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Twin Lakes State Beach
Rating Details »
E Cliff Drive at 7th Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 429-2850
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 429-2850
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
17 reviews for Twin Lakes State Beach
I love this beach. I've been coming here for the past 4 years and I can always count on the furthest south part of this beach to not be too busy.
I just went here again this past Sunday and it was PERFECT. We got there at 12:30PM and there were less than 10 people on the beach. We left around 5PM and there were only about 20 more people on the entire beach.
I love to skimboard and I come to this beach all the time to get it done.
One thing skimboarders should know though: the waves don't tend to break so close to the shore. If you're looking to catch a wave it's going to be somewhat difficult.
I can always rely on this beach for a good time. =D
Maybe I'm just giving this place 4 stars cause I'm on a natural high it gave me a couple days ago. Kite flying + perfect wind + not that many people? Oh Twin Lakes, you getchoself a whopping 4 stars.
You're walking around Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and you're hating the tremendous amount of tourists along the beach, hogging all the sun so they can get a nice, even sunburn, so get yourself in ya car, drive your butt down the street, and come to Twin Lakes State Beach.
It's a cute little area right next to a scenic lighthouse and far enough from the boardwalk so you don't spot too many white-nosed sunburnt hawaiian shirt wearing jokes around. And not too many hazards for your precious little piggies laying around the sand, either.
My experience may be biased, forgive me.
I was on a food high, but this place made me ultra happy.
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Saturdays at Twin Lakes can be a little crazy with tourists. But, if you go way down the beach you can get a good spot away from the masses. if you're there for the evening a nice bonfire will get you in a romantic or fun mood. It's a good time and lots of family and people watching ...even those people from who know's where in the world that shouldn't be wearing that skimpy bathing suit ... tourists are funny :)
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I've been coming to this beach for three years now and it hasn't changed much.
Parking is no biggie. You might have to drive a little further down the road to find something so get there early! The farther down the beach you go the less people you'll see (hint-hint). The northern most part of the beach has a whole bunch of people (bc you can see that part from the local road) and its a lot messier (see weed and other things) than the southern side. Its a pretty OK beach if you dont want the crowds from the boardwalk nearby.
Start with the regular boardwalk beach, remove eleventy billion patrons or so, clean up the water a bit, and there you have it: a magnificent, albeit still populous beach.
Your best bet for parking is to look for a $4 paid lot on 7th street.
Your best bet for swimming is to not be afraid of the GIANT breaker close to shore. It really is huge, between 3- and 6-feet tall, full of sand, powered by a strong rip current, and ready to eat you. Beyond the breaker, it's totally calm.
You can't have alcohol on this beach, and the po' po' roll up on their large ATV's every so often, surveying the land. No one needs to know what's in your "diet coke" can, though.
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It's Saturday night. You're recovering from Friday night's bender. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster night.
Break out the coke can coosies for a little hair of the dog and truck it on over to Twin Lakes for a toasty bonfire. This isn't a noteworthy day beach as it isn't groomed, however, everything looks better in the moonlight. *cue Little Mermaid Music*
For a good night all you have to do is grab your chairs, coosies, friends, wood, s'more fixins, Scary Story books 1, 2 and 3, and your goon sac (well, not unless you want to recover from Saturday night's bender on Sunday night.)
It's an alright beach to have a small event with friends or have a company party. I came here last week for a company event for r&d. Not a huge beach. Not really all that clean. Nothing to really see that would inspire any awe whatsoever. Hard to find parking (unless you want to park in the nearby lot and get pwned $$$).
Walking in sand is a workout.... zzz
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This is a great beach overall. The parking can be a drag, but get there before or around 12 noon and you should be ok.
One bonus about this beach is the mexican restaurant/bar. I've spent a number of afternoons sweating on the beach then walking over to the bar for a few ice-cold beers and/or margaritas. So sweet.
The little lighthouse is also a nice touch. Being from Maine, renowned for its lighthouses, I love this.
