Monterey County Beaches

San Carlos Beach Park  Point Piños Tide Pools National Marine Sanctuary

With over 100 miles of spectacular coastline and beaches to choose from, Monterey County offers a wide range of beach experiences that are fun for the whole family. From rocky tide pools that are perfect for little beach explorers, to sandy strands offering the ideal setting for long romantic walks, Monterey County beaches are the place to be, whether you’re working on your summer tan, enjoying a day of beachside scuba diving, picnicking with the family, or looking for a kite surfing thrill.

Always enjoy our beaches safely – keep an eye on the water, protect your fee from sharp rocks and don’t ever approach a seal or sea lion!

San Carlos Beach Park. Located right next door to the Monterey Bay Inn and offering easy coastal access for scuba diving tours and beach lovers alike, San Carlos Beach Park is the best place in Monterey to watch the local sea lion population, walk along the pier, view interesting sculptures by local artists, enjoy a picnic, or simply walk along the beach. After leaving the Inn, turn left on Cannery Row and stroll through the grassy park. Be sure to stop at the kelp fountain sculpture. After admiring the view, follow the short path down to the beach.  As the most popular diving site in Monterey County, San Carlos Beach Park offers easy coastal access right off Monterey’s famous Cannery Row.   [Top]

Point Piños Tide Pools. Known by locals as the “Great Tide Pool,” Point Piños is one of the richest tide pool habitats in the world. The quarter-mile-long stretch of rugged shoreline at Point Piños is ideal for tide pool explorers, but not great for sunbathing or picnics. Nonetheless, nearly 40,000 visitors, from school groups to weekend tourists, come to Point Piños every year to peruse the beaches at low tide, looking for sea life in the hundreds of tide pools that are revealed when the tides recede. Visitors will marvel at the abundance of invertebrates like sea stars, anemones, black turban snails, hermit crabs, and chitons, but everyone is urged to leave these delicate animals in their homes so others can enjoy them as well.   [Top]

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Designated in 1992, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a spectacular area of Northern California that offers refuge and protection for a variety of marine habitats, plants and animals that make their homes along the California coast and in the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. This federally protected, 5,322 square mile area runs from Marin to Cambria and is the subject of a wide range of ongoing scientific studies and is the main focus of the work done at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The MBNMS is one of the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems, offering a safe home to hundreds of fish species, mammals, birds, plants, invertebrates, and is counted among just 12 other protected marine habitats under the watch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Natural resources in the MBNMS include the largest kelp forest in the US, one of the world’s largest underwater canyons and a close-to-shore, deep ocean environment that is key to helping scientists better understand the world’s oceans. Because the area is a marine sanctuary, activities like oil drilling, that could harm the habitat or animals, are prohibited.   [Top]