Amazing place to visit that I wish fewer people visited these days. This has been one of my goto beaches for about 16 years now and there was never much human traffic here until recent years. These days there is more human traffic due to the pandemic and everyone adventuring locally & finding things to do. This is a great place to relax and enjoy the views/nature. You can hike the trails, climbs the hills or just walk the beach in either direction. I generally come early morning and stay til the clouds and slight fog disappear as the day goes on. People generally come the later in the day it gets...but I wouldn't say this is the sun bathing type of beach, although ppl do lay out and get sun here. I prefer the cooler weather & breeze of this place when the clouds are out. Nothings but cheers for this Gem of a beach. read more

My wife and I have been a few times. The first time she was very nervous because she isn't a skinny Barbie. She is 5'3", on the thick side with natural 38DDDs....bald all over. But within 10 minutes of our first time there, she felt 100% comfortable. A lot of men were coming up and talking to her/us but they were all respectful and asked first before they came to sit and join us for a chat. For those that don't know, this is a nude beach. It is 100% normal for men to be walking around "at attention." Again, my wife felt totally comfortable. read more

Great beach. Clean, wide beach with white sand. Possibly the prettiest beach on the San Mateo coast. For those who have compromised balance, or walking abilities, the walk down the hill from the parking area can be precarious. read more

It's a clothing optional beach, very relaxing and exciting a must try once in a lifetime. Use the private entrance not the public entrance

Beautiful beach. Very clean. A few fishermen here and there. People come n go. Big beach. Plenty of room n space for everyone. read more

San Gregorio Beach - Beaches Near Me - South Coastside, California

It is a very clean and seldom packed park, Its so nice to watch the water and enjoy the outdoors there! Sometimes if you are lucky a Great Blue Heron will show up and greet you! The park officials are soo nice as well! This is also a good bathroom stop if all fails! read more

San Gregorio Beach - 1 Great Blue Heron on the park ground of San Gregario State Beach! - Beaches Near Me - South Coastside, California

Firstly, this is not a private beach. The beaches of California belong to the people of California and are not private property. What is private is the access road to get to the beach if you don't want to walk from the San Gregorio State beach parking lot area to this part of the beach. What is private is anything beyond the mean high tide water mark. Again, this is a NOT a private beach. A friend and I came here recently by walking from the State Beach area and were sleeping peacefully when the self-appointed Crown Ruler of the Nude Beach walked up to us and started yelling at us telling us that we were trespassing on his property. Completely and utterly rude, misinformed and illegal harassment. Told us he was going to call the Sheriff and Park Ranger to turn us in. I asked him if he was aware that the beach belongs to the people of California and he said he owned the property. I told him to leave us alone and he came back twice to bully us. I asked him to go ahead and call the Ranger and Sheriff. My partner and I stuck around for 3 hours waiting for the Park Ranger or anyone to show up. As expected, no one did. As we were leaving, I saw the Park Ranger at the other end of the beach and asked him about this issue. He confirmed the beaches of California belong to the people of California. I called the Sheriff. Same answer. If the self-appointed Grand Ruler of The Nude Beach of San Gregorio is reading this, you might want to study the law books before trying to intimidate or harass people. We will back next time to video tape the harassment and report *you* to the Sheriff. Legal References: All California Beaches are public to the mean high tide line (which is almost to the start of the cliff in San Gregorio) https://www.californiabeaches.com/map/private-beaches-in-california-anyone-can-go-to/ https://www.slc.ca.gov/water-boundaries/ https://www.kqed.org/w/coastalclash/recreation.html# https://www.sunset.com/travel/public-access-beach-war read more

The people at the cattle ranch immediately North of San Gregorio State Park have a phone answering machine message that will tell you what the weather or tide conditions are that day, or if they've decided to close the gate for any reason. If the gate is closed, the access and parking lot is closed. CALL FIRST: 415-765-7697 Although the sandy shoreline is "Public", access through the gate on Hwy 1 and the dirt driveway and the parking area ARE ALL ON PRIVATE PROPERTY! We should all be greatfull that the owners and residents there allow access through and parking on their land. BTW: To park at the adjoining State Park's parking lot costs $8.00...a dollar more than is charged at the private ranch to the North. PLUS, the fellow who collects the money is a defacto security guard for your car---a bargain! Also: At high tide, you can't get through from the San-G State Beach Park to the mile-long "Public" beach area (=where there's driftwood "Forts" and where gay nudists hang-out); So CHECK THE TIDE TABLES if you want to hike North from the State Park when "the gate is closed"! read more

