Rock the Goat…read more Smallish beach located inside Sonoma Coast State Park that's known for its eponymous rock formation and for being in the cult classic film "The Goonies." The Good: * Several small parking lots * Picnic tables * Restroom in the parking lot * Free to visit * There's a colony of harbor seals that reside here, and you can see the babies during pupping season from March - August. The Meh: * No dogs allowed at this beach due to the seals. The Ugly: * Not recommended for swimming due to sneaker waves and strong rip currents. * As usual, Yelp's location is absurdly wrong, and the mods are asleep at the wheel. Big shock, eh? If you want to get here, put 9528 Goat Rock Rd, Jenner, CA 95450 into your GPS or just use Google, whose locations are always correct. Conclusion: Nice beach to visit if you're in the area and especially if you like to visit old film locations.

Lots of I interesting rocks an pebbles to be found! Just look down! And keep walking and walking…read more Great for rock enthusiasts. There are some dried up sea life in the sand too like dried sea urchins and hermit crab shells Free parking

This is a nice, quiet family beach. We didn't actually go to the beach this time, but instead took…read morea leisurely hike along the coastal trail. The hike is so beautiful anytime of the year. At the beginning of summer, there are plenty of wildflowers, and you can't beat the cliff views. You'll probably run into a few rabbits and little critters, and the hike is calming and relaxing. This is a great place to enjoy some chill time.

Haven't seen such a beautiful spread of flowers! The yellow flowers carpeted the hillside and the…read moreentire path to the beach. Parking can get tight over weekends this season so try to arrive early. There is street side parking just incase. Recommend visiting during spring to catch this sight before they dry out.

AMAZING tide pools during super low tide. I got a fishing license to go Sea Urchin hunting with a…read morefriend and I followed his lead to come here. The low tides happen once every couple months and when they happen it gets packed. We came around 2 and began the day hunting for eels at the Jetty. My friend made home made eel catching poles and we baited them with squid, we had no catches during our time here but we saw people using raw chicken to successfully catch some crabs Super low tide was around 6:30 and I highly advise waterproof pant or coveralls if you are going to be hunting. Purple sea urchins have exploded in population and I think with a license you can get 35 per day. They are jammed into holes in the rock and are small, very painful to find, and pulling them out of the cavities and we broke a knife and tongs. The best tool ended up being a spoon we brought to eat Uni on toast. We spent hours digging out maybe 20 small sea urchins total and then I spent another hour at home opening and cleaning them. They were delicious on sourdough and they were so time consuming to find and clean I can see why they cost so much at the grocery store. Tips for sea urchin, you will break some shells trying to pull them out so bring fresh water to rinse them before eating or it'll be super salty. They melt very quickly and you'll want something like ice water or water with alum if you want to make them "solid" like they are in restaurants.

Beaches like these just make my little heart sing! Beautiful waves, soft sand, and picturesque…read moreviews. Now this is what I'm talking about! I visited Maverick's Beach during the early morning hours in the off season, so there were practically no surfers or people in sight. But, I can totally see why this is a surfer's dream beach. Those waves are something serious! The short trail that leads out to the beach is so gorgeous! The coastal views are so insane and it's a nice little trek too. Seems to be popular with the dog walkers and local fishermen. It's not a huge beach but there's still plenty of room to move around. I can only imagine how popular this spot is during the dead of summer. Parking is limited to one lot that is shared with access to the Pillar Point Bluff trail. I walked here from Johnson Pier which was actually quite a trek but super enjoyable nonetheless. Plus, I didn't have to worry about struggle parking. There's also a gorgeous jetty that you can walk down to spy on the waves and wildlife. Such a lovely little beach! Definitely a favorite of mine in the HMB area.

One of the only free beaches in Half Moon Bay but you have to walk a nicely maintained path for…read moreabout a mile to actually get to the beach. Map directory points you to park at a baseball field. Walking towards the coast, you'll see multiple paths: left, center, and right. We opted for the center/diagonal path as that was the fastest one to the beach. We love the amount of grasses swaying gently, the wildflowers, and wildlife that covered the open space preserve. Next time, we will try the right path to see the tree walkway.

Our first stop in Half Moon Bay. You can see the baseball diamonds from the highway and there was…read moreplenty of parking since the fields were not being used. The trailhead is easy to see but there is minimal access information. So if you turn right and take the gravel path it loops around to the beach. For the Cypress Tree Tunnel take the dirt path on the right which takes you past the baseball diamonds. When the dirt path comes to a fork take the left path towards the trees. When you get to the trees you are at the start of the Cypress Tunnel. The path forks here again this time veer to the right. When you come out of the tunnel go left and this will take you along the coastline with many paths that will branch off to the beach. Eventually the path loops around and takes you back to the starting point at the baseball diamonds. A very nice flat fresh air dog friendly hike.

