Zmudowski State Beach

Zmudowski State Beach is located north of the small town of Moss Landing, CA. It’s a long remote sandy beach with tall dunes and vast wetlands behind it. The most popular activities here are surf casting and birdwatching. Zmudowski State Beach fills a gap between Moss Landing State Beach and Palm Beach in Sunset State Beach. This area includes the sandy mouth of the Pajaro River. An old road heads north from the parking area making it easy to walk to the beach at the river mouth. The state park also protects land along the Pajaro River between farmlands from the beach to Highway 1. This section of river is a great kayaking or canoeing trip, but difficult to access from the beach. The best boat put-in is at a Watsonville Park located at the end of Clearwater Lane behind the Watsonville Water Resources Center.

To get to Zmudowski State Beach, turn onto Struve Road from Highway 1 and then turn again onto Giberson Road which zigzags through strawberry fields and eventually dead ends at the parking lot. Sometimes the access road washes out which means parking near the road damage and walking the last quarter-mile. Note that swimming isn’t safe in these cold ocean waves which are filled with strong rip currents.

Address

Struve Rd and Giberson Rd
Moss Landing, CA 95039

Park Name

Zmudowski State Beach

Owner

State Park

Pet Details

No dogs allowed on the beach

Fees

Free parking

Activities

Fishing, Birdwatching, Equestrian Use, Kayaking, Beachcombing, Hiking, Beach Walking

Amenities

Toilets, Dunes, Lagoon, River

Links

Surfing Info & Web Cams
Water Temps
Tide Chart