Nice beach but hard to get to. Reinvest that $8 parking fee into building a proper beach access. You have two options walk thru calf deep swamp water or traverse a steep rock face with sand covered slippery rocks. read more

San Gregorio Beach - Beaches Near Me - South Coastside, California

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If there was a natural diorama anywhere on earth, it would be San Gregorio. From sweeping vistas, a scenic bridge, altering geography, and a cave, this beach is truly phenomenal. read more

On a warm sunny day this is the beach to hang out on. Its private, its a mile long, and on a week day probably no more than 25 people. Weekends can be much busier! Yes mostly gay nude males, but they do their own thing, and we do our own thing - its a mile long! We have been here many times over the years and it's easily our favorite place to throw up an umbrella. The two attendants, ben in the am and ? in the pm, that take your $8 parking fee are the friendliest guys and it's nice to know they are keeping an eye on things while you're out on the beach. Call them before you go for a recorded weather report. If you get a nice day, warm sunshine and no wind, this is the best clothing optional beach in northern CA. read more

Without a doubt, my favorite nude ocean beach (N. Lake Tahoe being my favorite). It's about 1.5 miles long, with loads of driftwood, probably averages around 80% gay/bi males, with occasional m/f couples, and fishermen. (Not a family environment.) Clothing optional begins to to North of the trail. South of the trail into the State beach is clothing required. There is a surprise awaiting the adventurous that walk to the North end. The entrance is on private property at 19429 Cabrillo Hwy (Hwy 1) 100 yards North of Hwy 84. $7/vehicle, $4/additional person. Pay the friendly on duty caretaker. Call for hours and conditions. read more

There are two beaches here. This review is for the nude beach. The State Beach is obvious. It has a big parking lot by Hwy 1. Families go here. Naked people do not. This is where you park if you want to stay clothed. If you want to get naked, keep reading. The nude beach has a different parking lot. It's through a gate about 1/3 mile north of the State Beach. The gate says "Private Drive." It's not hard to miss. You will be charged $4 per person or $7 per vehicle, whichever is higher. The owners stay present in the parking lot until about 7pm. If the gate is closed, the access through private property is closed. See my update below for a phone number. First off, this beach attracts gay men almost exclusively. Know that before you go. The beach is huge and spread out. You can walk for miles north of the entrance with or without clothing. You won't see a main social area as beachgoers are very dispersed. Do not venture south of the path to the beach unclothed as you will eventually encounter families who might not be too keen on nudity. The beach is also wide with lots of sand. Walking along the water is great and you will encounter few people. Along the cliffs you will see lots of driftwood "fort" enclosures built. This is where most men set up camp as you will see from the various umbrellas and (often) naked men strolling along the path. If you explore the path through the driftwood area, you should leave your inhibitions behind. If frolicking, naked gay men aren't your thing, there are plenty of places to set up where you can enjoy the surf, sand and scenery and hardly encounter anyone. If you are looking for a more mixed, social beach, I recommend Bonny Doon just south of Davenport. Be sure to check the weather before going. It can be totally blue skies in Santa Cruz while being totally cloudy at San Gregorio. ***UPDATE - July 2015*** To find out if the private parking lot is open and for current conditions, call 415-765-7697. They update it a couple of times a day. Do NOT be like Marc L and trespass over the gate onto private land. People live there. They're super nice guys, but if the gate is closed, access from their land is closed. You can get to the nude beach from the very large and very visible public state beach parking lot by walking along the WATER, not walking on private coastal farmland. The walk is LONG. That's why we pay to park in their private gated area. If the gate is closed, chances are not a soul will be in the nude section. read more

First I want to mention the map location of this beach is incorrect. Use google to find the directions for "San Gregorio State Beach." It is half way between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Also, before you head out, call ahead at this number, 1-415-765-7697. The voice recording will inform you if the private access to the nude portion of the beach is open or not. My wife and I first came to this beach on mid-October. Still unseasonably warm, but cloudy with slight drizzle. Access to the private lot is located just north of the access to Gregorio State Beach. It is easy to miss, it is a small iron gate partially covered by trees. If you miss it, its fine just drive past, find a side of the road that you can turn around at. A bumpy dirt road leads to the lot, and a guy at the end of the lot takes the toll of $7 per car or $4 per person. The lot is small, and may be shared by a couple cows. The trail leading down to the beach is fairly easy. Stable footing, wide passage, only a few slippery rocks. You wouldn't be able to drag a BBQ pit down, but I say its easy. Once on the beach, the nude part is far north, just past fisherman who were there when we went. As commented before there are many drift wood "forts" set up where people sit in, we saw 3. They were all men, all see could see where their heads. What were they doing up there, I can only presume stuff they want to do in private, and possible invite others to be with them and do private things together. What ever you think that mean, you are probably correct. But they stick to themselves. My wife and I sat nude on the beach near two occupied forts. The occupants would some times walk down to the water, but kept only to themselves. Finally, I want to mention the Beach is huge! I can't possibly walk the whole way. It was incredible empty, clean, soft and quiet. The waves were rough but the wind was mellow. Much more space here then at Bonnie Dune, and way less windy. For privacy, and a peaceful scenic location, this is the place. I give this 4 stars just because we had to pay for parking. read more

