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    Bean Hollow State Beach

    4.6 (121 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Bean Hollow State Beach Photos

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    Picnic bench with a view!
    Rachelle P.

    My sweet hubby stopped here so I could roll down my window and listen to the waves crash over the ocean while he took a nap. Honestly there's nothing more soothing than listening to this and what a beautiful view! I just love the smell and feel of the fresh sea air, don't you!? This NorCal beach is one of most popular walking beaches in this small town with steps that walk directly down to the beach! There's also picnic benches to sit at and a bonus parking is free! If you're looking for the perfect road-trip, Pescadero is 1 hour south of San Francisco, 1 hour north of Santa Cruz and just 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean! And for those wandering, the Spanish word Pescadero translated in English means fishmonger, which is a shopkeeper who sells fish! I would recommend this beautiful beach and we're looking forward to exploring more our next visit, especially the geological stone formation called, "tafoni" I read about!

    John S.

    It's a wonderful little beach along one of my favorite seasides stretches of the 1. If you've never driven south from San Francisco to Monterey along the 1, you're really missing out on things in life. Have you stopped to consider that? It's not really a beach-day beach; it's more of a windswept-picnic beach, if that makes sense. There's plenty to explore, including all kinds of crazy sea creatures and remains of sea creatures and rocks and pebbles and sand--yes! even the sand is interesting. If you have little ones, be sure to keep an eye on them, as there are plenty of ways to get injured here. Normally, I'm all for children learning about danger through personal experience rather than parental coddling, but the jagged rocks and crazy tides here could turn a minor fall into a major tragedy. Speaking of bad parenting, there are signs all over the place about which objects and creatures it is illegal to remove from the beach. Disgustingly, the first time I came here, a father was eagerly showing his four or five children how to capture some prohibited-to-take creatures in buckets. At first, we thought the family was going to release what they had caught before leaving, but nope, they just scurried up the rocks with buckets in hand and piled into their Suburban. It can get pretty crowded if it's a sunny weekend, but don't be afraid to come when it's cloudy or overcast. That's when I've enjoyed myself the most here.

    Chillin with my woman
    big sexy s.

    Another stop on our adventure in the Bay Area and PCH. This nice little beach area had picnic tables with beautiful views.

    Therese K.

    Bean Hollow State Beach is one of my favorite beaches on the San Mateo County Coast. Located near Pescadero there are two areas of parking, one for Pebble Beach and one for the sandy Bean Hollow. The access to both areas is easily reached. At low tide on Pebble Beach explore the tide pools and the tufa. The sandy beach is popular for anglers. Parking can be difficult on weekends.

    Bean Hollow Beach
    Marie H.

    Beautiful beach, clean and well kept. The bathrooms are closed but there were clean portables. The tide was too far in to get to a lot of the rocks, but still really fun to look at everything.

    Starry night looking starfish
    German L.

    Went at afternoon low tide (2.5 ft) and there were so many tide pools to explore. We had a group of kids staying at Costanoa and made the 10 minute drive up the highway to explore. Parking lot is tiny and dead ends but plenty of parking on the shoulder of the highway before and after parking lot entrance. The north side of the highway (heading south) is good and has paths that are actually closer to tide pools. The beach is also very calm with barely any waves in a nice little cove.

    Montage of images from Bean Hollow State Beach
    Ed U.

    Yes, we all know the Pacific side of the peninsula is gorgeous, an embarrassment of geological riches with rising cliffs, craggy rocks, and crashing waves. The problem becomes which beaches to visit, and the one side benefit of this pandemic was the opportunity I found in discovering several of them for the first time. Bean Hollow was a new find about three miles south of the Pescadero turnout. Keep your eye out for the sign. It's pretty quick and the two available parking lots are tiny and probably packed on weekends. I didn't even bother on a Friday afternoon and parked precariously on the shoulder off Hwy 1. The main draw for most visitors is the narrow and winding 1-1/2-mile trail that connects Bean Hollow Beach with nearby Pebble Beach. Coupled with the crashing waves below, it's quite a stunning sensory experience with the vibrant flora taking over and spilling over the steep cliffs. It's a bit tricky to start the trail as it requires a steep walk-up from the quicksand texture of the beach. But trust me, it was worth the effort. RELATED - Going to the beach? Here's a collection of beaches I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3rMOJ7b

    Beach
    Ashley H.

