Best Beaches in San Francisco
and the Bay Area

A quick tour of the best beaches in San Francisco
and the Bay Area -- from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to
dog friendly vacations in Dillon Beach California

The beaches in California between the surf breaks of Santa Cruz and the oyster farms on secluded Point Reyes California Peninsula are some of the most unique in the world. (Many, not even a blip on the radar of many travelers.)

Map of California Coast, San Francisco Bay Area and Point Reyes

Beaches in San Francisco and the Bay Area

On the far north side of Monterey Bay California, Santa Cruz is Surf City North -— widely recognized as one the top 10 best surfing spots in the world.

Serious surfers head for Pleasure Point, but families adore the classic Main Beach. With its acres of sand, summer lifeguards and oldies drifting across the sand, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, it has a long traditional as one of the best family beach vacation spots in the California coast.

You can escape the crowds at Seabright or Opal Cliffs, just a mile from charming Capitola California -- an artist’s village with an eclectic mix of boutiques, cafes and theater.

One of the California States Beaches in the area, Natural Bridges State Beach is a great place for whale watching and tide pooling.

One of the most popular beach towns on the way to San Francisco is Half Moon Bay California. The Half Moon Bay golf course has 36 holes of championship golf and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival is one of the most popular seasonal events on the coast.

Pacifica California lets you combine the beach (Rockaway Beach is a favorite of surfers) with the cultural riches of San Francisco, just 15 minutes away.

Tally the cost of fuel with AAA's road trip calculator.

What I love, though, is driving Camino del Mar-Lincoln Blvd. along the coast from the Legion of Honor Museum, a gem of a museum in Lincoln Park toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Take your camera, because you simply can’t get a bad shot (unless the fog has settled in).

Along the way, you can stop off and scuff through the sand at China Beach, on the west side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Or, watch daredevil surfers dodge rocks surrounding historic Fort Point National Historic Site underneath the span.

(If you’re a fan of Hitchcock films, you may remember this view from a famous scene in “Vertigo.”)

Here the California beaches don't stop at the city. Crissy Field —- between the Bridge and San Francisco attractions —- is a favorite with locals and visitors, a place to walk or bike on a flat, hard-packed promenade by the bay.

North of the Beaches in San Francisco
Just across the Golden Gate Bridge, sophisticated Bayside communities -— Sausalito California, and neighboring Mill Valley, Larkspur and Tiburon —- have more sunshine than San Francisco. Sausalito California has quirky houseboat communities and fantastic galleries and restaurants.

The farther you travel on California coast Highway 1, the more remote and magnificent the beaches in California.

Popular Stinson Beach California has a five-mile swath of white sand and reliable sunshine.

The Point Reyes California peninsula is separated from the mainland by Tomales Bay. Dillon Beach California, located where Tomales Bay merges with the Pacific Ocean, has powdery sand with great views.

Nearly half of the 70,000-acre Point Reyes National Seashore is designated as a Wilderness Area.

From January to May, you can spot gray whales migrating past Point Reyes Lighthouse, on the blustery tip of the peninsula.

In season, rangers will guide you to the Elephant Seal Overlook at Drake’s Bay. (Historians are still debating whether Sir Francis Drake really landed here in 1579.)

Just enjoy the astounding vistas -— green pastures and wetlands, wildflower-covered meadows, forested hills and sparkling blue ocean.

The small historic towns of Marshall, Tomales and Point Reyes Station were whistle-stops along the 1870s route of the North Pacific Coast narrow-gauge railroad.

Marshall is a favorite for Tomales Bay kayaking and is well known for fresh oysters.

Point Reyes Station is the largest, with wonderful gift and curio stores, art galleries and locally grown cheese.

Tomales Bay State Park is home to the Tule Elk State Natural Reserve and a sanctuary for kayakers and swimmers (yes, the water at these northern California beaches is actually warm enough to swim in here at sweet spots named Heart’s Desire and Shell Beach).