Short Hikes to Northern California Coast Beaches
The final hike descent at Cowell Ranch Beach
Many people look for beaches with parking lots near the sand. There are many reasons for this including accessibility challenges, families with little ones, carrying heavy beach chairs or coolers, and sometimes just the lack of time needed for a long walk to the beach. But when we have the time and the desire to get out and hike, it’s a fabulous reward if the path ends at a sandy beach.
We have scoured the Northern California coast for beaches with a hike of nearly a mile or more. Most of these short hikes are in that sweet spot of 1 to 2 miles, but a few are even shorter. A couple hikes on The Lost Coast are extreme hikes of five miles or more with huge elevation gains making them brutal day hikes. Who’s up for the challenge?
The hiking trail to Shorttail Beach
Below is a list of the Northern California beach hikes from south to north. We have organized them by the county where they are located.
The miles given in parentheses are one way, so double them for the total hike distance.
San Mateo County
- Franklin Point Beach, Pescadero (2/3 mile)
- Point Ano Nuevo (a guided hike), Pescadero (1.25 mile)
- Cowell Ranch Beach, Half Moon Bay (3/5 mile)
- Mussel Rock Beach, Daly City (3/5 mile)
- Thornton State Beach, Daly City, (3/4 mile)
San Francisco
- Mile Rock Beach at Lands End (1 mile)
Marin County
- Kirby Cove Beach, Sausalito (1 mile)
- Tennessee Cove Beach, Mill Valley (2 miles)
- Pirates Cove Beach, Muir Beach (2 miles)
- Palomarin Beach, Bolinas (1 mile)
- Sculptured Beach, Point Reyes Station (4 miles)
- Abbotts Lagoon Beach, Inverness (1.5 miles)
- Marshall Beach on Tomales Bay (1 mile)
Sonoma County
- Shorttail Gulch Beach, Bodega Bay (1 mile loop)
Mendocino County
- Alder Creek, Manchester (1 mile)
- Point Cabrillo Light Station Beach, Mendocino (3/4 mile)
Humboldt County
- Big Flat Beach, Shelter Cove (9 steep miles)
- Spanish Flat Beach, Shelter Cove (5 steep miles)
- Punta Gorda Lighthouse Beach, Petrolia (4 miles)
- Guthrie Creek Beach, Ferndale (1 mile)
- Fleener Creek Beach, Ferndale (1/2 mile)
- Carruthers Cove Beach, Orick (1 mile)
Del Norte County
- Hidden Beach, Klamath (0.5 or 1 or 3 miles)
- Damnation Creek, Klamath (2 miles)
- Enderts Beach, Crescent City (3/4 mile)
- Tolowa Dunes South Beach, Crescent City (1.2 or 2.5 miles)
- Tolowa Dunes North Beach, Crescent City (1.5 miles)
