El Capitán State Beach, Goleta, CA

El Capitán State Beach offers visitors a sandy beach, rocky tidepools, and stands of sycamore and oaks along El Capitán Creek. It's a perfect setting for swimming, fishing, surfing, picnicking and camping. A stairway provides access from the bluffs to the beach area.

We got there and the beach was beautiful we set out a blanket and our umbrella had sandwiches on the beach and just had fun. The beach was clean and it wasn't packed with people, there was families but it wasn't too bad. The sand was clean and the water felt great! Looking out at the ocean there was dolphins..

Refugio State Beach, Santa Barbara California

Refugio State Beach is located West of Santa Barbara along highway 101. A limited number of camping sites are just a few steps from the beach. One of the most striking features of Refugio Beach are the palm trees growing along the sandy beach. Camping site are on both sides of Refugio Creek which only runs during the winter rainy season. A bike trail connects to El Capitain State Beach to the east. There are 66 camping sites all on the ocean side of highway 101 most of which are under some sort of shade tree. Activities include swimming, fishing and hiking.

McGrath State Beach, Oxnard California

Please Note:  For the current status of this park, please call (805) 968-1033.

McGrath State Beach is one of the best bird-watching areas in California, with the lush riverbanks of the Santa Clara River and sand dunes along the shore. A nature trail leads to the Santa Clara Estuary Natural Preserve. Two miles of beach provide surfing and fishing opportunities, however, swimmers are urged to use caution because of strong currents and riptides. The park offers campsites by the beach. McGrath State Beach has 172 campsites by the beach and is next to the Santa Clara River and sand dunes. At McGrath's northern end is the Santa Clara Estuary Natural Preserve, which includes eight ecosystems and a boardwalk flanked by tall grasses. Over 245 recorded bird species that spend at least part of their year in the nature preserve near McGrath Sate Beach. The campground is fairly remote by Southern California standards but still not too far away from the comforts of civilization. The beach here is wind and sandy perfect for a stroll or just laying out in the sun. Strong currents and riptides are common swimmers use caution.
Directions to McGrath Beach Park: Exit U.S. Hwy 101 in Ventura at Seaward Avenue, and go to Harbor Blvd. Go south 3 miles to the park entrance.
2211 Harbor Blvd., Oxnard, CA 93035

Channel Islands Map, Ventura County California

http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Chain of islands, southern California, U.S. Extending 150 mi (240 km) along and 12 – 70 mi (20 – 115 km) off the coast, it is divided into the Santa Barbara group (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa) and the Santa Catalina group (Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente). The islands range in size from Santa Cruz (98 sq mi [254 sq km]) to the small Anacapa islets. Rugged and mountainous, they are frequented by colonies of sea lions, seals, and birds and are noted for their distinctive plant life (several hundred varieties). The larger islands support sheep and cattle ranches, and Santa Catalina is a noted resort. Channel Islands National Park (established as a national monument in 1938) embraces Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa.

Channel Islands National Park, Ventura California

Channel Islands National Park1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001
805-658-5730
Close to the California mainland, yet worlds apart, Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara) and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was.

Surfers' Point at Seaside Park, Ventura California

Figueroa St
at the Promenade
Ventura, CA 93006This isn't a swimming beach but it may be one of the busiest beaches in town.  The day we were there surf school was on.  Literally hundreds of people - most of them teenagers - were paddling their surf boards vying for the best waves.
Since the Point borders the north end of San Buenaventura State Beach and the south end of the Seaside Wilderness Park there is a fair amount of access to the narrow rocky beach.  The waves here are large and consistent.
Directions:
Northbound: From the 101 take the Seaward Ave. exit or the California Street exit. Turn left towards the ocean to Harbor Blvd., turn right on Harbor and continue until you reach Seaside Park at the corner of Harbor and Figueroa.  Turn left and the free parking is directly ahead.  If you bear to the right there is also paid parking.
Southbound:  From the 101, take the Seaward Ave. exit, make an immediate right on Harbor Blvd. and proceed to Seaside Park. Turn left and the free parking is directly ahead.  If you bear to the right there is also paid parking.

Ventura County Public Beaches Map

San Buenaventura State Beach, Ventura California

Please Note: For the current status of this park, please call (805) 968-1033. When you walk San Buenaventura State Beach, you realize that this park didn't simply happen, it was designed-obviously during the state park system's pre-poverty era. Instead of the grungy tables stuck in the sand found at many beaches, San Buenaventura features wide, green picnic areas. It boasts volleyball nets, a fitness trail and even a pier.

