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    Pleasure Point

    4.4 (62 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Some tide pools
    Nohemy C.

    First timer on a Saturday morning and was able to find street parking around 10 am. It is busy with surfers and locals but not crowded on a cloudy morning. The tide was close but my child still had a blast splashing around in the tide pools. No animals except the usual birds and shells but he didn't mind. We did not use the restrooms. This is also where the walking trail begins all along Cliff Drive. It was about a 12-15 min drive from here to the boardwalk afterwards. There are several other beaches close by if you want to set up shop and hang out for longer. This is not that kind of place. We were here about 45-50 minutes.

    8/23 PP
    Georgia B.

    Pleasure Point is a surfing area near East Cliff. When I visited the surf wasn't great. But it was a beautiful sunny summer day and even saw a monarch off season. A couple dozen surfer students were in the water taking lessons. PP is good for both short and long boarders. I saw one entry point, stairs by the shower. It was less crowded than West Cliff and I found parking on the street across from Pleasure Market & Cafe. Nearby, there are many surf shops for gears.... definitely surf town vibe.

    Beach
    Annabelle R.

    The beach at Pleasure Point gave me all the feels this past weekend. And it was in the simplicity of the sandy shore hidden by the mudstone wall of the beautiful sea cliffs near the border of Santa Cruz and Capitola, that gave it a secluded peaceful feeling. There are stairs that take surfers and beachgoers down to the fields of sand below, but this cove specifically required some climbing over a few rocks right along the water in order to get to. There weren't many visitors to this specific area on a Sunday late afternoon, though lots of surfers could be seen in the water a distance away in both directions. The waves here were gentler and calm, perfect for us to stretch out our beach mat and lie in the sun in perfect weather, with a cool breeze and warm sunshine on our bodies, soft layers of sand underneath us. I couldn't ask for more than such a beautiful setting to relax, enjoy the sound of the water along the shoreline, with the clouds and mountains fading in the distance, sharing good conversation and quality time with loved one. There are some benches along the pedestrian pathway on East Cliff Drive near the edge of the cliff above the beach, even a couple buildings/homes randomly situated at the edge of the cliff as well. And across the beach on the other side of East Cliff Drive is a free parking lot (Pleasure Point Parking Lot) with a restroom conveniently located right next to it. Kids will always find ways to enjoy any sandy beach area, running and playing along the water. But I think the isolated feel of the environment at Pleasure Point makes it more of an ideal spot for couples to spend a lovely afternoon together or a respite for those who wanna get away from it all.

    Brenda B.

    Pleasure point appears be a popular spot for surfers . It's convenient because there are rest rooms with a rinse off showers available, and a convenient store / cafe right across the street . We are not surfers . But we very much enjoyed seeing them catch Santa Cruz waves below. There are stairs to take you down the the water and plenty of railings to lean on and enjoy the view . We got a burrito from the little store / cafe and ate it looking over the ocean . Parking in on the street in the neighborhoods. It was relaxing and a pleasure to visit !

    Jen C.

    Beautiful spot. Picturesque . Beach can be accessed by stairs from the cliff. I might have gone during high tides; water all the way to the base of the stairs. Beach was unaccessible. It was also cold and foggy in the evening.

    Cathy C.

    This beautiful breathtaking spot is a surfers haven and when extreme tide events occur it's also where you can locate family friendly tide pools. There are walking paths if you want to enjoy the beach from a far or you can go down a stair case that will safely take you down to the bottom so you can enjoy The Point all year round. Get yourself a breakfast burrito at the corner store on the opposite end of the point and then catch some waves. Pictures in this post was taken from King Tide Events that made from some extreme negative tides.

    Noble dorid
    Jesse J.

    If you're in the area and want to go tidepooling, this is THE spot!! I have gone here several times with my friends and every single time we see something new. Legitimately a marine biologists' (or any marine animal lovers') paradise. Attached are a few of my favorite finds at low tides.

    James B.

    Fun place to surf watch. Stopped with dog walked the upper areas. Wonderful ocean vistas. Steep stairs to walk down to beach.

    Jeffrey S.

