The California Beaches of Highway 1

The Califonia Map

*The stars represent the location of each of the beaches discussed in this article

Written by Alex Ruther and Wikipedia

California is home to a lot of beautiful nature such as the redwoods, the sierra mountains, deserts, and especially its long coast of beautiful beaches. The California beaches begin at the top of California in Del Norte County and go all the way down to the bottom of the coastal state in San Diego County. There are more than 420 public beaches found in California that are all vastly different from one another such as being foggy or sunny, rocky or sandy, and crowded and secluded. A useful tool about California is how all the gorgeous beaches are located next to the state’s major highways. There are 14 gorgeous beaches that can be found by travelers who are driving down California Highway 1.

Beginning in Northern California, with Glass Beach, located in Fort Bragg, which once was a dump site for discarded glass, appliances, and vehicles. In 1998, the private owner of the property began a five-year process of working with the California Coastal Conservancy and the California Integrated Waste Management Board for the cleanup and sale of the property to the state. The beach is now visited by tens of thousands of tourists yearly. Collecting is discouraged by State Park Rangers on the section of “Glass Beach” adjacent to the state park, where they ask people to leave what little glass is left for others to enjoy, although most of the sea glass is now found on the other two glass beaches outside the state park area.

Gualala Point Regional Park is a regional park at the mouth of the Gualala River in Sonoma County, California, south of Gualala. The park features a visitors center, picnic area, beach access, and views of the Pacific Ocean.

Goat Rock Beach, Jenner is a sand beach in northwestern Sonoma County, California, United States. Goat Rock Beach is frequented by beachcombing visitors, but usually not in high numbers, except in mid-summer; there is some wading and surfing activity, although these uses are moderated by the rip current generated by a steep gradient into the water that leads to an underwater trench parallel to the waterline. The beach is also a regular resting ground for a variety of gulls (including Western Gull, California Gull, and Ring Billed Gull), river otters, elephant seals, harbor seals, and sea lions, with the latter three species often hauling out of the Pacific Ocean.

Baker Beach, located in San Francisco lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the northwest of the city. It begins just south of Golden Gate Point (where the Golden Gate Bridge connects with the peninsula), extending southward toward the Seacliff peninsula, the Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Sutro Baths. The northern section of Baker Beach is “frequented by clothing-optional sunbathers,” and as such it is considered a nude beach. Baker Beach is part of the Presidio, which was a military base from the founding of San Francisco by the Spanish in 1812 until 1997. In 1904, it was fortified with disappearing gun installations known as Battery Chamberlin, which can still be viewed today. When the Presidio was decommissioned as a U.S. Army base, it became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service.

Heading into Central California down Highway 1 travelers will find the Santa Cruz area which has many beaches such as Shark Fin Cove in Davenport which is known for a fin-shaped rock that is in the center of the beach. Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, and it’s also well known as a hotspot to see monarch butterfly migrations. The Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve is home to up to 150,000 monarch butterflies from October through early February.

Santa Cruz beach boardwalk is one of California’s oldest amusement parks that is located on the oceanfront. Finally Capitola Beach which is located in Capitola and a perfect beach to walk down or surf.

Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, It is one of the most popular beaches on the Central Coast and is well known for Keyhole Rock, a popular photography subject.

Moonstone Beach in Cambria The beach is home to various sea life such as seals and sea otters and tide pools filled with sea anemones, sea urchins, sea stars, crabs, snails, and more. The beach was named after the moonstones that wash ashore there. Moonstone Beach Boardwalk is a 1.5 mi (2.4 km) walk with several beach access points and benches to allow for sea life observation and beach combing Pismo Beach is approximately 17 miles long and fronts the towns of Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, and Oceano in San Luis Obispo County. The beach offers many attractions such as camping, hiking, swimming, surfing, and fishing, and is home to the famous Pismo clam. It is a popular place to bird watch and is the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in the U.S.