Lighthouse Field State Beach

Lighthouse Field State Beach is a California state park that occupies a large tract of land along West Cliff Drive in west Santa Cruz, CA. The park’s main attraction is the land right at Point Santa Cruz that looks down on the famous surfing spot called Steamer Lane. At the point is a public parking lot and a lighthouse known as the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse (on the site of the original wooden Santa Cruz Lighthouse). Inside the small brick lighthouse building is the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum with loads of information on the surfing history in Santa Cruz and California. It is one of three surfing museums in California.

Across Cliff Drive from the point is the interior of the park with many trails meandering about. This interior portion of the state park is open to walking dogs on leash. The sandy beach below the west side of point is called “Its Beach” and is also dog-friendly. There are several parking lots along W Cliff Drive that have a paved path along the bluff leading to Lighthouse Point. This paved path is popular with walkers, joggers, bikers, and skaters. It runs from Santa Cruz Main Beach to Lighthouse Field State Beach and continues west along the waterfront to Natural Bridges State Beach.

Address

701 W Cliff Dr
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Park Name

Lighthouse Field State Beach

Owner

State Park

Pet Details

Dogs allowed on leash in the interior portion of the park

Fees

Free parking

Activities

Surfing, Walking, Biking, Skating, Running, Wildlife Watching, Birdwatching

Amenities

Lighthouse, Surfing Museum, Grass Park, Trails, Restrooms, Picnic Tables, Benches

Links

Water Quality
Surfing Info & Web Cams
Water Temps
Tide Chart