking at one of the beaches! I didn't mind tossing a few coins for it - we had only stayed to see a sand castle competition and play in the water a bit. It was a dream to pay not even a dollar for parking! There are beaches out this way where you can park for free at the side of the streets, but you almost have to be lucky to find space at this time of year. And you might have a bit of a walk to hit the waves. Do you think the parking price at your beaches are justified? Do you avoid certain beaches because of the parking prices?