Rio Del Mar Beach

Rio Del Mar Beach is the main beach in the community of Rio Del Mar in Aptos, California. It spans a little more than a mile along the waterfront of RDM and is backed by Beach Drive the whole way.

If you are in the Santa Cruz area and want to go for a beach walk, we highly recommend this one. You can extend your walk in either direction (to the south for many miles!) and can return to where you started by walking a paved sidewalk along Beach Drive.

For day-use of the beach, you’ll find public parking lots at both ends of Rio Del Mar Beach (fees required). The first lot is at the end of Aptos Beach Drive (139 Esplanade) and has a couple of restaurants and a mini-mart for goodies if you want to picnic here. The second lot is at the end of Beach Drive (437 Beach Dr) and it has restrooms, a lifeguard tower, and beach volleyball poles. Between these lots are street parking spaces along Beach Drive where a sidewalk promenade has stairs to the beach in various spots. Double-check to make sure you are not blocking any driveways if you park along the road. Note that the hours of Rio Del Mar State Beach are 8am to sunset daily.

This long wide sandy beach is actually the southern part of Seacliff State Beach (therefore the brown beach signs). The rest of the state park is on the other side of Aptos Creek. For many years the view to the north was dominated by a fishing pier with a concrete ship beached at the end. Storms in recent years moved the broken ship around and finally took its toll on the pier so it had to be removed. The ship still sits in the bay in its broken form (it barely looks like a ship anymore).

Storms have been ravaging all of the beaches in this part of Monterey Bay so beach access points and the campgrounds have been impacted. Check the state park website before heading to nearby campgrounds to make sure they are open. When they are open, reservations are recommended and can be booked through ReserveCalifornia.

Because this beach is governed by state park rules, it means that these things are all prohibited on the beach: fires (ok in fire pits if present), off-leash dogs (ok on leash), alcohol and glass containers, flying drones, and camping. The campground at New Brighton State Beach is the closest, but Manresa State Beach and Sunset State Beach aren’t far away. Rio Sands Hotel is walking distance to the beach if you want to stay overnight in Rio Del Mar.

Address

131 Esplanade
Aptos, CA 95003

Phone

831-685-6500

Park Name

Seacliff State Beach

Other Names

Rio Del Mar State Beach, Platforms State Beach, RDM Beach, Beach Dr County Parkway

Owner

State Parks

Pet Details

Dogs allowed on the beach if on a leash

Fees

Fees for parking

Activities

Beach Walking, Sunbathing, Fishing, Beach Volleyball, Picnicking, Swimming

Amenities

Restrooms, Showers, Lifeguards, Benches, Stream, Driftwood

Links

Tide Chart
Water Quality
Water Temps