Very clean and beautiful view. Driving down to the beach camp ground I ran into a snake on the road and drive around it. Big sand mountains to climb to go over to the water. I had a blast with my son. read more

Sunset State Beach - Perfect day at the beach. Very clean and lots of picnic area. Descent restrooms. - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

Nice, clean beach. Clean restrooms and less crowded. Perfect for BBQ with family and friends. You just have to arrive early to reserve your BBQ spot. I recommend this place. read more

The good! - Excellent campground spaces, with both scenic views and sheltered, almost private, sites. - The beach(es) are spectacular, if crowded (a lot of families on weekends, and the BBQ sites on the main beach are usually full). - Showers have (coin operated) *hot water,* not roughing it here! - Dog "friendly" - Only 20-30 minutes or so outside of both Monterey and Santa Cruz, for both easy access and last minute supplies. - Surprisingly good for last-minute camp site grabs. It seems that although reservations regularly fill up, there are open sites available for drop-ins on most normal weekends. The bad... - Staff is difficult to reach, more often than not quite rude, and will point-blank refuse to do things such as give your car a jump for fear of being sued. "Park Policy." Staff are rarely present to answer questions or check-in, but tickets and fines will magically appear if you do something wrong. - While the campground is touted as "dog friendly," dogs are not allowed off-leash (somewhat reasonable), and not allowed on any of the beaches at all. And, seeing as how we called ahead and drove four hours to get to a dog-friendly BEACH, we were more than a little upset. Certainly a nice campground, well worth a weekend visit, and a great place for big groups - not to mention a truly affordable way to visit the Santa Cruz/Monterey area on a budget, even with the commute to and from town. read more

I would NOT recommend this campsite. The proximity to the beach was the only positive thing, however the beach was littered with trash. Our campsite was also filthy from previous campers' trash, including a white sticky substance on the table that attracted ants. The trash on site was overflowing with huge trash bags, and dirty diapers on the ground, and was swarming with bugs. Someone had put their muddy shoes in one of the bathroom sinks, and one toilet seat was covered in what I hope was mud. Quiet hours supposedly began at 10pm, but we could hear loud music, car alarms, and people leaving/coming via car well into the middle of the night. If we hadn't had a toddler, we would have left. I can only assume the number of people allowed at each spot (unlimited??) led to the above problems. Our neighbors had 7 cars are their spot, overflowing into our campsite. One "spot" had 12 tents that I counted. Wow. Never coming here again. read more

Sunset State Beach - Overflowing trash - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

Stayed at the campground last night. It was a great location. Tip-stay in campsite 28-30 for to be close to the ocean trail and bathrooms. Only bummer for us was that the "campground host" was incredible rude. Yelling at us as soon as pull in about my well behaved dog trotting by my side. We didn't even have a chance to read the rules prior to him yelling at me. At one point he creepily stood with his arms crossed over our campsite making sure we obeyed the rules. He even went so far as faking a phone call to the park ranger saying he was going to "teach us a lesson" All in all great location, but would definitely recommend waiting for a new host before visiting. read more

The location is somewhat secluded which makes it nice for relaxing and clearing your head. The camp sites are satisfactory with some shade. The bathrooms and showers are old but kept clean for the most part. The beach is really nice but can get cold when the breeze kicks up. Dogs are allowed in campgrounds and some parts of the beach. Beware of the skunks... one of the dogs here got skunked last night. Poor dog was just trying to make friends. read more

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Two nights at the campgrounds (1-37) was fine. The trees provided privacy and were climbable. Our camp site was close to the beach and bathrooms. Each camp site has a fire pit, picnic table and storage. There is no bicycle parking. Watsonville is a 10 min drive from the state beach. There are few street lights on the road at night, so drive safely. Sunset State Beach is surround by agriculture on the East. Unfortunately, my friends learned the hard way about leaving the storage to the raccoons. Some camp sites have seats (rocks, logs, etc) around. There is not a lot of mammals other than raccoons and squirrels. The birds are mostly sparrows and song birds. The plants on the sand dunes are pretty. We saw monarch butterflies around the camp site. At night, We heard frogs near the creeks and water channels near the beach. The winds on the beach are not too cold at night, if one has layers. The camp site is a cheap way to visit Monterey Bay and explore the counties. Recommended for those who want to a less windy camp site and stargazing, if the the fog has not hit the beach. read more