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This is a great beach if you can find a spot to park during the summer months (-1 Star). The sand is relatively free of sharp objects such as bark, twigs, rocks, syringes, broken glass, etc. This is also a state beach, which means bonfires are OK. You may also want to steer clear of the Slough/Lake where the smell can get pretty rank (read: low tide). Especially if you plan on BBQing.
I'd come here more often if it weren't for the fact that I live right by Seabright beach. I suppose they're beach neighbors if you think about it.
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this beach is actually okay but it gets crowded and parking is a hassle. anyways back in the day the best place for privacy and to get fucked up were the beaches to the left and actually parking off of east cliff drive at 14th ave. and just walking down.
we've started our own fire pits and drank beer all night but the last time i visited home and attempted to do this (which was 3-4 years ago) with friends it was a bust but thats because they're were a shitload of people who were most likely ucsc students who didn't know what hamm's beer was. but yeah from what i understand they have been cracking down on that kind of stuff which is a shame.
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Twin Lakes beach was pretty cool, as we spent the 4th of July weekend in a house just 20 feet or so from the beach. The only drawback was the entrance from 14th st was very steep. If you have kids, or a lot of stuff with you, it can be treacherous. In addition, they claim to allow bonfires. There are three pits by the 14th st entrance, and all three were submerged in water.
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Parking sucks, but it's great for duck watching and BEACH BONFIRES!!!!!!!!!!!! (before 10pM!)
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this may or may not be the actual beach we went to. it is, however, on 7th street, which is the only locating characteristic i can remember about it. to get there, exit hwy 17, continue down ocean, make a left at eaton (?), make a right on 7th, and continue until you see ocean. then you're there.
we dont have many requirements for our beaches, really. we want to be able to walk on sand without fear of hypodermic needles, glass shards, and rocks. we want to be able to run around and throw a football and look cool for bikini-clad women. we want a bathroom near enough to use but far enough not to smell. also, we wanted to be able to start a fire.
this beach (or whatever beach it was we ended up on) gave us everything we required. we got a game of touch football going. we dug a firepit, threw some logs in it, and made a fire. there were many people around us doing the same; the sun went down, and you can see little spots of bright orange along the darkened coast. we skewered hot dogs and roasted them over the open flame. we also made s'mores, sat around, drank beer and wine, waxed philosophical, and enjoyed life. it was beautiful.
permit parking on 7th street ends at 5 pm. you need to try your luck on it, but it wasn't very difficult.
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this is a great place for bonfires because it is the very last stop the beach rangers make when they are closing everything down which means you easily get an extra 30 minutes to an hour out on the sand than if you were at seabright.
the water is cold though so don't go skinny dipping.
its kinda small but will do at times. its right by crows nest restaurant so you can enjoy a nice lunch and just walk to the beach afterwards =] oooo and its hard to find parking too!
Bonfires! Yes they have fire pits! It is near the beach boardwalk so it gets pretty crowded and a little messy but it is a great place to go in the evening and relax with some good folks.
We love this beach! It's the perfect beach for kids and let me tell you why. First of all, it's easy to get to. It's in Santa Cruz, just a short drive from where 17 dumps you into Santa Cruz. They have decent parking so you don't have to haul all those beach toys too far. Parking gets trickier on weekends and holidays between April and September, so pay close attention to the signs on the street and the rates in the lot - they go up considerably if you miss your initial window. There's a lot for kids to see and do here. It's right next to the harbor and so there are lots of boats to see and my kids love to climb the rocks that line the entrance to the harbor too. There are beach volleyball nets set up and often a game in progress which is fun to watch. Best of all, for Mommy, there's a fabulous little coffee shop on the beach where I can grab a hot beverage to help me stay warm on chillier mornings when the fog hasn't cleared yet and the place looks like somewhere Scoob and the gang would hang out. Another great thing about this beach is that I don't have to pack a lunch to come here. There's a Mexican restaurant, next to the coffee shop, that has takeout and they make great burritos and quesadillas. Bathrooms at this beach are always in good shape and there's a place to wash the sand off your feet (near the parking lot attendant's booth). This beach is just perfect for us.
