After reading the reviews on here it seems like this beach is a little controversial. My sister brought me to this inconspicuous dirt parking lot and told me this is the beach we drove all the way to HMB for. I was confused but trusted her and we walked around a locked gate along a paved road about half a mile down to a serene and unique beachside area. Yes, there are dilapidated beach houses that are no longer in use along the beach. However, this adds to the character of this beach. It seems like only the locals really know of this beach no crowds or tourists. The walk down a steep path and back up is worth it for this view! read more

Martins Beach - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

See all

This place is a hidden gem. I have passed by this area hundred of times, but never stopped to check it out. Always ending up at one of my usual beach spots along this stretch of PCH. The place of course has entry restrictions (No thank you Mr. Vinod Khosla) - but there is adequate space to park outside the barrier. What that also means is that the beach is not very crowded. Amazing views, and at low tide you can catch some interesting sea life swimming in the tide pools. Catch a beautiful sunset - relax and enjoy the beauty of northern California coast line. read more

Martins Beach - walking down to the beach - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

See all

Really beautiful and relaxing day , beautiful view of the rocks and the ocean . The only way to get here is on a private road . Could fine a trail to get there. read more

See all

Gorgeous beach that IS open to the public - not very well posted in terms of signage, but follow the others' advice in these reviews and you will find it! read more

Over 34 years ago I got engaged on that beach. Such great memories. It's such a beautiful spot. They should add a bathroom though. read more

Martins Beach - Getting engaged at Martins Beach. - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

My favorite beach ever in NorCal so far. I love to see tons of people at the beach, after all I am used to the Mediterranean beaches where you have to fight for a square of sand and you can end up literally throwing the towel to some enemy who passed by leaving you full of sand from their steps. Martin's beach is NOT that kind of beach, all the opposite, so perfect for my not very social boyfriend who prefer complete isolation form the always congested freeways and roads of the Bay Area. After all, a win-win situation: he gets his peace, I get my selfies in an awesome location plus so many cool shots he takes for me too:). We were all WOWs and NIIIIIIIICE. This is a very very beautiful beach. If you wan't to mentally escape, you can think you are in a mini Cabo San Lucas. Gorgeous seascape, rough waters but still you can 'enter in the water if you dare'. Some fishermen (yes, men, sadly I never see fisherwomen) catching nice silver colored fresh perch and very few couples in romantic mood, plus the occasional birthday party celebration and some happy lonely surfer too. All with class, no chumba-chumba, no boomboxes, no strident music, no yelling people, no unbearable kids, no spoiled pet-babies. This beach does not seem to be advertised from the outside parking lot (very small) and there is a big white fence that cars can pass but if you can to park at the very end, close to the beach, you have to pay $10 that goes to help the residents to maintain the beach in good condition (I guess). This is not a beach with toilets or managed by rangers or lifeguards, you are on your own, be respectful, plus you have to do quite a walk if you park on the road until you get to the sand, but it is worth it. I did not see any trash anywhere, just few people behaving and breathing the good vibes of my now declared favorite beach. read more

See all

Very nice beach in half moon bay! Pretty views and not crowded at all! Parking is $10 and there are no restrooms, but other than that, solid beach to visit! read more

Martins Beach - View on Martins Beach - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Highly recommend this public beach. Great views excellent location for enjoying nature and views.

Amazing beach! Open to the public despite what any billionaires say. Please come with all your friends and family read more

Awesome beach! The best surfing. If you're in the Bay Area, definitely worth the trip south to visit. read more

This beach is very beautiful and not very crowded at all. It is about 40 min from the Palo Alto area. Note the parking: if you drive down the hill you're going to have to pay $10.00 for private parking for the convenience of missing out on a 5 minute walk. Even if you park here you'll still have to walk about 5 minutes through the neighborhood in order to reach the beach. The beach itself: wonderful views, fairly gentle waves, but the sand is very coarse. It can get really hot too so don't recommend walking in the sand without sandals. It was a first initial visit but not sure if I would visit again due to issues of accessibility, and the coarseness of the sand (not fun for kids). Drop by and judge for yourself. read more