Do you like beaches? Do you enjoy camping? Are you looking for new territories and experiences to add to your adventurous belt? Well, let me tell you about the place I checked out this past weekend. Sunset State Beach is one of a gazillion state parks and beaches we should save and maintain. There aren't many beaches you can camp at with developed campsites - meaning toilets, running water and fire pits. This one has it, and the locale is super sweet. The beach is just minutes walking from wherever you setup your tents, and the beach itself is white sands with never-ending Pacific waters in your 180 degree views. Reservations are super easy to make online (http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/Sunset_Sb/r/campgroundDetails.do?page=details&contractCode=CA&parkId=120094&topTabIndex=CampingSpot), and there are super friendly and helpful staff onsite at the check-in kiosk. The campsites themselves are nicely shaded with Monterey pines, each containing a picnic table, fire pit, and bear locker for your provisions. Don't leave food stuffs in your cars or tents. There's not only flushing toilets here, but also hot showers due to the beach. You really can't ask for more in a campground. Some tips for your next trip: - Bring a lock for the bear locker, or just use a twig on the ground to shut it. - You can either bring in your own firewood, or purchase some from the camp host, located in the South Campground (the section closest to the beach). I didn't get to fully experience the beach part this time, but I've got reservations to come back next month. I can't wait to take some awesome photos of the beach! read more

This beach is beautiful, clean and not crowded at all. Campsite is super close, you can either walk down in a couple minutes or drive for literally 1 minute if you're feeling lazy (or have a bunch of stuff.) The reason for 4 stars is there is a huge skunk problem at camp! We had one pawing at our tent with NO food in it, he was bold enough to continue even though we were talking and had a flashlight on! Ugh...so that was disturbing. We saw one the next night too after a quick trip to the bathroom. The whole area was quiet even though there were other campers at all the spots. Bathroom and shower facilities were nice, no complaints there. We will definitely go back, but be more prepared to try to repel the skunks there. read more

Campground: We camped here as a base to explore Moss Landing, Monterey, Carmel, Point Lobos. Stayed during the week: clean, quiet. Our site in the South Camp loop had trees, and was semi-private. There were lots of sites though that did not have trees in between them and the next site. Some of the sites on the eastern side of the South loop back up right to the strawberry fields, which meant that those campers had unobstructed views of ag fields and ag workers, and that kids were wandering into strawberry fields to pick berries (bad idea!). Depending on the weather, you're gonna get the smell of strawberries, fertilizer, or a heaping helping of pesticides It looked to me that was that most of the Dunes Camping sites do not have privacy (few mature trees or shrubs between sites, so you're in full view of your neighbors). No camp store, but the Chevron on Lee Road right near Highway 1 is 10 minutes away and had lots of camping supplies, including firewood, marshmallows, graham crackers, beer, etc., and grocery stores in Watsonville are just another 10 minutes from there. Beach: gorgeous. Wind can be fierce. read more

My friend brought me here to do a photo shoot in the shark suit! Parking was easy, and the walk to the beach was a short one. I hate when you have to hike over a big sand dune to get to the beach, so I was happy to see no big dune. The beach is clean and had your typically dog walkers and fisherpeople. It was a beautiful Saturday but the beach remained uncrowded, which is a huge plus in my book! There are also some campsites here (I only saw them as we drove by). To me they were a little far from the beach and seemed a little cramped. read more

