Seabright Beach

Went on a cloudy weekday, arrived at 9 am and plenty of street parking near the main entrance. The sun didn't come out until noon so it was a bit chilly. The public restroom and washing stations located to the right once you entered the main gate.
It was a nice 10-15 min stroll to the Walton Lighthouse on the left (east). The lighthouse divides Seabright Beach (AKA Castle beach) from Twin Lakes Beach. It's a great place to get the ocean/beach view, as well as watching the sail boats/kayakers cruising by.

Saturday, 8/05/2023 - We wanted to try a different beach from the same old Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk. So we headed to Seabright Beach. Address is 1305 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062. I must say....I am so glad we did!!! So much more room, less packed, and still fun! Upon arrival....

Pros
1) free street parking!
2) sandy beach. Very nice.
3) I saw a few volleyball nets on this beach.
4) there were a lot of burnt pieces of woods on this beach. Looks like you can do night fires at this beach. But...we didn't stay late to find out. Will have to check it out in the future.
5) there is a bathroom here. But since it's my 1st time here, I'm sad to say, I couldn't find it.
6) there's 2 entrance to the beach. One entry has lots of stairs, the other is a smooth walk down. I don't know how to explain it.
7) there's a cute little light house there. But I didn't make it to the light house. I'll have to check it out next time I go there.
8) roomy with lots of room. Not so packed.

Cons
1) parking is hard to find! But if you get it, it is free.
2) I didn't see any life guard where we were sitting. Not sure if life guards are supposed to be there. But there are life guard stations at this beach. An glad there are.

Conclusion
Oh we love this beach! We'll for sure come back to this beach. It was roomy, sandy, has volleyball nets, bathroom, free parking, easy access, no complaints! Glad we checked this beach out.

This is a stunning beach! It's the broadest beach in the area and has a lot of space. It was interesting to see all the tents, bridges, etc that people had built using driftwood. A local explained to me that this beach gets a lot of driftwood since the river brings it from the mountains and it comes back around to the beach.

Today was perfect beach weather and much appreciated after a few weeks of rain and cold. The sun was out and it was pleasant enough to be out in shorts and a t-shirt. It was nice to see people playing volleyball and families just enjoying their time there.

The views are spectacular and you can see the boardwalk on one side and the lighthouse on the other side. Make sure to check out the lighthouse too.

Seabright isn't a top choice but it's still a decent beach. More like 3.5 stars but I'm rounding up because I'm nice. You can find parking easily on weekdays and/or off-peak seasons. Beach has bonfires if you're into that-- a little close to each other but I guess it's nice to have availability.

Walk to the lighthouse all the way to the San Lorenzo river. I'd probably avoid the beach and water near the San Lorenzo river considering what's upstream, but maybe that's just me that would avoid it since I see so many people (tourists?) swimming in and around the mouth of the river in the summer. The parking area on east Cliff has really nice views and on a clear day you can see Hawaii! Just kidding, it's Monterey. But its still a nice parking area to take in the views and have a break in the day.

Last year I came to seabright for the first time. We got there early (4:30ish) to reserve a place at the fire pit. This is necessary!! We had quite a spread. It was on this day that we invented our now famous s'mores spread. Recipe in the photos section check it out!

Nearby is Days market (see my review, it's amazing place) for some snacks before the beach. Another life hack- beer in an empty Yerba bottle does not look suspicious, it just looks like a Yerba. There are white vans driving around the beach ready to pop you for drinking or smoking, so watch out for that.

Make sure to wear sunscreen. This isn't specific to seabright, just a good reminder. We only get one skin people!

What a great place for us a dogs.
We recently adopted a rescue or did it adopt us....
Only have had her for a month and decided to do a road trip since she has become so adapted to us.
Coming to Sacramento from Nevada the pup has never seen sand or ocean.
Trying to expose her to new things.
She had a great time on the sand playing catch. The waves had to take some getting used to.
Few people did not have their pets on a leash but soon did when we explained we are unsure of our girls history and disposition with other dogs.

cool neighborhood Beach. Nice overlook at the street - great place to pause for a beer and a bite from. Seabright Deli. Great spot to spend a sick day from work!

A nice beach worth going to if you want to get a fire going. There are about 10 fire pits all on the Western part of the beach. We came in November so half of them were still available when we arrived around 6PM, although I imagine you have to get there a lot earlier during busier months. There are bathrooms and lots of parking options in the residential area. The patrol cars go up and down every so often checking for alcohol that they'll make you pour out, and around 10PM they'll start kicking you out. If you park near the overlook they'll ticket after 10PM as well.

I'll be honest, Seabright is not my top choice for a beach when I want a Santa Cruz beach experience. But my boyfriend was in town and I was determined to show him all the major beaches, so we started with this one.

Parking isn't too hard to find on the side streets. I've never had too much difficulty even in the middle of summer. Just remember to be careful opening your door, the curbs in this neighborhood are extra high.

The beach itself is a pleasant experience. On one end is the lighthouse and old metal posts, and on the other is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I found that were a lot of rocks and shells right along where the waves break, so it was a little painful to walk along the water barefoot. The sand here is very coarse compared to the sand at the Boardwalk, and I appreciate that because it makes it easier to clean off before getting back in the car. It's a good beach and I definitely recommend checking it out if you've got the time. Also, it's never been crowded when I've gone so you can count on not ending up right up next to some other parties.

Pretty good beach! Decent parking on the residential streets and not too crowded. It has bathrooms too!