See all

Don't come here, just kidding! This is one of those rare find places for me. Stumbled upon it by my kids intrigued by an obscure road behind a gate while driving on highway 1. Walk about ten minutes down, one passes by tiny beach cottages and other homes lined on the hillside. Beach is beautiful with tall bluffs and a beautiful large coved area of sand with a distinctive rock formation in the ocean. read more

Martins Beach - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

See all

This place is magical. Great place to visit for that exotic travel destination fix. Dress in layers it can get nippy. Amazing Sunsets Two parking options: 1. Park & pay $10 snaps 2. Park & hike 10 min. Great place to teach the kids to respect Mother Nature. Never turn your back to the ocean waves. Romantic getaway? Rehearse that movie scene in "From Here To Eternity" Checks all the boxes! Enjoy read more

Martins Beach - Blockbuster movie From Here To Eternity feat. Burt Lancaster - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

It's a beautiful beach on the San Mateo coast. But families need to know there no public restrooms and there is no close parking available. The closest parking is $10.00 and worth the cost to have a safe car and shorter walk to the sand. read more

There is a lady who closed off the road. She is charging for parking cash only you can't get anywhere near the beach.

As of today, the gate is now OPEN!! However there's a troll in a white VW Camper van at the end of the road charging $10 to park. Yeah, I saw you and kept on driving past the scrawled sad sign...as I only wanted to see the beach. I mean seriously, what's the big deal as I could not see it! And where am I going to "run" to? The road ends at the water, duh! So, I get down there and it's okay. Not much beach area as the tide was riding and the water was rough. I did not get out of the car - Just viewing from the car window. Troll Patrol (too much aggression and testosterone) rolls up on me in his camper wagon, rolls down his window giving me serious stink eye and yells/motions for me to look at him. "Are you a resident? (Pause) w/o waiting for an answer Didn't you see the sign? I had to chase you after you blew through the barricade." Me: silent. rolled up window and drove back up and out of Martin's Beach. Too lazy to respond ;) Yep, saw the beach. No big deal. Caution: watch out for this bearded troll!! read more

See all

A sweet little gem that every Californian should visit as they travel the coastline. Always seems to have lots of good people enjoying the surf. read more

Stumbled upon this beach by accident. We saw a parking area off hwy 1. We decided to walk down a "private road" path that was paved. It was easy to walk down (~10 mins); coming back up to the lot is going uphill). Nice beach community. Nicer stand. There is a perched area for pelicans. We saw different types of seaweed: feather boa, sea lettuce. No bathrooms. https://www.kqed.org/science/1955623/the-neverending-battle-over-martins-beach-explained read more

No restrooms at this beach so be prepared! Luckily the woman in charge of parking was kind enough to refund us and direct us to another beach that had some bathrooms but why would you ever come here, charge $10 for parking, and then not have bathrooms? read more

Nice beach and they charge 10 bucks to park but there are No restrooms not even an out house thats pretty bad. I don't go there anymore.

Nice beach...surf seems gentle. However the vibe is semi killed for me by having to either A) Park on highway 1 and face a solid 15 min walk in (paved path at least) or... B) Pay off a resident to park in his unofficial dirt lot close to the beach! It's nice that residents were finally ordered to provide public access but it doesn't feel 100% public to me with a gate guard, and unofficial paid parking. read more

park along 1 at martin's beach rd...it's about 0.2 miles walk down to the beach...if the gates are open (not always), there is a $10 private lot about 2/3rd the way down...still have to walk down the steeper part for a bit...sandy beach, but can get wet during high tide...watch out for unexpected waves and keep belongings near the rocks...no trash bins, no restrooms and no amenities...everything must be carried down and back up with you...good for surf fishing...occasional crabs...nice on a sunny day, but water is quite cold...good place to place for kids to play, adults to fish and a light picnic... read more

VC Vinod Khosla denied !! Amazing, secluded beach on the California coast. Great for laying out, surfing or getting away from it all. A small hike but worth the trouble. Do not listen to any a**holes claiming it is closed. read more

My husband took me here for a quick weekend break. It is about 10 minutes south of Half Moon Bay, and there is a big sign on the right so you won't miss it. The color of the ocean is beautiful, and makes you really appreciate that you are living in California. It actually reminds me a bit of Palos Verdes... though more private and secluded. How lucky are the people who live here! And why do Bay Area people not take more advantage of the beautiful west coast facing the Pacific, rather than live in the dumpy and disgusting east side? I shall never understand... Oh, they charge $10 for parking here, but the people lounging on the beaches are all locals, no tourists, which makes it all the more better! read more