Sunset State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

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I am writing this after spending two nights at the campground at Sunset Beach. I would give this campground 5 stars easily for how lovely it is and how conveniently located to the beach (an not anything else - it is quite a drive out from civilization) if only the camp sites were not so dang close together. It is a small camp ground, I get it, but seriously... the normal sized battery lamp on the table at the site beside us lit up our tent so brightly that we had a hard time getting to sleep. The bathrooms are clean and the coin operated showers (25 cents for 2 minutes) were hot. The camp host was friendly and helpful. We like the south camp sites, 25 through 37 being the closest to the beach. You have to make quite a hike down a steep staircase to get to the beach, but it isn't horrible. And the beach itself is worth it. It isn't crowded, the sand is clean, and it is just lovely all around. There are covered picnic tables on the other side of the dunes and there are a few fire pits actually on the beach. It is easy to spend a day here. read more

Park is said to be open from sunrise to 10 PM. We arrived at 7:30, and the gate said that it opened at eight. We were kicked out at 6:30 PM in the middle of cooking our dinner, and told that it is only open till sunset. Check before you go this is ridiculous read more

I camped here a couple weeks ago and was not very impressed. [+] Spectacular sunset [+] Bathrooms (w/ showers, coin operated) [-] Not enough shade at our campsite [-] No toilet seat covers, I don't mind but we had small children with us [-] Dead crabs, seagulls, and seagull poop all over the beach... [-] No running/hiking trails, that I am aware of Overall, the beach was sort've gross and the surrounding area was lacking but the sunset was amazing. I guess that's why it's called Sunset Beach? read more

16 miles south of Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 then San Andreas Rd. leads you past the occassional homestead, strawberry fields, and a KOA. Where you end up is a parking lot at the bottom of a winding narrow road that has a bathroom on one side and picnic tables and fire pits on the other. This is a great place to BBQ! Just over the sandy dune you'll find yourself looking out at the ocean and Monterey Bay. Absolutely beautiful! The water's great...if you don't mind a little chill and, if you're lucky and you brought a kite, the winds off the dunes are usually strong enough to go flying. It's not a dog beach, like Carmel, but they do allow dogs on leashes in the campground. And Manresa, the neighboring beach has very dangerous riptides. Unless you are an experienced, strong swimmer stick with Sunset! What a great place! Instead of paying the parking fee for you and your caravan, I recommend joining the California State Parks Foundation. The introductory rate is $25 and you get 7 parking passes (good for the whole gang) and a subscription to Sunset Magazine. Yea! More to read... Good luck and have fun! read more

The fam likes to come here to BBQ, which is what we did yesterday. The parents are touring China, so it was us kids, the real kids, and some friends (along with some more kids). We got there sometime after 9am, and managed to snag one of the better grilling areas and a prime parking spot. Bathrooms are decent, but bring soap as there are none. It was sunny, but windy on the beach side. It was much nicer on the BBQ side, where there was less wind. The real kids had a great time splashing around in the super cold water, picking up shells and sand dollars, and just playing in the sand. The grownups had a great time eating some BBQ, napping, and just relaxing. read more

After camping a few weekends prior at Big Basin, we definatley weren't very impressed with this camp ground. We almost hit first a rabbid looking possum and then a SKUNK when driving in on Friday night. We had small children galore at tents 10ft from ours...lots of screaming. Is there such a camp ground as a "no children" campsite, or at least a campground that puts families on one end and everyone else on the other end? Anyhow, bathrooms, gross, but plenty of hot water for a nice long shower, tee hee...went kayaking down in Monterrey during the day so never ventured over to the beach, but it was pretty foggy and gross the weekend we were there... I would recommend trying a different campground unless you have kids and want to hang with them at the beach all day.... read more