    The only dog friendly beach in the area so we ended up here with our fur children. The beach is beautiful, people were fishing, and there were also some sun tide pools. Seems to be right on the line of either foggy and overcast or sunny. We lucked out and got a sunny day! Beach is easy to get to with not a lot of climbing or walking.

    Princess Janine A.

    Terrible dirty restroom, parking easily gets full, and not a lot of picnic tables. This place is also windy and cold. Go here for sightseeing but not a good site for picnics.

    Ziggy and her invisible leash!
    Glen N.

    This is one of the few local beaches that allows DOGS, who must be controlled with a leash of no more than six feet at all times. For the record, Ella & Ziggy, the two small dogs my friends brought, LOVED scrambling up and down the rock like the strongest rock climbers. They were Adam PAWndra and Sasha DOGoulian. But, if you don't notice leashes on them in the pictures that's because, er, I, um, photoshopped them out or something like that. Since it has free parking, it's a no-brainer stop on the Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz PCH trip. Like Pescadero State Beach it is a great place for licensed fishing, a picnic, or exploring tidepools (anemones, crab, urchins), but this stop has some unique rock formations that remind me of the lava tubes of Maui. Bean Hollow State Beach includes two sheltered coves, separated by a rocky point. A mile-long nature trail connects to Pebble Beach. Not THEE Pebble Beach but it is a beach and there are pebbles. But do not collect pebbles. Or shells, Or driftwood. It's all prohibited. Only take with you your photos and memories, your trash, and whatever is stuck in your shoes. You will not want to spend much time in the bathroom, and will likely get a good workout by squatting and hovering, but at least it was well-stocked with toilet paper. Looking at basically a poop bucket, I now why the beach was once known as Arroyo de Los Frijoles or Channel of the Beans. This area was part of Rancho Butano, granted to Ramona Sanchez in 1838. Coburn, an eccentric and confrontational businessman from Vermont, bought the land in 1860. The 1906 earthquake closed the large hotel he was constructing on the bluff above Pebble Beach. Less than a year after his death in 1918, his second wife Sarah (sister of his first wife Mary) was struck with firewood in her sleep and killed. Nobody was ever charged. Some say her ghost still comes to the beach to explosively poop in the bucket.

    Tafoni induced trypophobia?
    Lawrence M.

    Bean Hollow State Beach stretches several miles along the San Mateo County coast, about 20 minutes south of Half Moon Bay. It's kind of off the beaten path, and it was almost empty even on Mother's Day. Though the parking lot with the bathrooms is tiny, there's plenty parking on Hwy 1 all along the length of the park. You can hop on the trail from any point. The walking trail along the bluff has foot bridges and benches, along with interpretive signs for flora, fauna, and geology. The infrastructure is in decent shape. The beach is easily accessed by footpaths down about twenty feet to the beach. It's not exactly wheel chair accessable, but anyone wearing boots or athletic shoes should have no problem. The shoreline alternates between sandy beach and rugged rocks with waves crashing over them. You wouldn't want to swim here anyways. The water's a little rough, and it's full of kelp. And probably seal poop too. There are lots of interesting rock formations you can scramble on to get salt spray on your face at waters edge. The tide pools here are ok, but not as much diversity as perhaps Moss Beach. Further out there are dozens of seals. We saw some swim sort of close. They looked weary of us and kept their distance, but they definitely came up to check us out.

    South Side
    D.wight L.

