If you love lighthouses come see this one. Food and coffee close by. Closed to look at but the view is worth it. Lots of parking Lots of places to sit and listen to the water. read more

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Lighthouse Field State Beach is located in the city of Santa Cruz at the north end of Monterey Bay. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, housed in a 1967 lighthouse, is also in there. This is a spot to visit, relax, and enjoy the scenery and landscape, and a great spot to watch the surfers. Parking is free, but parking lots can fill up quickly, especially on weekends. read more

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Very beautiful beach! Parking was a little tricky and we had to loop around a few times before we found a spot, but it was worth it. This is an amazing spot to bring lunch to and sit and watch the surfers. You get an amazing view at the big blue sea and the rising and crashing of the waves. The lighthouse is beautiful as well, I think there is a museum you can check out but we didn't. There was lots of people also enjoying the view and there was a great energy. I can imagine how beautiful it would be during a sunset or sunrise! Loved being here and would come again. read more

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I was thinking of other places to go in Santa Cruz and Lighthouse Field State Beach came in mind. This area has some sightseeing areas where we can see the ocean especially the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. This place also has its own mini hiking area shaped like a square as well as a food stand. There were many people here probably because they want to go sightseeing here. Sometimes, it's good to relieve some stress by coming here since nature really heals. read more

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Lighthouse Field State Beach has been my ultimate happy place ever since I moved to California. First off, it's stunning - I highly recommend visiting for sunset. Parking (which is free) is usually easy to find at that time and the views are absolutely gorgeous. It's also one of my favorite places to bring my dog. Once you go down the steep staircase to the beach, it's naturally enclosed with rocks so dogs are able to safely run free. So much joy!!! The views of the coastline are beautiful and there are usually plenty of surfers, regardless of the time of year. They also have the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, which is inside the actual lighthouse, but I have yet to check that out. Will happily return on a regular basis! read more

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Gorgeous Dog beach park close by and easy walking pathways with a Cafe by the restrooms with fish tacos and vegan cookies! Hee. What's not to love here?!? Hee. Plus during the summer time, you might catch a surfing contest! Oh-there's also a quaint little surfer museum nearby- so you can learn some local history too. Hee. I'll definitely be back! read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Crazy king tides today at Its Beach/Dog Beach! - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Nature is the gentle reminder that life flourishes in simplicity, beauty, and balance. read more

This scenic park is located on a portion of Monterey Bay with it's sandy beaches, spectacular rock formations, and crashing waves. A popular destination for surfers, expert and student alike. As the name "Lighthouse Field State Beach" implies, this is a state protected and maintained attraction for both locals and tourists. You can't go wrong spending a fun day walking the paths, bicycling, site seeing, checking out the museum at the light house, people watching, marine mammal watching, bird watching, picnicking, sun bathing, tide pool exploring, or even swimming, depending on the season. Numerous surfers go there no matter what time of the year it is! There is even a statue erected from the 1950's, dedicated to all devoted surfing enthusiasts throughout the years! The sunrises, sunsets and moon lit nights are special events in themselves! You can really appreciate mother nature in all her glory, as long as you can look past the crowds of people who are drawn here. Fortunately, most seem to respect the environment by cleaning up after themselves and not littering. It's also nice that there is a large building of restrooms nearby that is kept maintained. I have been to several noteworthy beaches and cliff side look outs along the California coast in my years, all beautiful and breath taking, but Santa Cruz stands out as one of THE places to visit and fulfill the California dream. read more

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This is a fairly small beach, but there wasn't a ton of people when we went on Memorial Day weekend. There are a few free parking lots dispersed along the road, and but we found a side street where there was street parking (but had to walk just a little further). The staircase down to the beach a bit off from the lighthouse area. There are no bathroom facilities that I saw, and no where to rinse off. This beach is dog-friendly, so be careful of dog doo-doo piles - I just told my son to keep his slippers on to walk and we were fine. He loved seeing all the dogs play, and a few came by - they probably smelled our cheese and meat plate! We also saw tons of pelicans and a few seals. If you walk to the end of the beach opposite of the lighthouse, you'll find the natural bridge/arch. At the end of our stay we stopped at the lighthouse to check out the surf museum inside, and the surfers that we in the waters just below. read more

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Great spot to stop by and watch the surfers. There's benches along the way w/ great photo ops! There's also a lil place you can buy some food and snacks w/ picnic tables to enjoy the trees and scenery. Parking was easy and free in a lot across the street from the beach. read more

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Came here to see the ocean and lighthouse views right before sunset on the Fourth of July. Very easy this time of day to find close parking spots. Relaxing way to end a busy day. Public bathrooms located nearby too. read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Lighthouse 7:30 before sunset - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