We've now camped here two years in a row. In April, the off-season, it's only crowded on Fridays and Saturdays. This is not real camping. You drive in, pavement everywhere, electricity to charge your iPod, laptop, etc. drive ten minutes away to Safeway, Target, or anything else you may require. It is, however, a great place to get away. Close, cheap, and a two-minute walk to the beach. We do absolutely nothing when we come here. There is no hiking to speak of. We sleep. We play board games. We build campfires early in the day and sit around them until late in the night. If you want peace and quiet, don't go on the weekends or any time during the summer. Families and teenagers abound. read more

Nice clean beach with soft sand and clear water. Plenty of bonfire pits and picnic area available. Love the scenic view. Went there on a Saturday afternoon during early summer and it was not too packed. Parking is $10 per vehicle for a day (until 10pm). $35 if you stay overnight. The camping area seemed a bit cramped though. read more

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One of my favorite beaches in the Santa Cruz Area. I have organized 3 birthday parties here over the years. Fantastic place to take your friends or family for half a day. Pros: -Clear water (as clean as it'll get in this area) -BBQ pits and benches (get here early to reserve) -More secluded than other beaches -Large, white sanded open area (great for volleyball, football, etc) Cons: -Restrooms are FAR from the beach area. Get ready to walk if you have to pee -Beach is a far drive from the freeway -Parking is tough, so come earlier in the day read more

Have enjoyed this beach my whole life, camping, parties, long beach days... All of it. When you're driving there it can feel like you're lost or in the middle of nowhere, but have no fear - the long roads past strawberry fields will get you there. It's got a lot of options for your "beach needs": BBQs and tables near the parking lot, really nice camp grounds for campers and a nice clean beach to chill on. There are fire pits for bonfires on the beach area too. This beach is also a great spot to see the occasional dolphin / seal / otter in the surf and to find sand dollars on the shore! 4 stars because of the parking situation; There is not nearly enough parking, on pretty days it fills up FAST - and the other options are a looong walk. It is a state beach, so the day parking fee is $10. read more

Like most things in life, the moments are what you make of them. Yeah, I'll agree with some of the other reviews that the campsites were not perfect. But to be honest, sitting by a campfire with my beautiful girlfriend was all the "Scenery" I needed. It was a wonderful way for us to spend a weekend. The walk to Sunset beach was pleasant, not too far to be a hassle, and the walk from the cliffs was beautiful. We took a LOT of food with us, and had a blast just relaxing and enjoying each others company. The BBQ'ing and good food was amazing... Overall, it was a peaceful and serene experience that I truly loved and would repeat any day of the week. OK, more specific reviews: The beach = Beautiful, and aptly named. It really was a beautiful sunrise/sunset and the shore just seemed to go on forever. Camp= Quiet, a little tight, but plenty of room for a couple people per site. read more

"Five when the sun is out" The sun is basically there, but this place usually gets a lot of overcast. Some days are really cold, but if you get it right, this beach is amazing. You have great waves so all those water boarding things are great for this place. It's also clean and there's really nothing sharp in the sand. Don't you hate it when you step on sand and it hurts your feet, you won't have this with sunset. If you love the beach, there is also a campground here. You can go camping and spend time at the beach basically for the whole day and the next day and the next day. That's if you can stand the beach for that long. Try to search the forecast before going on a one day trip. Wait till skys are clear. If they aren't clear, it will be cold and windy. read more

Nice beach. Cleaner than most. $10 parking, all day. Not too crowded (Wednesday of high school spring break). Don't know about the camping grounds except for they're a couple minutes from the beach itself (walking). Watching the sunset+bonfire was nice. Picnic area was a bit over the small sand hill from the beach ;( And the bathrooms can get pretty gross, even if it's just water+sand. No alcohol. Park Rangers will ask to check. read more

