This beach in Sand City, CA is such a perfect place to unwind, relax and chill. Beautiful waves and…read morepeaceful vibes. Parking can get a bit challenging if coming on a busy day. I recommend visiting here for the nice views or just getting out in general to enjoy the ocean.

Wow what a gem. My fiancee and I stopped at this beach on our way to Big Sur. It is right off…read moreHighway 1 and just a little drive through the town of Sand City. There was almost no one here which was awesome because we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. It is called Sand City for a reason, there is a ton of sand here. There are also some sandy trails right next to the beach to explore. Nice beach to just relax at and enjoy the views. The waves look rough here, so I wouldn't go in the water. Defiantly recommend this beach!

Nice hotel nestled right on the beach so you can wake up and step out on the balcony, coffee in…read morehand, and enjoy the sights and smells and sounds of this gorgeous ocean and beach. Water is icy cold, 45 to 55 depending on time of year. The beach extends into the shallow waters so you can wade out if you want. Usually quite cool so bring along a sweater. Dont forget the binoculars as you might see the whales swim by And at midnight you might see the lights from all the shrimp boat fishing out there.

Adore walks by the beach, especially down by the Monterey bay. The walking path along this strip of…read morebeach is fabulous. Too bad some selfish narcissistic criminals took out the huge old wooden cross that stood watch here, over the bay. Still a breathtaking walk, check it out.

A calm, peaceful and clean beach. It's located next to the…read morepier - which has good food places. The parking near the beach is paid and has a relatively clean washroom.

A very beautiful beach where my partner and I went towards the end of the day to catch the sunset…read more It ended up being quite foggy - so, the views far off into the ocean were very difficult . We were still able to appreciate the beach - and were even surprised to see some California Sea Lions close to the shore. Overall, a beautiful beach with literally power soft sand!

This beach is beautiful and not crowded. The parking is very limited. I don't like the porta potty…read morebecause it's very dirty and no where to wash your hands.

Beach about 10 minutes north of Monterey. We've seen paragliding out here and always wanted to stop…read moreby to check it out. The parking lot is small and gets packed quickly and getting in and out can be challenging with the amount of people parked in the parking lot waiting for someone to leave. There is an estuary right next to the parking lot so if you bring swim clothes or roll up your pants you can walk across it for pretty quick access. If you don't the walk is longer to get to a secluded part of the ocean. It's much colder near the water than at the parking lot so bring warm clothes. A lot of the beach is littered with burnt firewood even though fires aren't allowed and there are small sections that are roped off for fragile native plant habitats so you feel less integrated with nature. There are some driftwood logs I saw couple leaning on and watching the waves together. For some reason this is very romantic to me and it looks like a good place at sunrise or sundown for a date.

Came here to watch the sunset with my loves this evening. This area is dog friendly and most of the…read moreother people that were on the beach had dogs with them as well. There are signs posted that dogs must be on a leash, but almost all of the owners let their dogs loose when they were away from the main area. Everyone was friendly and considerate and all of the puppers were well behaved. It was a bit of a walk from the parking area to get down to the beach, but it wasn't super crowded so that was nice. Sand is a mixture of fine and gravelly with some glass mixed in. There was a porta potty and a hand wash station about halfway to the beach, but I would only have used it in an emergency so I can't speak to its condition. Lots of birds and crustations and pretty calm waves The sunset was lovely and we would definitely return.

We stopped to walk along this trail in Pacific Grove for a while, and it was a gorgeous day for it…read more Our 13-year-old dog, Zoey, cannot walk far anymore, so we brought a stroller. This path is not the best place for one, but we made do. First, though, we took her down to the water. We did not explore the tidepools on this occasion, but Zoey had a great time walking in the ocean water. In this area, the tide moved in a gentle motion, yet it still managed to sneak up on me and get my shoes wet! The path was alive with vibrant color today, and offered lovely views. Unfortunately, some cars drive faster than they ought to on this road considering how close the walking path is situated to it.

Nice trail with bike lanes. Lot of things to see. There are lots of seals laying on the beach after…read moreyou passed the Hopkins Marine Station. It's a pleasant walk along the shore.

If you're in the Carmel/Monterey area with kids, you have to stop here. It's a total hidden gem…read more There are so many wonderful play structures that kept our kids (ages 2 and up) entertained for hours--everything from the suspension bridge to the hedge maze and the classic steam engine. The park is also very well-maintained and clean, which isn't always a guarantee with public playgrounds. It's the perfect place to let the kids burn off some energy in a safe, fun environment. Highly recommend!

PLEASE place updated schedule on website/Yelp!!!!!…read more Went on a Tuesday and it was closed. Other than the aquarium this was the main reason we chose to come to Monterey and stayed an extra night just to have the day to visit the park. Lucky (I guess) I saw a worker and asked why it was closed. He said if kids are in school, then Tuesdays is when they close for maintenance.

