Best BAY AREA Beaches
HERE ARE 14 LESSER-KNOWN GEMS FOR SUMMER FUN, FROM SURFING AND FISHING TO SUNBATHING AND SANDCASTLES
If there’s one thing Bay Area beach aficionados agree upon, it’s that our ocean water is cold — especially when compared to the waters where our SoCal brethren frolic south of Point Conception. But what we give up in comfort is made up for in other ways. Our beaches are among the most stunning and varied, offering adventure, contemplation, seclusion and outright fun along with those well-chilled waves.
Of course, everyone knows about San Francisco’s Ocean and Baker beaches, Marin County’s famous Stinson and Santa Cruz’s incredible shore. But here are 14 other sandy options, where surf meets strand and superlatives abound.
Adventuresome shores
Great Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore gets the brunt of what the Pacific Ocean has to offer, yielding plenty of adventure along its 11 miles of mostly secluded sand. Docent Jim Rolka says the Pacific is anything but pacifico — “peaceful” in Spanish. Ferdinand Magellan only thought these seas were peaceful, Rolka says, because the explorer had just been battered mercilessly around Cape Horn.
On any given day here, wetsuit-clad surfers glide the chilly, challenging waves — the water a balmy 53 degrees on a recent day — and shore fishermen throw out their heavy-duty lines hoping for a big bite. Couples huddle against the wind, pelicans hunt for food and an occasional sea lion makes its way onto this Point Reyes beach for a little rest. And when the wind dies down and a warm sun appears, it’s glorious.
Point Reyes’ Limantour Beach offers a pleasant sandy stretch on Drakes Bay bordering the Limantour Estero, or marshy estuary. The water may be cold, but this family-friendly beach also boasts gentler waves and moderate winds. Numerous hikes lead through the wetlands and coastal trails, and you can launch your kayak into the Estero. Leashed dogs are welcome but, as at other beaches, they are restricted in some areas to protect the nesting grounds of endangered snowy plovers. And if you want to get away from it all for a while, head south to nearby Sculptured Beach.
The Marin Headlands’ Rodeo Beach, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, sits in a dramatic cove, surrounded by imposing cliffs and rocks. Nearby, you’ll find old Fort Cronkhite and numerous artillery batteries that once defended the Golden Gate from invasion. Talk about coastal microclimates: I arrived at Rodeo after a sunlit, windless, 70-degree beach stroll in Tomales Bay to find blasting wind-driven drizzle, fog and temperatures in the low 50s. But even in the drizzle, beach lovers and their dogs played on on the dark sand, joggers dashed nearby and an occasional surfer honed his skills in the roiling water.
Family-friendly beaches
That sunny Tomales Bay beach was Heart’s Desire, one of three great options for parents planning a family day by the water. This relatively small cove in Tomales Bay State Park is easily surveyable for kiddie-watching. The water, which is warmer than the oceanside beaches, is shallow for a long way out. There are restrooms and picnic tables, and limited parking ($8 per car) keeps crowds to a minimum. On really nice weekends, it’s best to get there before 11 a.m.
Alameda’s popular Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach — named after a California assemblyman who championed this beach’s preservation — offers a large sandy beach and relatively warm water, whose shallow depths stretch for several hundred feet towards the city of San Francisco. The 2.5-mile long beach draws a diverse crowd of water lovers, sun-worshippers and picnickers, wearing everything from bathing suits to church clothes. This shoreline is a favorite with windsurfers and kite-boarders, too. There’s plenty of parking ($5 per car), plus restrooms and a changing room. And a nifty visitors center at Crab Cove includes an aquarium, tide pools and history and marine exhibits.
Another place to take the kids (and grown-ups) is Moss Beach’s James V. Fitzgerald Marine Preserve. The preserve has some of California’s best intertidal-zone tide pools. At low tide, retreating waters expose pools, cracks and fissures in the hard rock that teem with sea animals and plants. Visitors slip and slide along the sea grass deposits on the rocks looking for visual treasures. Check local tidal charts before venturing here to get the maximum enjoyment and tide-pool time. There are also interesting trails above the preserve linking the north and south tide pool areas, meandering through cypress groves and on to other nearby beaches. Parking is free.