The state beach offers plenty of room for all the popular beach activities: swimming, surfing, cycling, fishing and picnicking. It's one of Ventura County's safest spots for a swim because the sand slopes very gradually into the ocean.
Beach condition advisory: This past winter, storms and high waves eroded much of the sand on the beach at this park, exposing cobble rocks, particularly south of the pier. The beach area with the most sand is next to the main day-use parking lot.
This beach features swimming, surfing and picnicking. The beach has two miles of sandy beach, sand dunes, picnic sites, a parking lot, a snack bar and a beach-equipment rental shop. Bike trails connect other nearby beaches. The beach is the site for a number of special events, such as the Pirate Festival, triathlon, and volleyball tournaments. A 1,700-foot pier has a snack bar, restaurant and bait shop.
Location-Directions
The beach is in the city of Ventura. The entrance is on San Pedro Street off Highway 101.

Point Magu, Ventura County California

Point Mugu State Park, located in the Santa Monica Mountains, features five miles of ocean shoreline, with rocky bluffs, sandy beaches, sand dunes, rugged hills and uplands, two major river canyons and wide grassy valleys dotted with sycamores, oaks and a few native walnuts. There are more than 70 miles of hiking trails. The beach also features swimming, body surfing and surf fishing. The park includes the jagged pinnacles of the Boney Mountains State Wilderness Area.
Accessibility: accessible bathrooms and showers are available in the Seamier Canyon campsites. Accessible bathrooms and sand wheelchairs are available in the day use area. Dogs on leashes are permitted in the park, conditions permitting. Camping: Thornhill Broome Beach campsite in the park offers RV beach-front camping and tent camping. There are two campgrounds, Big Sycamore Canyon and Thornhill Broome Beach, which are open year-round. Giant sycamore trees shade the campground at Big Sycamore Canyon.

The Naval Air Weapons Station, Point Magu

Location/Directions
The beach is 15 miles south of Oxnard on Highway One.

9000 W. Pacific Coast Highway,
Malibu, CA 90265

View of Navy Rifle Range and Mugu Lagoon.

Partington Cove, Big Sur california

Sitting on the northern boundary of Julia Pfeiffer State Park is Partington Cove. More than 100 years ago homesteader John Partington built a tunnel that is six feet wide, eight feet high, and one hundred feet long through a formidable rock promontory. Built as a wagon trail for mules to haul lumber and tanning bark to ships waiting in the cove, you can still see the iron eyes secured in the rock faces used for the ships. On the point you can also see an old rusty stanchion that was used in the operation.
After parking, look for the metal gate on the ocean side of Highway 1. You'll proceed down the well maintained but steep access road with views out to the coast.
Where the path begins to level out, you'll reach the first junction where, going straight, a short trail heads off to the left past a kiosk. The kiosk provides visitors with information about the sea life just offshore, and you can walk by and back towards the highway into a small wooded canyon.
This short spur is picturesque and follows Partington Creek a ways up until the large rocks and plants block further progress. The creek itself emerges from a large culvert that passes under the highway. Read More....

Garrapata State Park Beach, Big Sur California

Garrapata Beach: The second of the two main attractions of Garrapata State Park is beautiful Garrapata Beach, surely one of the best on the whole Big Sur coast, yet despite the picturesque surroundings, not many people visit, perhaps as there are no facilities. The beach has easy access, is wide and sandy, clean and scenic, with isolated rocks out to sea, big surf and low, colorful cliffs at the edge that provide plenty of places to shelter if the wind is blowing. The mile-long golden sands are unspoilt by litter, covered in places only by washed-up kelp. Access is from two short paths starting from points 18 and 19, one of which crosses the small stream of Doud Creek. The larger Garrapata Creek also flows into the ocean across the beach, forming quite a large, shallow lagoon just inland, good for paddling. A little way upstream, Highway 1 crosses high above the creek on an arched bridge, just one of many graceful spans along the coastal road. As with most beaches along Big Sur, the Pacific Ocean is too rough for swimming, but several hours could be spent at the beach, relaxing or exploring. The sands are generally out of sight of the road though just a few minutes walk from it. Nude sunbathing is tolerated here.

Point Lobos State Reserve, Monterey County, California

Deriving its name from the offshore rocks at Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Point of the Sea Wolves, where the sound of the sea lions carries inland, the Reserve has often been called "the crown jewel of the State Park System." Point Lobos has offered many things to millions of people who have visited it over the years. Point Lobos State Reserve has outstanding passive recreation values, such as sightseeing, photography, painting, nature study, picnicking, SCUBA diving, and jogging. In addition to the spectacular beauty, nearly every aspect of its resources is of scientific interest. There are rare plant communities, endangered archeological sites, unique geological formations, and incredibly rich flora an fauna of both land and sea.

Weston Beach, Monterey County, California

Weston Beach - view southeast towards the Santa Lucia Mountains

Point Lobos State Reserve
You really can't spend too much time indoors; you've gotta get out occasionally, and Weston Beach in Monterey County, California is a fine selection. Weston Beach is not an incredibly busy slice of shore, and scores of folks like to come here to be right next door to the water. There's a heap of outdoors recreation available nearby such as swimming, whitewater paddling, boating, golfing, hiking,

and fishing, so there's absolutely no way to become bored.