Seacliff State Beach

Robin Pereira★★★★★

This is my favorite beach. I have been going to Seacliff since I was a child. It's a pretty big beach and it is famous for the remains of the Palo Alto, a Navy ship made of cement, which failed to complete its maiden voyage and was towed to the pier at Seacliff where it has remained since then. There is a store at the beach which illustrates the history of the ship. They offer a variety of ocean-themed books for all ages, as well as the usual gift shop merchandise--clothing, hats, souvenirs, etc. The staff are happy to answer any questions and are very knowledgeable. Unfortunately, during the terrible storms of a few years ago, the beach suffered massive damage. There used to be a campground which was washed away, along with most of the walkway railing that ran the length of the beach, portions of the walkway itself, and much of the sand washed away, leaving the stairs that led down to the sand without sand beneath them, hovering in mid-air. Due to the serious damage done to the pier, the difficult decision was made to take the pier down entirely. The Palo Alto sinks further and further into the sea each year. Soon it will be completely submerged. The beach clean-up and repairs have been ongoing and more hard work is left to do. If you are interested, you can adopt a share of Seacliff to help fund the repairs. This is a beautiful, well-loved beach with a covered barbecue and picnic area and several bathrooms spread out along the walkway over the length of the beach, some with outdoor showers. Parking is not a problem as there are two levels to the parking lot. I love this beach because I have many, many happy memories going back for decades. Also because of its unique history and, more recently, the resiliency of the beach itself, fighting to come back from disaster. If you love going to the beach and would like to see a part of local history, I strongly recommend visiting Seacliff.

3 months ago

Tyra Valverde★★★★☆

This is the beach that I grew up with and it's my first time coming back since we tragically lost the pier. I was still moved. The sand was very soft in between my toes. There were a tons of beautiful rocks scattered along the beach. I think it's one of the most family friendly beaches that we have in this area. You can drive right up to the water basically and don't have to hike down or up a large hill to get to the beach. It's easier for small children! Of course there is the option to park on the upper parking lot and take the 200+ stairs down ahah! The bathrooms were nice also and there were a lot of them close by the beach. Cons: I'd say the worst thing about this beach is that it is "stinkier" or smells more like fish compared to some other beaches. If you can get past that though, it's a really nice one! It is a dog friendly beach, leashes required, but it's pretty average for people to have dogs off leashes here so you can expect to see dogs run up to you or up to other random dogs sometimes. No soap in bathrooms, you'll need to bring hand sanitizers or your own hand soap.

4 months ago

Fred Love★★★★☆

Took the family to Seacliff State Beach on a warm Fall Saturday. In the past we would go to Santa Cruz Beach but we decided to go try somewhere else. The parking was $10 and at the time we went there was lots of parking available. The beach was very long and clean. It was easy to find a spot as it was not as crowded as Santa Cruz Beach would normally get. Our girl (5 & 7) loved this beach because it did not have much seaweed which grosses them out usually. The only down side was that when the wind shifted there was a really bad smell that came our way. Its likely due to the SS Palo Alto (sunken ship at the end of the pier that attracts a lot of birds). That still did not deter us from having a great time. If you a looking for alternative to Santa Cruz, I would definitely recommend Seacliff.

3 months ago

Seacliff State Beach
State Park Dr, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
Aptos, CA 95003

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