    One of my favorite beaches that's on that stretch between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. This stretch of Highway 1 is one of my favorite day drives. So relaxing and chill. This small beach is about a couple miles south of Pescadero. But this isn't your conventional beach, where the masses congregate, plop down a beach camp lugging a ton of gear. And I'm sure that's why I'm highly fond of it. It is not as trampled, and is more tranquil, lots of areas where you can find solitude. A lot has to do with the parking here. There are only 2 small lots each about a mile apart. Each can only hold maybe 15 cars each. So in that alone, will prevent the masses from coming here. There are spots on the highway where you can park, but now you'll have to hike a bit to reach the beach. It's an easy hike, but people who want to camp out usually don't want to lug their gear for very long. So they'll choose another beach. This also isn't a swim friendly beach. Yes the ocean is right there in all it's glory. Crashing waves, intoxicating briny aroma of the sea, sea breeze whirling around with a firm presence. But it is not recommended to enter that water for very far. As this is not a shallow and sheltered calm beach. So you don't see a lot of water activity. Again, something that is more of an asset to my outings than a negative. The south end of this state beach is where the sandy beach is. So if you do want to plop a beach blanket down, this is where it'll have to happen. This is also where you'll see most of the people. The north end has a beach also but instead of sand, it is all small pebbles now. So not really ideal to lay on. Here most people are just on foot walking around, exploring and taking pics. This side also has more tidepools (if the high tide isn't there). And this area has a really unique geographical feature. The sandstone here with the many years of erosion from the sea and wind have created this spectacular pattern on the rocks. Lots of holes and pockets were created but in a smooth and flowing pattern. And when paired with the colorful pebbles that reside here, just makes for a spectacle you just don't see anywhere else. They actually call these rock formations "Tafoni". I find it very aesthetically soothing to be around it, just gazing and hearing the Pacific right next to it. For me much better than hearing 100+ people frolicking densely on a beach, playing music and throwing balls around. But to each their own, and this is just where I'll prefer to hang. Even better on the weekdays, even better either near dawn or towards sunset. A true NorCal gem.

    Lovely rock formations
    Jen C.

    Lovely stroll on the sand, pebbles and rocks. You get everything here. The views are amazing. There are some benches where family bring a grill to BBQ. This was a perfect place to hangout. The pebble beach has very nice looking pebbles that have been tumbled naturally over time. I hope people don't remove them so that we can all enjoy the beauty for many generations.

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    Ask the Community - Bean Hollow State Beach

    Review Highlights - Bean Hollow State Beach

    If you like awesome rock formations, tide pools and scrambling along the coast, this is the beach for you.

    Mentioned in 44 reviews

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    Pescadero State Beach - Pescadero State Beach

    Pescadero State Beach

    4.6(107 reviews)
    2.8 mi

    Pescadero State Beach offers a stunning stretch of coastline with some of the best tide pools in…read morethe area. There's tons of marine life to find, and it's a great place to walk around and explore. There are multiple staircase entry points, though the access isn't very elderly-friendly. Once on the beach, the terrain is uneven, so it's better suited for people who are comfortable walking on rocks and sand. This is a great spot for people looking to gather mussels, rock crabs, and for fishing. The starfish here are massive, and the anemones are everywhere -- really impressive to see up close. There's plenty of parking, and we prefer the north entrance, which tends to be our favorite access point. The main downside is the bathroom situation. They're in pretty rough shape, and the park could really use some maintenance here -- it's clear many people avoid using them, which unfortunately leads to waste showing up in parking areas.

    Beach Slapped…read more One-mile stretch of CA coastline that's just as jaw-droppingly beautiful as the rest of the area with its sandy beaches, high cliff line, and almost always cool, temperate climate. The Good: *Right off the PCH, which is always fun to drive. :) *Beach is separated into a north end and south end by Pescadero Creek. *Fishing is OK (I mean it's in the name!) *South End had picnic tables and a fairly clean restroom and was free to park. *North end also had restroom, but there's an $8/fee to use that end. *Must come here (South lot) to access the Marshland Nature Preserve across the highway. The Meh: *North side only has parking but no restrooms that I saw. *No dogs *No camping *No fires *Area is kinda desolate, as there's not much around. It is, however, only ±20min from HMB. The Ugly: *While a great Beach, it is kind of a schlep to get here from SJ, as you have to go North in order to go South to get to the beach. Conclusion: Great little lowkey Beach that has access to an amazing marshland nature preserve that's great for bird watchers.

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    Pescadero State Beach - Pescadero State Beach

    Pescadero State Beach

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    Hidden Beach

    Hidden Beach

    3.0(2 reviews)
    2.6 mi

    This place sucks dangerous to climb down and dangerous parking someone died here very recently…read moretrying to climb down. Also the high tide comes up to the cliffs and can trap you, no way out for a mile or two, don't go!

