Asilomar
State Beach
Asilomar is located on the Monterey Peninsula in the city
of Pacific Grove, Monterey County. Asilomar means "a
refuge by the sea.” Asilomar State Beach and Conference
Grounds sits on 107 acres and offers overnight lodging
and views of the forest, surf and sand. The beach is a
narrow one-mile strip of sandy beach and rocky coves.
A 3/4-mile coast-walking trail is open to pedestrians.
The coastal resources are protected. Asilomar State Beach
is part of the Pacific Grove Fish Garden Refuge and the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Bean Hollow State Beach
Bean Hollow Beach is located 17.5 miles south of Half
Moon Bay and three miles south of Pescadero on Highway
One in San Mateo County.
The beach has fishing and picnicking. Tide pools can
also be explored here with anemones, crab, sea urchins
and other marine inhabitants. There is also nature trail
for those interested in self guided expeditions.
Carmel River State Beach
The park is one mile south of Ocean Avenue off Highway
One. Turn right on Rio Road toward the Carmel Mission,
then turn left onto Carmelo Street, to the parking lot.
On Monterey Bay, in Monterey County, the mile-long beach
features a bird sanctuary in a lagoon just before the
Carmel River empties into the sea. It features a wide
variety of waterfowl and song birds.
Gray Whale Cove State Beach
Gray Whale Cove Beach, also known as Devil’s Slide,
is north of Montara on Highway One in San Mateo County.
Automobile parking is on the east side of Highway 1.
Crossing to the ocean side of the highway can be both
difficult and dangerous. The beach has a sheltered cove
surrounded by cliffs that drop abruptly into the Pacific.
A steep trail leads down to the beach. There is a small
picnic area on the bluff above. Gray whales can often
be seen close to the shore. Sunbathing is most popular
between May and June – clothing is optional.
Half Moon Bay State Beach
Half Moon Bay Beach in San Mateo County is located one-half
mile west of Highway One on Kelly Avenue in Half Moon
Bay. There are several parking areas and access points
to approximately four miles of broad, sandy beaches
that stretch out to welcome you to Half Moon Bay. This
beach is ideal or sunbathing, fishing and for picnics.
There is also a campground for those who wish to stay
longer.
Lighthouse Field State Beach
Also known as Point Santa Cruz, this area forms the
northern boundary of Monterey Bay. The beach is located
on West Cliff Drive in downtown Santa Cruz, in Santa
Cruz County. It is one of the last open headlands in
any California urban area. This is one of the places
where Monarch butterflies winter along the California
coast. Monarchs are unique because they migrate each
winter to avoid freezing weather. The Monarchs that
winter here come from the west of the Rocky Mountains.
Butterflies are not the only draw to this area. Surfers
and tourists are found among the many birds and sea
lions that populate the offshore rocks. The lighthouse
is home to California's first surfing museum and is
the location each Christmas for "Caroling Under
the Stars," a Santa Cruz tradition which attracts
hundreds of locals and visitors. The Santa Cruz Surfing
Museum is in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse at
Lighthouse Point on West Cliff Drive. Overlooking internationally
renowned surfing hotspot Steamer Lane, this museum has
photographs, surfboards, and other interesting items
tracing over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz
Manresa State Beach
Manresa State Beach is located in Santa Cruz County.
From Highway 1, south of Aptos, San Andreas Road heads
southwest and continues for several miles to Manresa,
the first beach access upon reaching the coast. Manresa
State Beach features a beautiful expanse of sea and
sand, with surf fishing, surfing, and recreation.
Montara State Beach
Montara State Beach is located on the San Francisco
Peninsula in San Mateo County, approximately 20 miles
south of San Francisco, and approximately eight miles
north of Half Moon Bay on Highway One. This beach is
a popular for exploring beach tide pools and surf fishing.
Low hills bound this beach on north and south sides.
Point Montara has a lighthouse that offers overnight
accommodations that are operated by American Youth Hostels.
Montara Mountain, also known as McNee Ranch, is part
of Montara State Beach. Montara Mountain is a northern
spur of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It features the only
undisturbed Coastal Mountain Habitat over 100 miles
of coastline.
Monterey State Beach
The park is located at the Seaside exit off Highway
218, west of Highway 1 in Monterey County. This beach
is a favorite place for surfers and tidepool watchers.
Fishing is popular, too. The cities of Monterey and
Seaside share the park, which has three separate beaches
approximately a mile apart. The underwater area of the
park attracts scuba divers. The flat beach is an excellent
place for walking on the beach.
Moss Landing State Beach
The beach is located on Jetty Road in Moss Landing and
16 miles north of Monterey via Highway One in Monterey
County.
