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Capitola Beach

Address: San Jose Ave and Esplanade Capitola, Ca. 95010

Capitola Beach is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from San Francisco, California via I-280 South, Ca-17 South (Santa Cruz), and Ca-1 South (Watsonville). You can also take Hwy-1 to Santa Cruz which is a scenic route. Ca-17 towards Santa Cruz has a lot of uphill and downhill and is a very winding road. Capitola Beach is known as the oldest beach resort on the West Coast and it is part of Santa Cruz County. It is also famous for the colorfully painted adobe houses by the beach. Capitola Beach is good for sunbathing, surfing, fishing, volleyball, birdwatching or just relaxing on the beach.

We arrived in Capitola Beach at around 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday and had a hard time looking for parking in front of the beach. So, we end up parking at an expensive parking lot that we paid a $40 fee for all day.  The parking lot was very close to the beach and behind the Britannia Arms Pub and Restaurant. Most of the parking spaces in the area were metered street parking for $1.50 per hour with a 3 hours time limit but very hard to find parking, especially on a sunny day. We were hungry and decided to eat breakfast at Britannia Arms Pub and Restaurant. We were seated outside with the view of the ocean and ordered a Traditional British breakfast, Veggie scrambled eggs, and All American breakfast. There were a lot of nice restaurants along the beach (esplanade street) with a view of the ocean such as the Margaritaville, The Sand Bar, Tacos Moreno, and many more.

There was a bridge that we walked at and end up being at the Capitola Venetian Hotel. The hotel rooms were situated close to the famous colorful adobe painted house. A few minutes away from the Capitola Venetian Hotel is the Capitola Wharf. We walked, enjoyed the ocean view, and took pictures at the Wharf. There is a nice restaurant at the end of the Wharf called “Wharf House” with tables set up outside and an amazing view of the ocean. We also noticed that there were fishing boat rentals close to the restaurant.

On our way back to the parking lot, we made a stop at the Capitola Seashells store and bought some cute souvenirs. My daughter craved for some ice cream on a warm sunny day and we end up buying a cookies n’ cream ice cream and a shaved iced drink at Souza’s which we recommend.

Overall, we enjoyed our family day walking around Capitola Beach and took a few pictures of the famous Capitola colorful painted adobe house and played on the beach. We also saw a few surfers on the east side of the beach near the rocks riding the waves and a small lagoon near the bridge that is good for little kids to play in the water.

Tips: There are clean public restrooms with a shower area close to the beach and most of the visitors were wearing a facemask due to Covid restrictions. Try to take Hwy-1 towards Halfmoon Bay on your way back to San Francisco. It is a very beautiful, relaxing scenic route with grassy fields full of beautiful colorful wildflowers and the famous Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about Capitola Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

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Bowling Ball Beach

Address: Hwy-1 and Schooner Gulch Point Arena, Ca. 95468

Bowling Ball Beach is a unique beach due to its spherical sandstone mineral cement rocks or concretions which often are visible during low tide. Bowling Ball Beach is part of the Schooner Gulch State Beach located in Mendocino County, California. It’s about 10-15 minutes away from Point Arena Lighthouse via Hwy-1.

We left Point Arena Lighthouse and drove through Hwy-1 for about 15 minutes until we saw a signage that stated Schooner Gulch State Park and proceeded to parked safely on the side of the road. We noticed that there were two trailheads from the parking area. We took the southern trail but realized that it was the wrong trail. There were a few tourists that were also lost and one of them indicated that they saw another trail near the parking area. Everyone went back and proceeded to the other short trail (northern) with wooden stairs that led us down to the beach. As we went down to the beach, we had to navigate safely through some big logs, tree branches, and seaweeds that were blocking the beach access. From the entrance, we saw all the huge round or oval-shaped rocks from the distance.

We were lucky that it was a low tide that made all the large round-shaped rocks visible that resemble bowling balls. There were seaweeds and slippery rocks that we saw as we navigated through the beach. We took a lot of beautiful pictures of the unique large oval rocks with the ocean and the mountain as our background. There were also a few tidepools and nice rock formations at the beach.

Overall, we enjoyed, loved our experience and it was a short hike to the beach but a challenge navigating through the big logs and branches. Before our trip, we checked on the tide chart for the low tide times. We found out that the northern trail is sometimes closed due to erosion where it descends the bluff. Always be careful while descending through the wooden stairs and keep an eye on the ocean waves for safety.

Tips: We saw a small waterfall on the southern trail that led us to the Schooner Gulch State Beach. Fyi, Schooner State Beach is located before a small bridge and you have to park your car facing south. There is no public restroom or porta-potty in the area and wear comfortable walking or hiking shoes.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about Bowling Ball Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

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Dinosaur Caves Park/Shell Beach

Address: 2701 Price Street Pismo Beach, Ca. 93449

The park is situated on a cliff and is a family friendly park in the Shell beach area of Pismo Beach, Ca. There is a lot of free parking, walking paths, picnic tables, kids playground with dinosaur themed and a public restrooms.

We arrived at the Dinosaur Caves Park via Price Street early in the morning. We passed through a few hotels/resorts on our way to the park. We found a parking spot easily. There was a small dinosaur statue beside the parks name sign. We were surprised by the cleanliness of the park, it’s stunning views of the ocean and the beautiful landscaping. My daughter liked the kids playground with dinosaur themed settings. We saw a few people walking and running on the trails. Some locals were also doing yoga and dogs were playing on the grassy field. We sat on a few benches along the trail and took pictures of the beautiful wild colorful flowers.

As we walked a little further from the playground. We stumbled on a small park named Margo Dodd with a cute gazebo in the middle and a great view of the ocean. A few feet away from Margo Dodd Park are stairs leading down to Shell Beach. But be aware of the warning signs stating that you are entering at your own risks due to safety. We watched our steps as we descended down the stairs. We explored the cave, the beautiful rock formations and the small tide pools. Just always be aware of the waves coming at the shore.

Overall, it’s a nice family friendly park with kids playground and access to Shell Beach but enter at your own risks. There were also street parking available. Be aware of were you are walking since the park is situated near a cliff.

Tips: Try to arrive early in the morning since the parking area gets crowded or full in the afternoon. Always wear your masks, maintain distance and wash or sanitize your hands due to Covid.

Let me know if you have any questions and what you think about the Dinosaur Caves Park/Shell Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site to your friends and family. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

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Pfeiffer Beach (Keyhole/Purple Sand)

Address: Pfeiffer Beach, California 93920

Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur California is known for its purple sand. Most of the sand is composed of quartz, garnet which is mostly responsible for the sand turning purple. We didn’t get lucky the first time we visited at around 11 am. The Beach was closed due to parking space limitations. The beach parking area only has 65 parking spaces available and the entrance fee is $10 per day use. We got lucky during our second visit. We arrived in Pfeiffer Beach at around 8:30 a.m.

Finding the place is very tricky as it doesn’t have signage. It’s about 1 mile from the entrance of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. It only has yellow signage that states ” Narrow road, No RV’s trailers”. We had to make a quick right turn and downhill to Sycamore Canyon Rd. Be careful for oncoming cars as they are ascending. From there it gets exciting as you have to drive for at least 15-20 minutes on a very rough and narrow road that is being shared by 2 cars. You just have to figure out how to maneuver in oncoming cars. We reached the end of the road and self-paid for a day-use fee. There were two parking areas and a public restroom. The keyhole arch is going to be on the right side of the beach. It was sunny but windy when we visited so be prepared to bring a jacket just in case.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about The Pfeiffer Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.