Best Beaches in California

Pacific coast beach reviews from San Diego to Mendocino

2 beaches reviewed in California

Wide view of Del Monte Beach in Monterey showing pale sand dunes with native ice plant and coastal scrub in the foreground, gentle breaking waves, and the Pacific horizon with the Santa Cruz coast visible in the distanceEasy Access
4.0
California·United States

Del Monte Beach

Monterey's quiet bay-side beach, named after an 1880 Gilded Age hotel that is now the Naval Postgraduate School. The cold-water walking beach that almost every travel guide wrongly sells as a swimming beach.

sandy
walkingphotographywildlife-watching+2 more
Sandstone cliffs and sea cave at Panther Beach near Santa Cruz, CaliforniaEasy Access
3.2
California·United States

Panther Beach

A hidden sandstone cove off Highway 1 near Santa Cruz, known for its dramatic sea cave, sculpted cliffs, and wild Northern California beauty.

sandysecluded cove
photographyexploringswimming