- La Jolla Shores, San Diego
This mile-long crescent of sand offers endless beach fun, from kayaking to La Jolla’s sea caves to surfing, snorkelling, and stand-up paddle-boarding. Spend the day experiencing beach sports or spotting California spiny lobsters, sheep crabs, and leopard sharks, then stick around for a twilight beach bonfire in the evening.
- Crystal Cove State Park, Laguna Beach
Remember that Bette Midler movie, Beaches? It was filmed at Crystal Cove State Park and on its 3 miles of silky sand dotted with charming 1940s-vintage cottages. Surfers and skim-boarders tackle the reef break while landlubbers enjoy beach walks and searching for sea stars. At day’s end, stroll to the Beachcomber Café for clam chowder at sunset, then rent a firepit and roast gooey s’mores as darkness falls.
- Butterfly Beach, Santa Barbara
In Santa Barbara, the coastline faces Mexico, not Hawaii. But Butterfly Beach is an exception where you can watch the sun dip into the Pacific. Visit this popular dog-walking beach near the Four Seasons Biltmore during low tides, and log 10,000 steps strolling to Santa Barbara’s East Beach or Montecito’s Hammonds Beach. Plan your visit to Butterfly around the museums, boutiques, restaurants, and the historic mission of Santa Barbara.
- Carmel City Beach, Carmel
In the postcard-pretty village of Carmel, Carmel City Beach, a curving white-sand beach, lies at the foot of storybook cottages and manicured gardens. Aquamarine Carmel Bay’s protected cove hosts an annual sandcastle-building contest, featuring not just castles but also sea turtles, mermaids, dragons, horses, and more. When the crowds thin out, long-billed curlews work the intertidal zone and squadrons of pelicans fly in V-formations inches above the waves.
- College Cove, Trinidad
Trinidad is what happens when picture-perfect headlands collide with sandy beaches and wave-sculpted sea stacks. A one-mile trail tunnels through conifers cloaking the Elk Head bluffs, then winds down to this secluded North Coast beach. Pack a picnic and savour views of Pewetole Island, a rock outcrop straight out of a fairy tale. Or, if you have got a few days to spare, head out on the Hidden Beaches Road trip.
- Manchester State Park Beach, Mendocino County
The dunes at Manchester State Park Beach back a driftwood-laden swath of sand, ideal for meditative walks and searching for washed-up treasures along the five-mile-long shoreline. When night falls, pitch your tent at the park’s campground and doze off to a lullaby of waves.
- Sunset State Beach, Santa Cruz
This rural beach south of Santa Cruz offers fog-free weather and an unspoiled sweep of coastline, with ideal surfing and beach-walking conditions. Scan the sea for whales and dolphins, warm your toes at a bonfire as the sun sinks over Monterey Bay, or spend the night in a tent just a short walk from the waterline.
- Stinson Beach, Marin County
Sun-drenched Stinson is where San Franciscans go to escape the summer fog. Kids with sand buckets and longboard surfers crowd the lines at the burrito stand while lifeguards keep watch over the white-crested waves. From kite flying to paddle ball, Frisbee to just laid-back reading on the beach, there is so much to do here. Another reason to visit Stinson is that it offers one of the best hikes out of San Francisco.
- Cayucos State Beach, Cayucos
No place does “laidback beach town” better than Cayucos. The 6-mile-long beach north of Morro Bay celebrates the slow life with mellow pleasures like basking in the sun, kayaking near the shore, or watching joyful retrievers race into the shallows to retrieve tennis balls. Walk barefoot on cool sand, or join the twilight-hour romantics strolling the 1872 Cayucos Pier.
- San Buenaventura State Beach, Ventura
This Ventura beach fits everybody’s definition of endless summer. Spike a volleyball or toss a Frisbee on 2 miles of curving sand. Pedal the paved coastal bikeway or log a few laps on California’s oldest and longest wooden pier (1,958 feet). Then, shuck some bivalves at The Jolly Oyster Shuck Shack. Ventura is also the gateway to the five-island archipelago, Channel Islands National Park, so consider a trip there.
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