Offshore fishing, surfing, windsurfing and horseback
riding are popular activities. The beach is a favorite
place for picnics because the dunes protect it from
afternoon winds. The area is an important stop along
the Pacific Flyway making bird watching here very popular
as well.
Natural Bridges State Beach
Natural Bridges is located in Santa Cruz County. Take
Swift Avenue west from Highway 1, or follow West Cliff
Drive north along the in-town bluffs until it ends at
Natural Bridges. A picnic area is located off the main
parking lot in a eucalyptus and pine trees grove where
you will find tables, barbecues, water faucets and restroom
facilities. This beach is famous for its natural bridge.
It offers an excellent vantage point for viewing shore
birds, migrating whales, and seals and otters playing
offshore. Low tides reveal sea stars, crabs, sea anemones,
and other colorful ocean life. There is also a large
area of coastal scrub meadows, with bright native wildflowers
in the spring. Moore Creek flows down to the ocean through
these meadows, forming a wetland in the sand.
New Brighton State Beach
New Brighton Beach is located in Santa Cruz County in
the town of Capitola, just south of Santa Cruz. The
beach can be reached by taking the New Brighton/Park
Avenue exit off Highway One. The beach has a camping
area on a bluff overlooking northern Monterey Bay. It
also has picnic areas and a nearby forest of Monterey
pine and Coastal Live Oak. New Brighton Beach is great
for swimming and fishing.
Pacifica State Beach
Pacific Beach is located off Highway One in downtown
Pacifica, .in San Mateo County. This wide crescent-shaped
beach marks the northern gateway to the coastline stretching
south of San Francisco.
Pescadero State Beach
Pescadero Beach is located 14.5 miles south of Half
Moon Bay on Highway One in San Mateo County. The beach
has a mile-long shoreline with sandy coves and rocky
cliffs. It offers great tide pools, fishing spots and
picnic areas. Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve is across
the highway and is a popular spot for bird watchers
and other naturalists.
Pismo State Beach
Pismo is located in the town of Oceano off Highway One
in San Luis Obispo County. Pismo State Beach offers
all kinds of attractions: hiking, swimming, surf fishing,
and digging for the famous Pismo clam. There are tree-lined
dunes and the beach is popular with bird watchers. The
park has the largest over-wintering colony of monarch
butterflies in the U.S.
Pomponio State Beach
Pomponio Beach is located 12 miles south of Half Moon
Bay on Highway One in San Mateo County. There is a wide
parking area, picnic tables and barbecues. There is
also access to miles of gently sloping, sandy beaches
at the base of high sandstone bluffs.
San Gregorio State Beach
San Gregorio Beach is located 10.5 miles south of Half
Moon Bay on Highway One in San Mateo County. California
Historical Landmark 26 marks the passage of Spanish
Explorer Captain Gaspar de Portolá through this
area in October 1769. Home for many birds and small
animals, this beach includes a protected, driftwood-strewn
estuary at the back of a wide, sandy beach with grassy
bluffs along the coast.
Seacliff State Beach
Seacliff Beach is located off the State Park Drive exit
from Highway One in the neighborhood of Aptos in Santa
Cruz County. Seacliff is known for its fishing pier
and concrete freighter named The Palo Alto. The Palo
Alto is one of three concrete ships built at the U.S.
Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. The ships were
built for wartime use as tankers. World War I ended
before construction of the ships finished. The Palo
Alto’s maiden voyage was made under tow to Seacliff
State Beach in 1929 where she was used as an amusement
and fishing ship. By the summer of 1930 a pier had been
built leading to the ship. The company went broke after
two seasons leaving the ship, and the pier, for fishing.
Sunset State Beach
Sunset Beach is located 16 miles south of Santa Cruz
via Highway One and San Andreas Road in Santa Cruz County.
It features pine trees, mountainous sand dunes, and
ocean side picnic spots. The beach is a year-round destination
for thousands of visitors.
Twin Lakes State Beach
Twin Lakes Beach is located in Santa Cruz County. The
small craft harbor in downtown Santa Cruz is approximately
in the middle of Twin Lakes State Beach, which extends
for a distance parallel to East Cliff Drive and Portola
Drive. The beach has a mile of sandy shoreline and is
popular for swimming and picnicking. Schwan’s
Lake, adjacent to the park, is a good location for bird
watching.
William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach
The beach is located directly across Highway One from
the Hearst Castle in San Luis Obispo County. Hearst
Castle is located on California Highway 1, about halfway
between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The beach is
located near the historic town of San Simeon where you
can hike, swim, fish or simply walk the beach. Ocean
kayaking is also popular. Picnic tables, barbecue grills
and restrooms are available. A festival commemorating
the nineteenth-century history of the local area, "A
Day in Old San Simeon", is held at the State Beach
each year in May.
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