Spectacular sandy strands
Pacifica State Beach — or Linda Mar Beach — is a great surfing spot for beginners. Its unintimidating, predictable waves break on the beach, as opposed to a point break, where competition for waves can end up in crowded conditions and even fisticuffs. The mood at Linda Mar is decidedly mellow and the beach makes a wonder-
ful people-watching venue (and in the spring, whale watching too). There’s even a Taco Bell right on the sand for your chalupa fix.
At Gray Whale Cove State Beach, wave action and erosion near the notorious Devil’s Slide has shaped a beautiful, hidden double-cove wonder, just south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels on Highway 1. Park in the McNee Ranch parking lot, cross Highway 1 (carefully) and descend the long staircase to the beach below.
This natural work of art offers multi-hued, multi-strata cliff walls and deep, clean sand. Be aware that the north side of the cove tends to be clothing-optional in good weather. As the name implies, this beach is a good spot to see migrating whales in season.
The coastline below Half Moon Bay is a spectacular setting for five sublime shoreline offerings along Highway 1, starting at Cowell Ranch Beach.
Not to be confused with Santa Cruz’s Cowell Beach, this secluded strand at the end of a half-mile road was preserved in 1987 through the efforts of conservation groups.
From the lookout point, both the north and south beaches unfold for majestic views. South beach is off-limits during harbor seal calving season, but public access to the north beach is down a long staircase along a steep bluff. (As on all ocean beaches, exercise extreme caution when playing in or near the water. Tragically, a Pleasanton woman drowned here earlier this month, trying to save children who were swept out from ankle-deep water by sneaker waves and an undertow.)
Martins Beach, about 7 miles south of Half Moon Bay and one of the most beautiful beaches on the San Mateo coast, has been the subject of controversy for the last several years.
Tech billionaire and oceanfront landowner Vinod Khosla sought to permanently block access to the beach but was rebuffed by the courts. Now he’s appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, shoreline access has been restored and water enthusiasts can again enjoy the fine sand, impressive southern sea cliffs and the iconic shark fin-shaped rock formation off shore. Park in the dirt lot at Highway 1 and Martins Beach Road, walk past the car gate and down the paved road about a half-mile to the beach — or drive down halfway and pay a $10 parking fee.
A short distance south, you’ll find Tunitas Creek Beach dominated by magnificent cliff walls and not surprisingly, a significant creek.
A steep, eroded dirt path curving partially through dense vegetation led me down to the beach, where a kite-boarder was packing up his gear after an exciting sail through some whitecaps. “It looks like we have the place to ourselves,” he said. The beach is on its way to becoming a county park, its raucous past tamed by new regulations.
Ho, hum, yet another stunning beach? Why, yes! San Gregorio sits in a valley where San Gregorio Creek runs toward the Pacific Ocean.
These days, says State Parks representative Kaira Wallace, the creek flow does not have enough power to cut through the beach to the ocean, so it has backed up into a lagoon.
You’ll need to wade across a stretch several inches deep to reach the beach. It’s a small price to pay for access to this notable seashore, where sun lovers stroll, dogs cavort and kids build driftwood sculptures.
Pescadero State Beach makes a perfect ending to a sunny foray, with at least three distinct areas to beguile beach lovers. Small coves to the south offer picnic terrain and prime boogie boarding, at least on this particular visit.
You can enjoy hours of wildlife sightings at the Pescadero Marsh and Preserve, where its namesake creek and Butano Creek intermingle. And to the north, the near-vertical, multicolored bluffs and hidden beaches provide plenty of adventure.
Top off your beach trip with a stop in the cool little town of Pescadero, a few miles east, to pick up housemade jams and cheesy cheddar-artichoke bread at the Arcangeli Grocery and Bakery, or the famous olallieberry pie at the historic Duarte’s Tavern and Restaurant. A sweet end to a summery day.