The place is great but the reviews saying the owner is polite must obviously be written by friends or people that never been there. I didn't experience anything polite about their behaviors. Every time I went, I felt that they were already on the edge when they instruct you to park in a particular spot. And give you instructions. They also come on the beach (with is State property) to check your every move. Once they woke us up yelled at us because I was sleeping in one of these condo out of sight of everyone. The guy was rude and verbally abusive accusing us to do things we didn't. For some reason they feel empowered to rule a state property beach. It was a terrible experience. I came back from time to time because the place is beautiful, I experienced these rude behaviors every time. Well, why should they care as long as we come back... read more

I found this beach on internet, I read the yelp reviews, and then I decided go to this beach today. When I was driving all the way from San Jose, I was expecting the "friendly welcome" as described in the 5 star reviews. But I ended up with a lesson that you cannot rely on the information from the internet. When I arrived, the gate was locked. I guessed the owner was not there because in December not a lot of people go to beach. I saw on some webpage that "you can park on the San Gregorio state beach, and walk to this nude beach". So I tried to do it. I know all the beaches in California are public. I thought it was not a big deal to trespass a parking lot especially when I had no other choice. But when I was just about to arrive the beach, a man appeared and shouted at me angrily. I said I could pay for whatever, but he just kept yelling at me. He ordered me to just go back where I was from. I apologized for twenty times, and left as soon as possible before he decided to shoot me. I know that I shouldn't have trespassed this private property. But again, if you own a piece of land blocking the access to the public beach, and you are running a parking lot on it, you should be friendly not only when you are being paid the parking fee... I did a little more more research after I came back, and found the following statement "No individual, partnership, or corporation, claiming or possessing the frontage or tidal lands of a harbor, bay, inlet, estuary, or other navigable water in this State, shall be permitted to exclude the right of way to such water whenever it is required for any public purpose, not to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of such water; and the Legislature shall enact such laws as will give the most liberal construction to this provision so that access to the navigable waters of this State shall always be attainable for the people thereof." --Article X, Sec. 4, Constitution of the State of California read more

A great beach for a clothing-optional get away. Enjoyed a very nice run. About 1.5 miles from south to north end. Weekdays are quiet. Never seen more than 15 to 20 other people. Be sure to check if the parking lot is open before you go. Not always open depending on weather. No facilities so take everything you need. read more

This is my favorite gay nude beach in the Bay Area. It's $7 to park in the closest parking lot (which is on private property), well worth it vs. walking all the way from the state beach parking lot (very long beach walk but can be done). The guy that works the parking area is very friendly and informative (not sure what Serge L. below is talking about -- he never monitors the beach other than a daily trash pick-up and certainly does not care about guys playing, but I have seen him - thankfully! - scold people for leaving trash behind). The access is fairly easy. Note: you will encounter naked men, sometimes in pairs. You've been warned! LOL read more

Just north of San Gregorio State Beach (and not to be confused with it) is a private-access nude beach. It's excellent! The guys that own the property are friendly and keep the beach pristine. The only reason I'm only giving four stars is that $7 seems a little steep for parking (but it doesn't deter me from going...). Easy access from the parking area to the beach. It's nude, generally kid-free, mostly gay males. Friendly crowd. Lots of little driftwood enclosures provide protection from the wind and a bit of privacy if desired. The phone number provided gives a daily weather update. If you're a nude beach lover and gay, you will love this beach. read more

l guess the website has been shut down for whatever reason. Hope to visit this beach in the warmer months.

I come to this beach to get naked in nature because it is such a huge, clean beach. I come here on weekdays when I don't have to work because there are very few people and nobody ever bothers me. On weekends, it's more crowded and you should avoid the driftwood structures by the cliffs if nude gay men make you feel awkward. read more