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Best Family Beaches in Santa Cruz California

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Want to have some fun without spending a lot of money? There are plenty of things to do with your family in Santa Cruz, California on a beautiful day, but one of the top destinations in California is our beaches. I list here some of my favorite family friendly beaches in and around Santa Cruz County. Enjoy a family vacation or just a day out with the kids, a stay-cation, if you are lucky enough to live nearby.

Santa Cruz Life provides us with plenty of family friendly ideas of things to do around Santa Cruz:

Sandy Toes Creations- Best Family Beaches in Santa Cruz County

They also have a guide to the best beaches, as well as restaurants, events, shopping, and more, in and around Santa Cruz. In fact I was just looking for what to do for the forth of July, and came across their list of events! Check them out and keep them bookmarked, so you don’t miss any Santa Cruzin’ insider info.

Santa Cruz has mountains, valleys, rivers, and of course the ocean! There’s never a shortage of outdoor fun here.

I love hiking, but sometimes I want to do something a little more relaxing, while still getting my kids’ energy out. What’s the first thing I think of?

Beautiful Beaches!

Best family beaches in Santa Cruz California

New Brighton State Beach Aptos, CA

And rarely do you find one too crowded. They are kept very clean, mostly by the caring people that live here.. While I’m on that topic:

Pack Your Trash!

So we can all enjoy the beauty, and protect our animals and their habitats.

It’s almost summer!

But, around here the sun is out for spring time and it’s plenty warm for some beach fun already. In fact it’s often nicer in spring and fall. Summer days can be foggy in the Santa Cruz area.

Best Family Friendly Beaches

Twin Lakes Beach It’s fun to meet some mommy friends near the harbor (sometimes referred to as Harbor Beach) at the north end of Twin Lakes Beach. Park in the Harbor parking lot or nearby along the beach front. You can sit on the patio and the kids can play right next to you in the sand. When I had toddlers this was great, but now my kids just want to be in the water so I usually park around the south end of Twin Lakes Beach in the neighborhoods, near 12th or 14th Ave (on weekdays you don’t need a parking pass).

Capitola City Beach in Capitola Village is great for this, too, and often hosts fun events such as free family concerts. The left side of the beach is a perfect sheltered spot for kids to play where the waves are small. It can get crowded there, though. Especially while Junior Guards classes are in session.

Seabright Beach (aka Castle Beach) is near the Natural History Museum, with a giant Blue Whale sculpture out front that kids can climb on. My kids never tire of visiting the museum and the whale! We sometimes walk to the lighthouse on the south side of the harbor to watch the sail boats and climb on the jetties (those big cement breakers around the lighthouse). If you follow the beach all the way to the right, there is sometimes a cave to explore, depending on the sand level. Certain times of the year it is full to the top and other times it’s empty enough to walk through.

With small kids, we usually have a ton of stuff with us (buckets, shovels, towels, a cooler, sunscreen, hats, sandals I end up carrying..) I try to pack light, but somehow the essentials for a day or even just an hour at the beach are extensive. I never want to have to walk far to get to and from the car.
I love Twin Lakes Beach and Seabright Beach for this reason and because there’s plenty of room to play without feeling crowded next to other families and there are bathrooms available.

Best beaches in Santa Cruz California

Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA

Two great Beaches you don’t want to miss are Natural Bridges and New Brighton.

Of course, you have to pay for parking, but you are supporting our state parks!
New Brighton State Beach is in Aptos (just south of Santa Cruz and Capitola) and has a campground you can stay at or just pay for a day pass. It’s just beautiful and rarely are there many people (scroll up to the first beach photo). It joins with Seacliff State Beach where you can see the historical Cement Ship (though you can’t climb on it, you can walk out on a pier to see it and read plaques with information on how and why it’s there. It’s really interesting. My son was very interested to know all the details last time we were there.
Natural Bridges State Beach is a historical landmark, you can see the last remaining arch of the “bridges” behind my daughter in the photo above. There are tons of tide pools, walking trails, Monarch butterflies, and a natural history museum to explore. You’re not far from the Seymore Discovery Center if you drive just a little further north, which is a great place to explore marine life with hands on exhibits, touch tanks, and real whale skeletons on display! You can take a walk along the cliffs there and often see dolphins, whales, and other marine life. I would stop there first, to visit, before getting wet and sandy at the beach.
 