Very nice and relaxing beach/park area. There is a small parking lot in front. We got lucky and…read morefound parking. You do have to pay for parking but I believe it's $2/hr. Big steps down to the beach area. Weather is perfect. The sand was actually really soft. I saw a lot of families and groups on the beach. It's next to the pier where they have rentals for scuba diving and kayaking. They had a seating area with tables and benches on top of the stairs with the view point. I can see people coming here to bring their own food to eat and relax. They also had a huge grass area for dogs. It was surprising for a Saturday on memorial weekend it wasn't busy.

Quaint little beach area and park just south of Cannery Row where you can catch some beautiful…read moresunsets and listen to the sea lions in the distance

It was a nice little beach to bring kids to. It's small but there's shade from the buildings, which…read moreI love. It's walking distance to the aquarium so if you're in the area it's definitely a must to stop by.

This is a small beach right off Cannery Row. We spend some time here bird watching. There was no…read moreone else here and was so serene to listen to the waves and enjoy some zen.

There are pros and cons to every place you might visit, and this beach is no different. I will…read morepreface mine with this: YES, as other reviews mention, there are homeless people who set up near and on this beach. NONE of them are mugging you, though. They want to be left alone and they leave you alone, IF you pay them no attention. Go about your day! Enjoy your stay! Second, yes, dead animals wash up on this beach. Guess what! They do that on ALL beaches worldwide. It's not unique to this one. That being said, this is one of my absolute favorite beaches in the area, for many reasons. Parking is easy and can be free. While there is a pay parking lot attached to this beach for easy access to it, we never use it. We use either the lot across the street, which offers 2-hour parking until 6pm and no limit on time until 10pm, or we go further down the street beside Dennis The Menace Park to park on the street, where it's unlimited parking all day long. It depends on when we arrive and how long we'll be there. Want to go swimming? Teaching your littlest ones about the beach and how to stay safe in the surf? THIS is the beach for it! There aren't exactly waves here. Well, there are, but they're so tiny they can hardly be called waves. They're swells that roll up onto the beach in cute little miniature "waves" and the return back to the ocean is very mild. It's the perfect place to introduce your small children to the ocean, perfect place to take people who aren't strong swimmers, perfect place for you to get in a little ocean swimming time in calm waters. You won't have to worry about boats very close to shore, as they don't come really close, won't have to worry about strong rip tides that may pull you or your child out to sea, you just have to worry about them gulping down too much salt water. ***That's not to say you should be complacent when taking your children here, but that you can be a little more relaxed knowing that it's more gentle a beach than some others.*** If you arrive at the right time of day (NO, I'm not telling you when! Sorry, but I won't give up my 'combing secrets that easily!!), you can find a good amount of shells and it IS legal to pick them up on this beach, as it is NOT a state beach. I've found sand dollars, mussel and clam shells, as well as turbans, oyster, scallop (very small ones...), and more types of shells. You might even find abalone shells if you arrive after a storm! You just have to know what to look for and be there at the right time of day - otherwise they'll already be picked over and/or pulled back out to sea. You'll also find hag stones on this beach. Hag stones are rocks that have been tumbled by water in such a way that the water bores a hole into the stone. These are plentiful along this beach and I sometimes take one if it catches my eye. They're good for hanging near your door to keep unwanted visitors away! Or just to decorate, who knows if that actually works ;) The sand here is an extremely fine type and it WILL get into everything. It sticks to your toes even well after it's dried, but it's not the type of sand that hurts you when it's stuck to your feet, so just brush it off as best you can and go about your day. :) There are bathroom facilities all around this beach. If you don't mind buying yourself something to drink there's McDonald's across the street and those will be very clean. If you don't mind slightly less than immaculate bathrooms, there's also a bathroom at the Dennis The Menace Park between the two landmark buildings at the park parking lot. Another public bathroom is at the kayak place and still more bathrooms are attached to the building across the walkway from the kayak place, and one more is at the wharf. This beach is dog-friendly, just please keep Fido on a leash. So many people bring their dogs here off-leash and it's just not the place for it. Also please be sure to clean up after your pooch. Nobody likes to step in dog doody; we *really* don't like it if it's buried in the sand so that we couldn't see it before it squished between our toes. In all, this is an awesome beach that I hate to leave a good review for because it might just attract more people to it than I care to see - LOL!! - but it is what it is and I'll brag on my favorite beach of the area any day of the week!

This is an excellent beach for sitting and relaxing. Very calm water for playing in the surf line…read more I tried scuba diving here but the water is very shallow for a long way out so was not good for diving Good place for wake boarding. Nice plac to walk along the wharf and watch all the fishermen Trying to catch something. And if they dont catch anything there is a fresh fish market on the wharf. Also good restaurants here. A wonderful place just to enjoy the beach and to wade in the cold water.