La Selva Beach in Watsonville, CA

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About La Selva Beach in Watsonville, California

La Selva Beach is a private beach with public access near Watsonville. The beachfront community with the same name is part of unincorporated Santa Cruz County but has a Watsonville address. California State Parks owns the land south of La Selva Beach (Manresa State Beach) and a small sliver of land to the north too (sometimes referred to as Lundborgh Beach or Trestles Beach). The bluff and the beach in La Selva Beach are open to the public.

La Selva Beach is a beautiful beach with an association that residents can join, but anyone can visit the beach. The easiest option is to walk a short distance north on the sand from nearby Manresa State Beach (but you must pay for parking there). If walking from Manresa is too much, there are excellent beaches nearby. Sunset State Beach and Manresa State Beaches have four separate day-use areas with nice facilities and sandy beaches. Seascape Beach is close by too.

Note that swimming is dangerous at La Selva Beach because of rip currents and the lack of lifeguards (not to mention sharks).