Martins Beach - Beautiful beach! - Beaches Near Me - Half Moon Bay, California

Beautiful beach. Park before the gate on the dirt and follow the paved road all the way down. It's quiet a walk. Someone recently reached out to me about it not being kid friendly. Here are some details. Please Be careful While smelting they were sucked out several times by the undertow and if it were not for knowing how to overcome that They would have been gone. read more

The spot has no trash bins. We cleaned up after others, only to walk over 1 mile and carry their trash back to our car. Homes or residents can lend a hand to keep it clean -- but a bin here and there can go a long way. Thanks! read more

Keep Martins beach public! This is such a beautiful family friendly gem of california.

Amazing views, my favorite beach in Cali so far! We walked aways after we parked but it was worth it!!

I came to visit this sadly run down beach community after public access was supposedly reopened by court order against the billionaire who owns it, but apparently defying the law, to see what the fuss was all about. As of now you still have to hop the gate. It's on a thin stretch of coastline below some cliffs, a decrepit little S curve of rental houses on a neglected, dangerous, spooky stretch of sand. The beach itself was steep, chaotic, with menacing tides and an unnatural collection of dead birds. The bungalows were desultory, run down, nowhere you would want to live. Every few feet there was a malevolently hand-painted "no dogs" sign or a bunch of nervous dogs penned into a small yard. The scenery was spectacular if you could get over the surreal vibe. If I were a libertarian billionaire fighting to keep my right to do what I want with place like this, I would at least make some effort that it was a nice place. Even if I were the poorest person in the world I would at least walk up and down the street trying to make things a little cleaner and neater, fixing things, repairing cracks. No such here. It looks like a thousand bucks on a good day, maybe five hundred. Trash, debris, shuttered buildings, no services. The place is aging, like an amusement park that shut down twenty years ago after a fire. The only reminder of better days is a mural on a road embankment depicting some people who used to live here, somebody caught some fish, somebody surfing. The place is creepy, disturbing, I would avoid it at all cost. Worse than an hour I can never have back, it is one of those things that once seen you cannot un-see. There are so many beautiful beaches in this part of California, you can go to experience the dark underside of American business history firsthand, as you might watch a 3 hour psychodrama about dental problems, but do not go for the ocean. read more

It's open again? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's open. But it's not the same. It's always been a bit of a weird shantytown. But at least it had personality. Now it has none. Zip. Nada. Oh yea, and we're told it's closing 2 hrs earlier than ever. But thanks for your $15. And about 3:30-3:50pm I'll drive back and forth to give you the hint to get the hell out But it's ok, cuz he already got your $15. The sign on Hwy 1 is painted over in a solid green. The pothole infested narrow road is still there, plus at least two more signs about the rules and 3-4 more "No dogs" signs. $15 now. The signs that should have been added were: Almost none of the previous people you've met there over the years are there. There are NO garbage cans anywhere The bathrooms are even more disgusting than ever - missing fixtures, no ability to wash hands, vines growing in even more and best of all NO toilet paper?? There are NO picnic benches available (one family took one that was upside down and far away and put it on the parking area toward the ocean at the second beach area) Much of the parking at the first beach is gone due to winter storms. The little market is gone. The nicer old ladies are gone. Most of the fisherman are gone. Almost none of the families that used to go there are there. ;-( And on the way back out of the pothole infested road a high end Lexus and an E series Merc were driving in. Not the typical cars of the people that live in the small homes. Were these the new owners? Glad we could help them with a small downpayment on the new $40M+ purchase of the beach and surrounding land. I can't believe the place got dumpier, but it did. At least the bathrooms aren't simply a hole in the ground. I guess that's next year. I hope there's at least a separate mens and womens side. LOL ;-( read more