    Feel like getting a good giggle from your friends? Tell them you visited Pleasure Point. The name may induce a double-take, but the spot will have you doing a triple. It's so lovely, and full of locals who eschew the more common beaches of Santra Cruz. Awoke. Something in me awoke here. It wasn't some aha, hallelujah moment when the skies parted, but more of a small and sudden creep of knowledge where I understood, maybe just a little bit, about what it's like to live near the ocean and spend time there. Every coming-of-age beach movie, every summer romp, it all kinda made sense. You see, this is where a lot of the locals come to surf, and to hang out on the beach. I was with a local, but by the paleness of my no-sun-all-winter skin, they knew I wasn't from around these parts. I watched couples roll up and just sit. I watched kids playing ball, just out of school for the summer, flirting, and daring each other into feats of strength and swimming courage. I saw a few moms with their little ones, and a few older folks just reading or relaxing. Pleasure Point is a way of life. It's the pleasure way of life. The way of life where you hang a "Life's A Beach" poster and actually mean it--life IS a beach here. It's grabbing dinner and heading to the water, walking, and forgetting that you're smelling the salty ocean air, because to you, that's just how the air smells. The beach bends around the point and there are a few small lots for parking as well as the neighborhood streets. There are outdoor rinse spots and not-so-awesome toilets if you need to change or take care of business. You make your way down the cliff to the sand and you can walk around until the rocks tell you to stop. It's just a sweet little enclave full of ocean denizens and people who have this whole hang loose thing down to an art form. I sat on the sand, sunburned my ankles, and felt a deep sense of awakeness. I walked, saw the perfect pebble for a "thinking of you" collection and found immense, well... pleasure in the entire experience.

    Tide pools during King Tides
    Damaris F.

    We visited for King tides and tide pooling. The tide pools had mostly seaweed with some pools with snails and hermit crabs. Great place to take a long walk along the bluff and watch surfers. If you make low tide there is a small beach area to relax at. Parking is scarce, there is a public lot and we were lucky to get a spot in the afternoon when others were leaving. It's a great bike path to ride into Capitola as well. Just love it here.

    Hee Y.

    I typed in the address to Point Market and parked near 33rd Ave and Hawes Dr because the streets closer to the main road are permit only. There are several entrances to get down to the beach. The view is beautiful and like another reviewer said, highly recommend getting breakfast burritos at Point Market and eating on one of the benches along the cliff.

    Nick H.

    Daydreams of being stranded on a an island don't compare to what I found here. Beyond what you can ever imagine, this beach offers isolated sands, smooth rocks, various tidal pools and surfing. The beach is located just to the north of Capitola. Isolated stairs will lead you to different areas of the beach that are drastically different in scenery depending on which stairs you take down to the water. Friendly seals find your presence interesting enough to swim around you while keeping a safe distance. There are random local eateries nearby or you can drive a little to the north or south and find enough good food to keep you busy for days. Great views, clean sands, and nice waters on a sunny and clear day make me a fan of this spot an then some! This is a great place to stop and relax if you are in the area.

    enjoying the sunset walk
    Susan F.

    We have lived in the Pleasure Point area for nearly 20 years now! This last week the tide was extremely low, we took the opportunity to go for a sunset walk. Many people were out, lots of rambunctious dogs getting to play and get their zoomies out! Kids playing in the tidepools and a glorious sunset. If the tide is up people are always walking and biking along east cliff. Its a special treat when the tide is out and you can walk from Rockview all the way to the Hook!

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    Yeah, the beach!!!! Looking good! We watched surfers abd people. It was refreshing. This place is nice

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    4 years ago

    Found this spot accidentally. So happy we did. It was a beautiful place & a relaxing walk. Watched the surfers. Cute little town

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    One of favorite spots to get away and just sit while Listening to the waves. I love that it's not alway over populated.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Pleasure Point

    Review Highlights - Pleasure Point

    We recently got back from renting a property right on East Cliff named, "The Cabin." Great rental with an awesome view of the Bay and surfers.

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    Natural Bridges State Beach - Eucalyptus Row

    Natural Bridges State Beach

    4.3(535 reviews)
    7.6 km

    First, this is Not a dog friendly beach as some reviews have stated…read more Otherwise, it is a gorgeous landing spot for viewing the natural bridge and tide pools. There is a long, and slippery walk to get to the tide pools. Unless you can sneak past the waves, against the rocks, like my kids did. Very nice bathrooms. Definitely worth the $10 parking.