This is a review of the campground portion of Sunset State Beach, specifically the South Camp loop as it is the only one of the three loops open in during the winter. If I could pick any campsite at South Camp I would try for site #25 because it sits up a little, giving a glimpse of the ocean in the distance and is relatively spacious. Most of the campsites at South Camp, and I gather the other two loops, are remarkably similar to one another. Bordering agricultural to the east and Shell Road to the west (between the campground and the beach itself), the sites are less private than I prefer. This is especially true for the sites on the insides of the loops, which are pretty close together and don't have much in the way of trees or bushes between them. Even so, I picked site #29 because #25 (and #26, probably my second favorite) were booked and #28, which also looked good, didn't have an obviously flat spot for my tent. Also, the night I was there the place was empty and we didn't have any neighbors. Would have been a very different experience if sites #30 and #12 were full. #31-#33 have potential, but are too close to the bathrooms for my tastes. Another batch of good sites were #21-#24, as they're perhaps slightly more private than the rest. I'd try and avoid sites along the outside of the loops on the eastern side just because they farmland nearby is the focus of your view. But if that's all that was available they would be fine, as would pretty much all of the sites I saw. At the end of the day, this is a nice campground with great proximity (especially South Camp and Dunes Camp loops; Pine Hollow less so) to a wonderful beach. $35 is too expensive for tent camping, in my opinion, but it's standard at California State Parks and isn't likely to decrease. read more

I went here 2 days ago to enjoy my 19th birthday with my precious friends. I searched up the weather and it said it would 72 degrees that day. Avoiding highway 1, we were 101 through Watsonville and we arrived in about an hour and a half. The parking costed 10 bucks but whatever, it was all good! We arrived around 12-1 ish and it we extremely foggy. HOWEVER, it soon cleared and opened up to one of the best days of my summer. The sun was extremely hot, heating up the sand and our bodies, contrasting with the cool crisp temperature of the ocean. The waters were Swimmable to say! We even saw Dolphins in the distance, absolutely amazing! Not to mention the sand was very fine so it wasn't tough to move on, just the sun heating it up burned a bit. Something very convenient about this place is that it contains grills that we could use. We cooked up some yummy drumsticks and had a blast! Remember to bring lots of Charcoal just in case. ALL IN ALL, would definitely come again. Perfect memories on the perfect beach of this summer! P.S. This beach is not as crowded so it was roomy and awesome! (Unless you are the type that likes crowded beaches!) read more

I've been coming here over the past few years, this place never upsets me or my kids. Love it here. It's wide so you can spread out. There's sand dollars, my favorite! ! If you get lucky, you'll spot dolphins passing by. Most of the time this place gets more over cast compare to Santa Cruz. But don't let it fool you, you'll still get a bad sunburn. read more

Sunset State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

Sunset Beach is my favorite park along the California coast. My family has been visiting here for more than 15 years and we always enjoy the walks on the beach, beautiful sunsets and evening campfires. Weather can change quickly so bring layers and be ready for the fog and mist to roll in. Keep in mind that this campground is super popular so you'll need to call ahead to reserve a site. Our favorites are closest to the paths down to the beach. Be ready for a walk no matter what site you reserve. read more

I can't get enough of this place. What a beautiful and well kept location. The beach is absolutely outstanding and will take your breath away. I grew up coming here for day trips and have recently started camping here for a few nights. Definitely gets chilly at night, but a great reason to start a campfire and finish out your night with friends and family. I highly recommend the beach and campsite to anyone, you cannot go wrong. read more

My family's very favorite beach! Perfect for taking the kids for a day at the water. Although parking gets sparse during the summer on the weekends, if you show up early enough you will find something. One of the cleanest beaches in Santa Cruz. I have not tried out the camping here, but we plan to in the next year. read more

Sunset State Beach - Enjoying sunset in March after a day of boogie boarding. - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

Well my long waited trip has come and this place was stop #1 and probly be my 1st and last visit, the campground was cool just there was a mountain to climb over to get to the beach, and my neighbors were so loud I mean I'm loud but these fools were LOUD!! Other than that it's ok not a bad spot I would probly not stay again but I definitely would visit read more

Sunset State Beach - Site #78 - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