Talk about a great day at the beach with pals! My friends and I ventured up to Half Moon Bay on a…read moreSaturday afternoon for a beach escape. I recommend driving through Woodside, despite it being a longer route, as the views along the way were stellar. Once you arrive, there's a sandy road leading to a parking lot. The parking lot was mainly full, so we had to park on the side of the road and walk the distance to the parking lot. The parking lot has some horses next to it. It can be a bit confusing once you get to the parking lot.If you want to stand above a cliff and look down, then being at the parking lot is perfect for you. But, if you would like to feel the sand beneath your toes or hop in the ocean for a dip, be ready for a trek down a large cliff. It did feel very scary, intimidating, and dangerous - especially since my friends were carrying large bags down - but it's a necessary evil journey down to enjoy the beach in its full glory. I do not recommend wearing flip flops if you're planning on going down to the beach, as it can be easy to slip down the cliff. I also wouldn't recommend going down if it was raining, as it can be very slippery due the large incline and pure height of the cliff. The beach is really long and was relatively empty when we had climbed down. There aren't any benches to sit on, so bring some seats or blankets to enjoy the view. The water is very cold, like many NorCal beaches, and there weren't any people swimming in it. Despite it turning gloomy, the views from the actual beach were beautiful, and in my opinion, worth the hike down. Also, like other beaches in NorCal, there was a windy breeze so bring a layer! We stayed until dark since we wanted to watch the sunset. If you thought it was hard going down, imagine scaling the cliff, carrying our own bags and trash bags, and in the dark. We had to use our phone flashlights to light the way, as there was no lighting around the beach or any of the cliffs other than some near the parking lot. I recommend just watching the sunset from the top to be safe. Overall, if you're okay with hiking down a cliff to access a beach, or even just admiring the view from the parking lot, Redondo Beach is a viable option for you. It's a bit hard to access and dark at night, but we thought it was totally worth it for the view, beach vibe, and good times with friends. We'll be back for another outing!

One of our favorite beautiful places to go especially when the Bay Area weather is hot. We come…read morehere often and even bring family. Great for a stroll or go biking on their trails or hanging out at the beach and watching the waves from the top cliff or on the beach. Good for mountain biking as there are some rough patches of trails you can use as well as flat. Love the white soft sand on the beach. Parking here can be scarce so come early but at least, it's free. [61R,2024]

Beautiful and quiet beach in moss beach- a true hidden gem! Little walking trail in the woods and…read moresome steps down to the stunning beach. Nearby is a great distillery if you're hungry after your trip to the ocean.

It's a small secluded beach at the tail end of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve where you will need to…read moretravel down a flight of stairs. No food or drinks allowed on the beach - just water. Clearly enforced by park rangers. It's to preserve the naturalness of the beach since it's part of the reserve. That is why I did not give this place 5 stars. It may be one reason why families don't flock to this beach or stay for long. They don't have trash cans readily available throughout the area so I'm guessing the "no food or drinks" rule is to avoid litter on the beach. All it takes is one irresponsible person to ruin this complex ecosystem for many marine animals. Although you can't enjoy food on this beach, what's nice and why young kids love this area is it's a great way to learn about tidepools and the marine life that live in these waters. You'll find all sorts of interesting wildlife when the water recedes enough to expose all the little creatures. The water here is almost always cold year-round so you won't see too many people swimming.

This beach is the closest to our hotel. It's beautiful. It's so tranquil. The weather was perfect…read more The beach was extremely clean. There are trails all over the upper part of the beach. If you haven't check out this beach you must.

I love the beaches in Half Moon Bay. When the rest of the bay including Santa Cruz is sweltering,…read morethe beaches here are nice and cool. This is right by the Venice beach which is our go to but this has a nicer approach (i.e. not a dirt road), plenty of parking and easy access to the beach.

This is a hidden and secluded beach at Pillar Point, not easily accessible. In fact google maps…read morewill lead you to a cliff if you input walking directions, since there's no easy way to get there. There are two ways to access the trails leading here, either from the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve side, or from the Pillar Point Parking Lot which is where I hiked from this past weekend during my recent visit. It's easy to mistakenly take the coastal access trail from this lot, which actually leads to Mavericks Beach. To find Ross Cove, you'll have to walk toward the Pillar Point Airforce Station (golf ball looking structure) as the beach is right underneath this. I hiked a bit along the trail toward Pillar Point Bluff, and discovered a steep and rocky dirt path leading to the sandy oasis below (it reminded me of Davenport Beach, but without the safety rope). It was gratifying and I enjoyed exploring the area, with scenic views and crashing waves on this cool spring day with the clouds making way for some sunshine by the afternoon. FYI, parking is extremely limited on this side and they appear to be strict about not parking on the road, so that's one downside. There are porta potties available at this parking lot though, so that's a plus.

Daaaayum! I think I've just hit the jackpot. This beach right here is truly breathtaking. The most…read morebeautiful beach that I've been to in the HMB area and one of my new favorites! Stunning, stunning, stunning! What I initially thought wasn't accessible was actually just hiding beneath the bluffs. You want secluded?! Oooh, you'll get that here! I really think that most people don't know that this beach even exists. And even after I post this review, I'm pretty sure that it's gonna stay this way for a long time. This beach is accessible by way of the Pillar Point Bluffs Trail. The parking lot is tiny and there isn't street parking for almost a mile out, so this is probably another reason why it isn't crowded. There's a dirt trail and a paved road that both lead to the stairs down to this beach. The problem is, you won't even see the stairs leading down unless you're really looking for it. From the trailhead, it looks like the beach is far away and inaccessible, but it actually is. There's a steep downhill and then some steep stairs to get down here. But once you make it down there, it is so damn magical. When I first made it down here, there was absolutely no one else there. Not a damn soul. I was shocked but happy. Blinded by the beauty of the white waves and the coastal views of the land's end. The perfect friggin' beach and all mine in that very moment. It was so serene. Picture perfect. I didn't wanna leave but I did anyways, knowing that I'd be back. When I came back the second time, there were a few other groups there but that was it. That was all. Since this beach is tucked between Ross Cove, it feels so much warmer and keeps the heavier winds at bay. But, you still get that nice ocean breeze. Ended up staying for the sunset and it was everything that I imagined it to be. Peaceful. Calming. Beautiful. Just everything. The perfect beach, ladies and gents! I have nothing to complain about. Fell in love instantly and have been dreaming about coming back. And I'll get back there again real soon.