Carmel River State Beach

Monterey, CA Print   Leave a comment

Description

The sand is beautiful and clean at mile-long Carmel River State beach. It almost reminds me of Australian beaches with its coarse sand like ground-up granite. The ocean is the deepest inky blue. It's wonderful! Swimming is hazardous because of the shorebreak, but to the north of the beach, divers like to explore the diverse marine life. You may see otters or seals from the beach. Behind you, see majestic Carmel Mission atop a hill. Carmel River State Beach is a lovely place to lay out in the sun or go for a long walk.
If you're hungry, there's a new Safeway store near here that you'll see along the road as you approach from the north. Grab yourself a yummy deli sandwich and have a seaside picnic.
One of the most enchanting beaches on earth is just south of here- China Cove. Also lovely is Carmel-By-The-Sea Beach with its snow white sand. 

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Photo Gallery

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Take a long stroll along the perfect sands of Carmel River State Beach!

Directions

Take Highway 1 south from Monterey. Very soon you will see Carmel River State Beach from the road. Pull over along the road to park.
Or, you can park in the parking lot at the north part of the beach, north of the lagoon, off Carmelo St. From Highway 1, turn right on Rio Rd, left on Santa Lucia Ave, and left on Carmelo St. The parking lot is free, and is open until sunset. There are restrooms.

This is an interactive map, you can zoom and move it.

Visitor Ratings

Overall Visitor Rating:

mar&kids 01/22/2011 15:30	i live in south salinas and love big sur hikes and beach areas for my kids ... this was a good site for me to take kids in diffrent public beaches. I am always exploring and my kids 12 and 14 just love going! its so peaceful:) Thanks for the maps!
jimmy 07/12/2010 20:53	best diving
Gabriella 10/14/2009 20:06	I couldn't believe how peaceful it was here. One morning I went out to the beach at 8:00 and there was no one as far as I could see in either direction!
Ted 09/09/2009 14:15	Monterey is just a big chunk of granite and that's what makes its beaches better then any others in California. ..proud native. This beach is a favorite.

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