If you have a well trained dog that loves the beach I recommend this beach! It's great for a group hangout on a nice day too. I came here with my friends dog and we had a blast and I love seeing all the cute other doggies. It's a beautiful beach too! read more

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Dog beach friendly. There are stairs that lead down to the beach so unless your pup has the awareness to go up the stairs and away from you then this is an enclosed dog friendly beach. If you look at the lighthouse then the stairs are towards the right about half a block down. This beach is a lot of times covered in sea weed. For those of you new to California, the water here in Santa Cruz is cold so don't expect to get in and have it be like bath water in the tropics. read more

This is the best view in Santa Cruz. Incredible view of the coast line, you can get a great perspective of surfers taking off on waves at the world famous Steamers Lane; the point and the slot surf zones. The lighthouse also houses the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. When I'm passing through Santa Cruz, I'll always stop by this state beach. Watching the crashing waves and the surfers helps me unwind also, parking is free. read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

A friendly beach for canine and human alike, and expect a lot of both. It was supposed to be the hottest day of the week, so we decided to give it a go. It's not an overly large beach, and was actually pretty busy. Which is surprising because of it being a weekday and COVID. Either way, we found a nice little spot and laid down. Overall, it's a nice spot in an area with a ton of beaches. If you want to take your family to the beach including your dogs, then this is the spot. read more

This was a beautiful place to come and see the big waves. It was my first visit to Santa Cruz and the waves were big on the final Saturday of the year. I was lucky enough to find street parking and I took a nice stroll here to see the surfers take on the big waves. It was a little crowded but still nice and relaxing. read more

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We Californians are all spoiled when it comes to beaches because even though we may complain about individual problems at individual beaches (e.g., not enough parking, too expensive to park, too far from parking to the water, hot sand, dirty sand, dirty water, cold water, dangerous currents, too crowded, too desolate), I guarantee you that the cruddiest of our beaches is still paradise compared to many other places' beaches. And even if Florida has warmer water year round, you have to deal with real-life Floridians when you go there, so I'll put up with the slight bother of entitled residents of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach every day of the week, thank you very much. Lighthouse Field State Beach isn't really a family-day-at-the-beach beach. I doubt many of those exist in Northern California just because the water is so cold, so that's not a knock against the place. If you have intrepid, uncomplaining kids (and those are an endangered species these days), you might be able to have one of those days here, but the stairs down to the sand are a doozy, and you'll have to lug all that junk back up anyway, so I wouldn't recommend it. But if you want to experience what seems like an '80s-movie montage of every spectacular Northern California beach rolled into one, come to this place. The vistas are breathtaking. There's an easy path along the coast. There are dangerous cliffs to avoid if you're smart while you gawk at the daredevils right up against the edge. There's nonnative ice plant. There's a lighthouse. There are crazy surfers. There's a surf museum. There's plentifullish free (!) parking, and even if you can't find a spot, you can park in the nearby neighborhood for free! There are spectacular rock formations, including at least one erosion arch and multiple little flat islandish rocks that look like giant stepping stones. There are views west and south. There's Monterey off in the distance. All of this, and if all you want is that '80s-movie montage version I mentioned, you can walk the entire length of the beach in a very short time, take in all that scenery, and still not get a grain of sand in your shoes. Santa Cruz is gorgeous. I hate on it in my mind way too much, and while I really do know why, I must admit that it's mostly undeserved, or at least all the things I don't like about it are outweighed by its natural beauty and mostly laid-back attitude. If you only see one place in Santa Cruz, this is it. You won't be disappointed. I promise you. Unless you're one of those fussy parents that California is full of these days. OMG, rocks are sharp! Down with safetyism, up with letting kids explore the world and learning to navigate risk. read more

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Always come here to visit because we love this beach park... Trouble has lots of dogs to ply with and she truly enjoy it! read more

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My friend recommended this place and I never knew it was a dog beach and I am so glad I checked it out. It is literally going to be one of my favorite places to visit. You HAVE to like dogs to come here. Like legit. If you don't, you seriously will be miserable! I came on easter sunday and it was soooo packed. Like 100 dogs. It was amazing. I was in heaven. I want to come here every week if I could, it really is THAT great. Parking is free, and what I've been told by many, I just came on a VERY busy weekend. Usually parking is easy from what the locals told me. You do have to go down a few stairs to reach the beach. It's a little cove with so many friendly people. Stay as long as you please. Bathroom across the street. read more