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Went here when the waves were calm. Just enough to ride it but not capsize you. The progression of the depth of the beach was constant; it wasn't steep all of a sudden. The sand is fine and it doesn't hurt your feet and hands; it's good for making sand castles! The beach doesn't smell too fishy. The beach is good for skim boarding and such. The only down side to this beach is that the picnic tables are on the other side of the sandy hills and there is no where to eat out that is walking distance. You have to drive about 3 miles to go out and eat. read more

What a Beautiful beach!! We camped here and were very happy with everything. Hot showers were a nice bonus. We had issues with the raccoons after we were asleep in our tent. The bear boxes are pretty cheesy though. The raccoons took all our food, and we locked the box and everything! I recommend hiding your food in you truck out of sight maybe. It was funny, what can you do? Oh and I don't know what ran by our sight but sounded like a pack of wild pigs killing something.. I don't know. Anyway! Love the spot! read more

Sunset State Beach - Coming around the corner from the campground - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

I've been going to this beach for around 10 years now. I believe this is one of the nicer beaches in the Santa Cruz area. The beach itself is very long. It is hidden behind a bunch of farms. It is never too crowded but parking can be trouble. You have to pay $6 for parking and during the summer, you have to get here really early or wait until 2:30 to find parking. The beach has a handful of BBQ pits and is really a great place to get together with a bunch of friends. Once again get here early if you want to get a pit or wait until 2-3pm on summer weekends. The bathrooms are fairly clean (by beach standards) and the beach itself is maintained well. They have a campsite here but I have never used it. Lastly there are lifeguards on duty here. The water is always cold so bring a wetsuit (thats Northern California beaches for you though). This is really just a great place to kick back, chill in the sun, and hang out. read more

Nice quiet campground. Water faucets everywhere. Good restrooms and showers. The showers are coin operated so bring your quarters. Large campsites that include table and fire ring. It is so quiet you can hear every bird chatter...very nice. read more

Sunset State Beach - Morning at the camp. - Beaches Near Me - Watsonville, California

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I used to come here when I was wee boy scout. Came back recently and had a great time. The beach is a 5 minute walk from the camp site. You have to go down a huge set of stairs to get there though. I know I shouldn't complain but I came here for car camping!! That means sitting on my ass surrounded by nature...not trekking through it. JK. Anyways, camp sites are super convenient. You can park your car directly in front of your site. Every site includes a fire pit, picnic table, bear box, and nearby water/bathroom facilities. Gotta love pseudo-camping. Beach is not very crowded and just a nice place to relax. The only minor nitpick is that there aren't any hiking trails (other than to the beach) around. But like i said, this is car camping :) read more

Absolutely breathtaking...gorgeous beach with treasures in every wave. Sand dollars and beautiful shells. Not overly crowded and absolutely worth the $10.00 parking fee. Would recommend definitely!! Oh and I would have given five stars but the parking attendant was rude..had a real funky attitude telling us to go to another park because the lot was full....it wasn't though...we found a spot right away..so THERE you meanie!! HAHA!! read more

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Sunset Beach is now my favorite beach. :) We took our youth group here TWICE last summer and we had a blast. It is cleaner and less crowded than other beaches. The sand crabs tripped me out at first, but I got used to them. hehehe For some reason the water feels so much colder than Santa Cruz or Seacliff, but usually I just relax and get a tan. OR I am just a wuss and can't adapt to cold water! hehe This beach stretches a long way. Great spot for families too. I can just sit there for hours and watch people walk their dogs, fly a kite, play volleyball, etc. Check this highly understated beach out. :) read more

It's a great spot for a lazy weekend when you want to be secluded without having tor drive hours and hours. Being in the bay area, don't expect warm waters. The place can accommodate a great number of people if you are planning a gathering. There are BBQ Pits and also, plenty of sand to play all your outdoor sports. read more

Cleanest beach I've ever experienced. The atmosphere is VERY nice and accommodating to BBQs. I want to live by this beach in the future. read more