Speaking of exhibits, there is a new Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center just before the wharf in Santa Cruz. It’s also hands on and very educational, but everything is simulated, no real touch tanks. I prefer the real thing. I did enjoy the gorgeous video about our Monterey Bay with amazing scenes and music. And the Wharf itself has signs posted in intervals along it which offer tons of great information about this bay, the animals that thrive here, and the local habitat. My kids are fascinated and have to stop at each one! There are many fun summer events on the Wharf, see Santa Cruz Life events or the City of Santa Cruz  to find out what’s going on and when.

Cowell Beach If you want to stop there first, at the Marine Sanctuary, I would recommend heading to the beach to the right, or north, of the wharf, directly in front of the Santa Cruz Dream Inn. Cowell Beach is on the opposite of the wharf from the Boardwalk so less tempting for your kids to beg for rides and cotton candy, unless you’re wanting to spend most of your time there! Then by all means hang out at Main Beach in front of the Boardwalk. Cowell Beach is often less crowded and quieter, which I prefer.

For more info on Natural Bridges State Park as well as the Natural History Museum, the Santa Cruz Wharf, and the Seymore Discovery Center see my post:  Local Treasures! Great Fields Trips Right Here in Santa Cruz County

Sunny Cove I love to go to Sunny Cove, especially in the winter when it’s filled with driftwood the kids can build with!

Best family beaches in Santa Cruz California | Travel | CA

Sunny Cove Beach in winter Santa Cruz, CA

People often build huge forts and teepees and have bonfires with the abundant driftwood that gets trapped in the cove during winter storms.

It can be a bit crowded and hard to find parking in the summer, but even then it’s great. The kids can’t get far (especially if you have little runners) as it’s enclosed by cliffs on either side. You can get in through the back end of the beach without climbing down any cliffs, though it can be quite a walk from where you find parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Corcoran Lagoon Beach, I believe it’s called, is a longer beach to the south of Sunny cove. It has a few tide pools, if you’re adventurous enough to climb the narrow slope down the cliffs from the top left side of the cliffs above Sunny Cove (my 3 and 6 year old have done it many times and as long as you stay close to the cliff where there’s room to walk side by side, it can be done easily enough) or you follow the road and walk far enough to where it opens up, where you can get to the sand.
Moran Lake Beach is just past that, but when the beaches are connected it’s hard for me to keep track of the names! It’s a long walk, but a long, beautiful, non-crowded beach. There is parking near Moran Lake Beach, but the small lot fills up quickly, so you’d want to get there early.

It’s a lovely locals beach. Used to be a dog beach, but alas, we have few if any dog beaches left. Of course you can still have them on leash at (I think) any beach. It can be quite a long walk for little legs, so we don’t trek it too often.

Extra Beach Tip for parents of small kids: Strollers are not very beach friendly and I don’t find wagons to be much better, though my husband would disagree. I often take the cheap umbrella stroller if I’m walking and ditch it at the entrance to the beach. So far, it’s always been there upon return, but wouldn’t be a big loss if not.

For more beaches in the area visit:
SantaCruzLife.com/best-santa-cruz-beaches/

SantaCruz.org/things/beaches
SantaCruz.com/attractions/beaches

What’s you favorite beach and why?

 



About L. E. Mastilock

Author, Artist, Pro Blogger, and Social Media Manager. I encourage parents to nurture children through art and nature. I homeschool my kids and advocate for alternative education, creativity, family values, clean eating, rescue pets, and a playful childhood.
I blog at naturalparentguide.com & RascalandRocco.com

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