You have to have a pretty legit reason to knock such natural beauty. If you're like most, you aren't coming here for more than a simple scenic lookout and a little history, and for that purpose the lighthouse at Field State Beach delivers. Stand at the point next to the historic lighthouse (currently closed due to COVID-19) and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's a sweeping vista with visual that stretch - on a clear day - from south of the Boardwalk to the beaches and cliffs far to the north. The water and cliffs are beautiful; the beach is beautiful. We didn't walk down to the beach itself but it was a long, spacious stretch of soft sand without waves that are terribly harsh. Of course, there's also a lot of surfing that goes on here. Walkways down the cliff on either side of the point lead to some quality surfing spots. This makes this not only a great scenic spot, but a great people watching spot as well! read more

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This was the best beach EVER! I was looking for a clean kid and DOG friendly beach and this place hit the mark. We were lucky enough to find parking in the lot across the street on a president's holiday, I can only imagine how hard it would be on a weekend. HOWEVER, so worth it either way (If you're a dog person) Past the lighthouse is a stairwell leading down to a beach cove, so dogs won't be able to escape without running back up the stairs. They won't, there is too much fun to be had. It is an off leash dog park, I've never seen so many happy dogs of every size and breed frolicking their little tails off. My shy rescue (who I imagine has never seen a beach), found a happiness I don't think he even understood! And my son ran in the waves and explored tide pools past the arch at the end. Dogs were behaved, owners were responsible and friendly, the beach is clean. Dogs that were getting out of hand were reprimanded by their owners, poop was picked up after, my bag did get peed on by a territorial Shiba Inu but dogs will be dogs so don't lay your stuff around unattended for them to sniff at. (Granted I had doggie treats in it). It is so picturesque and relaxing, such a treat to have the pups and kid run free and play to their hearts content, a great experience in every way even with a piss bag I winded up rinsing out in the ocean. LOVED IT. Also, right across the street next to the public parking lot is a Taco/Quesadilla stand called Steamer Lane Supply. Superb and so easily accessible with outdoor seating and a great view. WINNER! read more

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Came here cautiously, as I saw some one star reviews, but was still pleasantly surprised with my experience. Dog-friendly, and not too crowded on the weekdays, though I've driven by on the weekends and see a ton of people playing die or camped out, especially if it's a hot day. I initially came here to do some yoga in the morning, and met a little friend! A small dog came and sat with me. If you're not into dogs or afraid of dogs, I would not recommend coming here - as almost all dogs are off leash and they don't seem to be concerned at all with running on your blankets or towards you completely soaked from the water. There's also a considerable amount of flies that kept flying on me, but that could have also been because there happened to be a washed up dead seal on the beach the day I went. Overall, a pretty pleasant experience though if you want a more clean beach experience I'd recommend going somewhere else. read more

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This is the worst beach experience ever. It's absolutely unsafe for toddlers and kids. When we were there scores of dogs were running around without leashes. There was no enforcement despite rules clearly saying dogs should be in leashes. There were untrained pitbulls running around that wouldn't listen to owners. We saw two or three times when dogs peed on other people's towels and bags. Overall a disaster in the making. read more

Not too many people. Lots of driftwood. Parking was a little difficult. Had to walk a ways to get to the water.

There is more to this park than just an awesome beach, the area just across West Cliff drive is also part of the park. There are walking trails and benches and it's a popular spot for locals to take a walk away from the more crowded West Cliff Dr. I like to chill on the benches and play music with my friends... The beach is awesome too, it's super dog friendly (off leash) and the views of the lighthouse and natural bridges are awesome! The only drawback is its smack dab in the middle of tourist country. Finding parking can be an adventure of it's own but if you can manage to do so, it's a great place to take your doggie for a romp in the sand! Tell all the people you want about this beach, chances are they already know. This secret has been out a long time! read more

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This beach is awesome. It is never crowded like the wharf. Even on this holiday weekend it was easy to get around. The dogs are everywhere around here and fun to watch. This was the census time here and it was a blast. Good waves and family fun. The stairs are steep in order to get down to this location so be careful! read more

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Sweet little beach! It's right below the Surf Museum. This is "THE" dog beach for the locals. Not so much for the soak up some rays kinda folk. It's in a cove, assessable by some stairs North of the light house. Parking is good on most days can be a bit stressed on a sunny day. So pack up the pooches, grab some grub and head out. read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Beautiful place to chill and overlook the ocean ... day or night doesn't matter ... roll down the window ... enjoy the cool breeze and eat a to go meal or walk along the cliff side and watch the surfers ride waves... Dress in layers... its always windy and chilly Only down fall is the abundant amount of homeless that line the lighthouse at night to sleep ... it can seem offsetting ... note at night there very minimal lighting along the cliffside so be very careful to stay on the sidewalk read more

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People come here to surf. At around 10 this morning, it was crowded with surfers. I saw several catching waves. Short waves, light rides. There's a little spot where you can see monarch butterflies in the trees, but there weren't many butterflies today. Fun to watch the surfers in Santa Cruz here. Nice residential area. read more

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This is an average lighthouse. I casually ended up here from Natural Bridges (a good 2.5 mile walk on the paved trail on West Cliff Ave). Across the street from the lighthouse is a preserved open field area. Below the lighthouse is what appeared to be a beach dog park. There are several street parking spots on W Cliff Ave but on a beautiful day you may get stuck driving around. Across from the lighthouse is an additional small parking lot. read more

Signs says dogs suppose to be on leash but lots of dogs running around off leash. Known as a dog beach. Stairs could use some fixing.

