gray whale beach

One of my favorite beaches in the Bay Area is Gray Whale Cove State Beach.  I happened to stumble across this gem several years ago and have been a fan ever since.  

Ryan and I recently wanted to make a trip down to the beach.  But first, as always, we had to figure out transportation.  It's about a 30 minute drive south of San Francisco, in between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, and there is no bus option.

After looking into Zipcar, which was going to be about $80 for the day, we landed on Getaround.  This car sharing program allows car owners, to rent out their own vehicles while not in use.  It means less new cars on the road, money for the car owner, and good deals for the car renter.  Our Getaround car was going to be $31 for the day, but we were able to find a coupon online, which brought our rental car cost down to an extraordinarily low $6.  When we tacked on gas, we ended up spending only $19 for transportation.

Whale Beach is right on Highway 1.  If you aren't paying attention, you could easily zoom past the too small parking lot.  

To access the beach you must dash across the highway, then descend a long and steep, wooden staircase.  Because the parking lot is small, and the staircase is long, there are seldom crowds at this beach.  It's always felt like just the right amount of people.  

Before you descend, make sure to hit up the port-o-potties.  There are  no bathroom options or private nooks on the beach.  Once at the bottom of the stairs, hang a left to find a spot on the family friendly side of the beach, or a right if you are interested in some nude sun bathing.  (Disclaimer: this is not beautiful-European-type-nude-sunbathing, this is more like creepy-old-naked-dude-sunbathing.)  It's a small beach, but there are places to explore, rocks to climb, creatures to find, surfers to watch, and of course toes to get wet.  I've even seen an actual whale at Gray Whale Beach.

Post beach time, Ryan and I did a short, coastal hike.  The trail head is in the parking lot, and is a mellow, mile long path to the neighboring Montara Beach.  This hike had sweeping ocean views, gorgeous spring wild flowers, and an abundance of bunnies.  

If you are planning on making a trip of this, check the fog situation ahead of time.  Even if it's sunny in the city, you just never know what it could be like in Pacifica/Half Moon Bay.  It's unreal how foggy, and therefore cold, it can get on the beach.