    Hidden Beach -- at least that's the name I know it by -- can be found by (carefully) parking along…read morethe side of Highway 1 about a mile south of Pomponio State Beach. After parking your car, walk about a quarter of a mile down a chasm, crossing a sometimes treacherous log, and then scaling down about a 15 foot sandstone wall face. Once descended, you will discover yourself to be on one of the area's most pristine beaches. The rip currents and aggressive tides ensure that nothing stray stays on the beach -- no seaweed, no shells, no nothing. So the beach is always clean and raw. The coastline here for about 3 miles long has a 100 foot cliff wall at the back of the beach, which means that this access point is the only one for at least a mile in either direction. People go here to get away from it all, and sometimes you may see some discreet nudists, but I don't think it's known to be a nudist beach. A great place for dogs and people to get close to the elements, listen to the pounding surf, feel sand between you toes, and wonder about how you can feel so far away, yet be so close to the hustle and bustle of the 408, 650 and 415. Please don't tell everyone about this place. Oops, I guess I just did.

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    Hidden Beach
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    Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve - Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve

    Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve

    4.4(13 reviews)
    2.8 mi

    Don't Marsh my Mellow…read more Update July 2025: the main Sequoia Audibon Trail is currently closed for construction until (allegedly) Oct 2025. There's a website to track the construction if you're interested: https://www.sanmateorcd.org/project/pescadero-marsh-habitat-restoration-and-resiliency-project/ In the meantime all the other trails are open and hikeable but be aware none of them actually connect and are all out-and-backs: 1) Butano Trail: access by parking in dirt lot on Pescadero Road. Put in 1958 Pescadero Creek Rd into your GPS. 2) Round Hill Trail: access at the end of Water Ln, by the park offices. 3) North Pond Trail: Access by parking at the north end of Pescadero Beach, and then you'll have to high-tail it across the PCH to get there. Normally, this Trail connects to the aforementioned Audibon Trail, but not with the current construction. Put in 18253 Cabrillo Hwy into your GPS for the parking lot.

    I love this place! The first time we came was back in 2022 and we did the Sequoia Audubon Trail but…read moreit was closed yesterday due to construction. So we did the Butano Trail instead. And what a beautiful trail it was! It's not very long--about 2 miles out-and-back. But simply gorgeous with lots of birds, wildflowers and so peaceful. We had the entire area to ourselves (except for one couple towards the end). There's plenty of parking (there's about 3 different parking lots in the area depending on which trail you want to do or if you want to check out the beach), free and there are bathrooms. Not the best bathrooms but they're decent. We're always so surprised that no one comes here. But that's okay. We love the quiet.

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    Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve - Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve

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    Butano State Park - Butano Fire Trail by the Butano State Park

    Butano State Park

    4.4(120 reviews)
    5.6 mi

    Planned out a day trip including a stop at Pescadero first followed by a hike at Butano State Park…read more The park itself is quite small and cozy and it's easy to see why it's often referred to as one of the least known California State Parks, because you really do have to make an effort to come here. That being said, the road to the park is quite well paved and there should be no trouble accessing it. We unfortunately visited the park during one of the controlled burns. I would not recommend visiting at those times because the smell of smoke lingers for quite some time even though we visited over a week after the burn ended. There was even one area of the park that was still smoking. It's also sad to see the extensive damage from the CZU fire that ripped through this area back in 2020. But overall there are still tons of beautiful redwoods and the trails are well maintained. Also not many people visit this park so you'll have plenty of peace and quiet on the trails!

    Butano, as it once was, prior to the summer of 2020, CZU fire, is no more. It's prior lushness is…read moremarked by charred redwoods and lack of undergrowth. But that doesn't mean it's not worth a visit. As of December 2024, all trails in the park are open. I commend the crews that restored the trails-they did an amazing job restoring safe access to the park. While camping remains closed, there are limited facilities (no drinking water and only pit toilets that are in sad shape.) However, if you come with an open mind and an appreciation for how forests regenerate after fires, it's quite an interesting park. I'd hiked an out and back last summer on Jackson flats and then, on NYD 2025, hiked the recently reopened loop of Little Butano Creek, Goat Hill Trail and Olemo Fire road. The creek was still low but there were too many banana slugs and mushrooms to count. Yes, lots of charred trees but also lots of green coming back. The lower trails aren't particularly steep or challenging and it's never crowded. Very peaceful park. It will be interesting to come back, over time, to see how the park regenerates and changes.

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    Butano State Park
    Butano State Park
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    Bean Hollow State Beach - beaches - Updated May 2026

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