What happened to Martin's Beach? It's now a shadow of its former self. I was so sad last summer learning that the beach was closed due to change in ownership. News came that it was open again - "Whoo hoo!" or, so I thought. There's no way to tell that the beach is open again. I guess they figured that through word of mouth that the regulars would start arriving as the sign that faces Hwy. 1 has been covered with dark green paint. The only way you would know that this beach was here was if you had knowledge that is place even existed. The soul of this place is gone. Many of the bugalows that line the beach are vacant with for sale signs. The little cash store is boarded up tight with no signs of life inside. There's a desolate, kinda ghost town feeling about this place. The guy who takes your $15 toll for driving down the pot hole repaired road firmly tells us, "The beach closes at 4pm!" And true to his word, starts patrolling the area at 3:45 to make sure that we're aware that we're being told to leave promptly when the clock strikes four. Don't get me wrong - this never was a resort, but at least there were running toilets with toilet paper, a place to wash your hands and trash bins. I have good memories of this place - growing up as a child, bringing my own children here and spending time with family. I have a feeling I'm going to have to rely on my memories. read more

Don't stop. Keep driving. Nothing to be seen here. A steep drive down and a steep drive back up again after experiencing nothing but a $10.00 parking fee, a bunch of old, beat up, scary looking homes with even scarier looking people. Trolls is a better term. I wouldn't leave my car much less get out to walk the limited beach. Where did that beautiful picture of this place come from? It must have been photoshopped by a real estate agent because that is NOT the Martin's Beach that I remember. Martin's Beach may be the most dissapointing experience that I have ever had in all my trips down Hwy 1. A complete waste of time, energy and gas. Glad it's behind me but I still have nightmares of it once in awhile. read more

This is more of a locals beach and is my favorite beach in the area! Come here to escape the crowds that go to Half Moon Bay State Beach. The beach is beautiful and clean. It's a great place to relax and get your head together. Take a nap. Go surfing. Play smash ball...and don't have to worry about stepping on anyone! It's roughly 10-15 min south of the town...look for the sign on the right as you head south. Turn right off the 1 and drive down the tiny road...that turns really bumpy as you drive down the hill and into this secluded cove dotted with small beach homes. The beach seems semi private for the local residents ask for a $10 parking fee once you get down the hill. Not sure what the money goes for...maybe to pay for the rest rooms? Maybe to pay for the "right" to a less touristy, semi private beach? To me, the $10 is worth it! read more

Five star rating is for 1964 and 0 stars for now, so evens out to 3. As a child our family would come here to hunt for softshell clams (Pescadero for cockles). We'd eat a few of them raw on the beach along with the sea snails we would find. Yum. At the time there was a limit of 50 clams per person and we would usually bring home about 100 total. Once we collected seaweed too and cleaned, boiled and put it in jars . . . sticky, sweet, salty, gooey and delicious. My parents decided it was much too much trouble and we went back to buying it at the Japanese store. Long live the beach's public access! read more

What a beautiful beach. The scenery and shoreline is simply exquisite. Surfing, tanning, swimming, this is the beach for it all!

The best beach of all time. Do not miss IT. Gorgeous beach that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

We had our suspicion when we checked the reviews and saw the rating were quite low. We took a look on the beach from the parking view since there are only few cars there. To avoid the crowded, we decided to camp there. You will have to walk down the hill to reach the shore and a while on the sand to get the best view far on the right. (That would not a problem if you don't have to carry a 3 year old child like we did). There were only us and another family at that side. Beautiful view! Only one unsatisfied factor that there were a lot of sea weed all over the sand and under the water. They did not cause any harm, but the smell attracted bugs, caused quite bit dirty look. I did not want to dip myself into the water though the water was not cold at all. Beside that, we enjoy the view, playing with the wave and sand. I believe the seaweed appears at its season. We will come back when they all clear. The fee for parking spot is $10. You wont be able to find any free spot recently. read more

See all

The overwhelming sense of freedom is what comes to mind when I think of Martins Beach. It is wonderful to be reminded that some things are not for sale and some things can not be owned. I highly recommend this beach to EVERYONE, regardless of wealth. read more

Such a great beach! Clean water and sand. Perfect for a day at the beach with the family. Cool photo ops to be had by the sharks tooth rock! Also has good surfing Would recommend to anyone visiting the area! read more

Martins beach is one of the most beautiful on the northern California coast. I have both great and sad memories of this wonderful place. Keep it open to the public! read more