Cave Landing Beach
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About Cave Landing Beach in Avila Beach, California
Cave Landing Beach is a hidden and hard-to-reach beach below Cave Landing in Avila Beach, California. Most of the visitors to Cave Landing will head down the main trail that leads to Pirates Cove Beach and the best-known cave (which is actually a tunnel). This man-made tunnel, which has many nicknames including Smugglers Cave, leads to a viewpoint that looks west toward Port San Luis and the three piers of Avila Beach. This viewpoint also looks down on a small beach that seems impossible to reach. Well it is challenging but there is a way down.
Back at the parking lot there is a trail just south of the main trail (closer to the ocean) that heads in the same direction as the main trail but then drops down toward the ocean shore. It leads to a spot where a fixed rope is usually in place to aid in descending a steep and exposed cliff. Without the rope this descent is not possible for those of us that are not technical climbers. If the rope is frail or if you are not comfortable with rappelling, then do not attempt the descent. Wearing shoes with good traction helps. Stay back from the cliffs as people have fallen to their deaths in the Pirates Cove area.
If the tide is low then it is possible to roam around the coves down there. To the east is the biggest beach (pebbly) which has a cave behind it. Around the bend to the west (toward Avila Beach) there is another fixed line that helps with a precarious ledge traverse. This route leads to another cave, a beautiful rock arch, and more exploration. All of this is not for the meek so don’t set your sights on this beach unless you are comfortable with climbing and scrambling. Check tide charts before you go and don’t go alone.
- Address
- Cave Landing Rd
Avila Beach, CA 93401 - Other Names
- Avila Sea Caves, Mallagh Landing, Lone Rock, Fossil Point
- Owner
- SLO County
- Pet Details
- Dogs not advised due to rope access (ok on leash on the trails along the bluff)
- Fees
- Free parking
- Activities
- Beach Exploration
- Amenities
- Sea Caves, Tunnel, Trails, Rock Arch
- Links
- Tide Tables Water Temperature
Nearby Beaches
Pirate’s Cove Beach
0.2 miles away
Pirate’s Cove is a well-known clothing optional beach between Avila Beach and the Shell Beach area of Pismo Beach,...
Avila Beach City Beach
0.9 miles away
Avila Beach City Beach is the large wide sandy beach that takes up the entire waterfront of the town...
South Palisades Park
1.2 miles away
South Palisades Park is a linear grassy park along the bluff in the Shell Beach area of Pismo Beach....
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Nearby Lodging
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort
0.7 miles away
This resort sits on a natural hot spring that has been in use for over a century at this...
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