    Pretty small State park/beach. So there will be a fee to enter their parking lots. But there are…read morelots of free parking on the side streets if you don't mind walking a bit. The beach part is fairly short but wide. You can walk from end to end in just a few minutes. There's a big rock feature in the water that forms an arch. I heard it used to be attached to the land but has crumbled at some point so the rock now sits out in the water like an island. It's a sea bird's sanctuary so lots of bird activity. Behind the beach there's a marshland with lots of eucalyptus trees. There's a few trails out there that connect with the neighboring streets. I think this area is better for bike riding than hiking. And within those marshlands and thick covering of trees, makes an ideal habitat for monarch butterflies. I think around February is when they are in abundance. I came once about 5 years ago to see it. They were in good presence but it wasn't like a spectacle or anything. You have to look high into the trees where there is ample sunlight and you'll see a flickering of activity. If you want to take pics you'll get opportunities to see some up close near ground level. Not really a place for me to hang out or linger. But I do use this as a piece of a bigger hike where I'll start here and connect elsewhere. Sea Cliff Drive is near and that is a very picturesque road that hugs the ocean perched on a cliff. I love hiking it when it is foggy which is very often in these parts. Extra star for easy access and low key beauty.

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    Panther Beach

    Panther Beach

    4.3(141 reviews)
    18.1 km

    I used to think this was a secret beach but it's become a lot more popular and for good reason,…read moreit's the best beach around! I LOVE THIS BEACH. I've spent all day at it many times, it's a great place to get away for the day. There is a long stretch of parking along the side of the road and you walk down to the beach. The small path down to the beach is adventurous, tough for the uncoordinated but short. Still, only bring what you can carry because it will be hard to bring stuff up and down. The main beach is big, tons of space for activities but can get a bit crowded quickly. My favorite spot to go to is off to the left. You have to go under the arch and to another beach much longer than the first one. You will want to come back over before the tide is too high or you will have to calculate running back as the tide reseeds.

    The only reason this is 4 stars is because of insane parking and lack of accessibility. The parking…read moreis in a dirt lot, and if you turn your car facing the entrance to the beach, it's quite hard to turn around when you're leaving, especially when crowded. You literally have to scale a cliff to get to and from the beach, which is a little difficult if you're hauling things or very difficult if you're physically disabled. Once you're on the beach though, it's gorgeous. Plenty of room to spread out, and the waves are super big. The Saturday we went (7/17) it was clear and sunny- perfect weather! Would recommend this beach if you are able-bodied and want to get away from the crowds at Santa Cruz and Capitola.

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    Davenport Beach - The relics of the Davenport Pier at low tide

    Davenport Beach

    4.4(162 reviews)
    20.7 km

    Really nice beach but I wish they allowed Bonfires . Most Davenport beaches do not , overall great…read morehangout location.

    OMFG...I finally made it to the swing at the Davenport Beach?! :D…read more I did not read any reviews about this spot before coming here. I just bookmarked for a couple of years, and I finally visited it. My boyfriend and I along with his doggie were having a day out in Santa Cruz. I told him that we should visit this place so that we can swing on the beach. He was down for it, but once we found the way to get down to it--he said, "No way, I'm doing that." I *did* not let that stop me from going down there to experience the swing though. My boyfriend and his doggie stayed at the top of the cliff and watched me climbed down to the beach. Yes, it was pretty treacherous. Thank goodness there was a rope with knots to hold onto. Otherwise, I don't think I would be able to do it successfully without that lifesaver rope. Thank you so much to whoever secured that rope there! Also, I do want to point out I did this in a dress and flipflops?! Crazy right.. Then again.. I'm crazy, I do admit it. ;) There were a four gals and guys down there chilling. I asked them if there was another way to get in and out of here, but they confirm that that was the only way in and out. I got to swing on the swing and took some videos. The swing looked cool from the photos that I seen, but it doesn't swing well straight. It does swing sideways. Lol... It took me about 7 minutes to go down and about 4 minutes to climb back up. I know this because my boyfriend recorded me. Lol... I'm very grateful that I was determined to do this despite the company that I had didn't want to do it. Years ago I let someone that I was with who didn't want to do it influence me to also not do it when we visitied Alamere Falls so I won't let that happen anymore. If there is something I want to do, it's okay to do it alone when other people don't want to do it. That's on self-love, baby! There is two parking areas. We initially parked in the one right across the post office, but then we follow this group to the other one right next to it because it was closer. We walked across the railroad tracks and found the opening to the climb to the beach. I was sore for a few days afterwards in my legs from climbing the side of the cliff, but oh gosh... It was so worth it!

    Photos
    Davenport Beach - Engagement photo | By Luke Cunningham

    Engagement photo | By Luke Cunningham

    Davenport Beach - Engagement Session | 1985Luke Photography

    Engagement Session | 1985Luke Photography

    Davenport Beach - Waterfall flowing out of cave

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    Pleasure Point - beaches - Updated September 2026

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