The BEST DOG BEACH IN SANTA CRUZ! The amount of dogs was awesome. All the dog owners were super friendly and actually looked after their dogs. Our dog loved it. It's great because it's enclosed by cliffs, so you can let your dog run loose and not worry about him getting too far away. The parking isn't horrible just have to walk a bit if it's crowded. we will definitely be back! read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - The most handsome boy at the beach - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Really cool place. Got to see the Monarch Butterflies earlier this year. Parking is like $10 if you pay in the lot or you can find a spot nearby for free. People seem nice too, it's not one of those parks with overly obnoxious guests or anything like that. Hope it keeps staying awesome! read more

The Lighthouse Field State Beach offers the quaint and beautiful scenery of the ocean waters from the North Pacific! With the Santa Cruz Surf Museum in the same location as the State Beach, it's definitely worth visiting. This iconic Lighthouse Museum unfolds a history lesson of surfing roots and how Santa Cruz came to be the popular spot for surfers and locals throughout past decades. Veering towards the neighboring cliffs is Seal Rock, an iconic place to view some waves beyond the yonder. The State Beach also offers great views of the brave hearted, super amped, surfers catching the breaking waves. As much as I enjoy surfing, it's always a sensation to see them do floaters and cutbacks (surfing terminology). In all, this is a great place to get away from the loudness and crowds of people in the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. When you're here, you'll be able to enjoy a nice peaceful stroll around the park with exceptional views throughout. Lets not forget about enjoying great weather with your dogs either! They'll love it here! read more

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This is my favorite beach so far! I'm on a mission to visit all the beaches in the area, and have only done about three, but this one is my favorite of the three. There's little cliffs to climb and walk on, surfers to watch, a lighthouse, a cove, and lots of dogs running around. It feels like there's so much to do on this beach, at least for me. There's a decent amount of people, but not too many. There's also cell reception, so do with that what you will.. it's a beach, so try not to be on your phone the whole time. The bathroom is across the street next to the parking area. Oh yeah, this is called Dog Beach because dogs are allowed to run around everywhere without leashes. So if you have kids, prepare for them to be knocked down by the lovely huge dogs running around everywhere with reckless abandon. Can you tell I like dogs more than kids? The dogs will also come up to wherever you're sitting and poke around you, so if you don't like doggos, this is not the beach for you! I love them, most of the time. The parking here sucks, and it's always a miracle when you can find a spot. Prepare in advance to stress over parking! After you find a spot though, it's a short walk to the beach. Ah, and the first time we came was during Spring Break, so there were hot guys everywhereeeee. Hot guys + doggos is probably part of why this beach is cemented as my favorite tbh. read more

***************************** 1403 *************************** Lighthouse Field State Beach is a perfect spot watching up close surfers ride out some of the biggest waves in Santa Cruz. When I do my run, I often stop by here, day dreaming, and watching these guys so relentless at the waves. It's a cleaner beach in Santa Cruz, there's a surf museum right there, a park for observers... and a lot of nice surfers... I saw some pro-surfers here as well. read more

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Neat little lighthouse with a beach down below. The cliffs are restricted because they are dangerous to walk on. Parking in parking lot across the street. Really nice views of the ocean and the areas surrounding you. read more

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It's absolutely beautiful - that's for damn sure - but it's crawling with dogs. Ugh. No thanks! If you wanna avoid the canine invasion, just stand at the top of the cliffs and take it all in instead of venturing down to the actual beach. read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

My Labrador retrievers love this beach! It's off-leash. They get to run with lots'a canine pals until they drop from exhaustion. A tired dog is a happy dog. Bravo Santa Cruz for allowing this beach to be dog friendly. read more

This place is dog heaven. We went on Saturday and the beach was just full dogs and happy owners. It's in a nice little cove and seemed to be pretty sheltered from the wind. My only gripe is technical: When we followed the map on Yelp to get here, it took us to the actual Lighthouse Field and not the beach. We parked and had to walk a quarter mile to the beach, only to find a parking lot right there on the water. So don't do what we did. read more

Lighthouse Field State Beach - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California