Ten Best Beaches in California!

AUGUST 8, 2014 BLOG POST. Driving up the coast starting in San Diego, you will feast your eyes on some gorgeous beaches, starting with:

1. Hotel del Coronado, or “The Del,” is like a real sandcastle on the fine, white sand of Coronado Beach. Walk the boardwalk then stroll around the hotel looking at the 1920s photos and imagine you were there with those carefree souls. Coronado Beach is on an island. The ride over on Coronado Bridge is a blast. Walk around the island enjoying the little gingerbread houses, mansions, and tropical flowers.
2. Laguna Beach in Orange County is probably the loveliest beach of all! It has a tropical look with its vibrant blue-green water and abundance of palms. The steep cliffs that lead down to the beach are stunning. Make sure to walk along adjacent Heisler Park to look down the vertical cliffs at the water below. Have lunch at Las Brisas Restaurant, dipping corn chips in delicious salsa while you look down at the beach below!
3. Check out the view of the graceful 1920s art deco casino from your pebbly spot on Descanso Beach. Here the water is crystal clear, unlike the water at any other beach in California. From out of the water you can see the orange fish swimming below the surface. Stroll under countless palm trees planted by the chewing gum magnate Wrigley’s son, beside the serpentine rock wall and past fountains. Walk through the white archway decorated with colorful Spanish tiles. This is the life! You must take a ferry from Long Beach to get to unique and yes, touristy, Santa Catalina Island.
4. There are plenty of fun beaches to choose from in Los Angeles but Hermosa Beach is my favorite. When writers speak of a “summer playground,” this is what they mean! Year-round you find happy, young people playing beach volleyball, roller blading, bike riding, and pushing jogging strollers in this cheerful spot. The bike path on the sand runs south to Torrance Beach and north to Venice Beach and Santa Monica pier! In the pedestrian-only square that fronts the pier, there are cafes, some with balcony views of the beach! The sand at this beach is clean as can be and the water a luminous blue.
5. Tucked between cliffs is the secluded and magical Paradise Cove Beach, a private beach in Malibu. Here they have designed a cafe that is perfect for the chilly California beach air (cooled by the Alaska current). You sit behind sheets of plastic, under a roof of slats and tall, gas heaters that spread the heat around you rather than just on your head! Barrels full of colorful flowers surround you. After your meal, walk up the stairs by the parking lot for a great view of the crescent-shaped beach.
6. Beaches in California aren’t that great for swimming. The water never gets any warmer than 68 degrees. Even freshwater springs or mountain rivers are warmer than this! But if you must have a swim, Santa Claus Lane Beach near Santa Barbara is the place! Here the water is cleaner than at most beaches (there are no storm drains nearby) and the shallow, long entry to the sea warms the water a little. It’s fun to take a mid-summer dip here while looking up at the stunning mountains and the magical middle-eastern Isham poolhouse at the end of the beach. If you’re here from December to May, check out also Carpinteria Bluffs Beach where you can see pregnant mother seals and then later baby seals at the Carpinteria Seal Rookery.
7. Not all university campuses are on the beach, but University of California Santa Barbara is! Just a short walk from the eateries in Campus Center is Campus Point Beach, a fun spot for surfing and body boarding. Summer camps teach little ones to surf on the manageable waves. And when the tide is low you can see pink, orange, and purple starfish clinging to the rocks. There are always a few students at the beach, making for a lively atmosphere. Stroll atop the cliffs for gorgeous views galore!
8. Things are starting to look more stormy and rugged as you head past Santa Barbara up the Central Coast. Shell Beach is your absolute dream as far as a beach with wild cliffs, rocks jutting up from the sea, and white and yellow cliffs below. Pelicans stand on rock ledges as the ocean swirls and crashes below. Brace yourself for the cold air and take a brisk panoramic walk along the edge of the cliffs. Then walk down to the beach below and enjoy the Pismo Dinosaur Caves.
9. China Cove, in Point Lobos State Reserve near Monterey, is about as pretty as a beach can get. Nothing is more adorable than a cove tucked between cliffs hung with flowers. The sand is white. The water is a shock of azure. The air, however, is biting! Monterey has an abundance of pretty beaches to explore- of all the towns in California it is the most unique and beautiful in its scenery. It looks like no other place I’ve seen. Come between August and December for the greatest chance of blue skies without fog.
10. The beach at Point Montara Lighthouse Youth Hostel is heaven! This is a northern California beach at its most idyllic, with green headlands jutting out into the sea, golden sand,  crashing surf, and salt in the air. Come here to feel alive again! It’s a 30 minute drive south from Ocean Beach in San Francisco to Point Montara. Continue south afterward to see more dreamy beaches like San Gregorio Beach and Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay.