I love this beach its a beautiful spot its always clean and its great for sunset watching or walking your dog.I also think its pretty cool that you can fish right from it. I go there all the time. :)
This wasnt our first trip to NB. Weve always liked it. Good spacing between most of the sites. Convenient to many activities outside the park. The beach is accessible and beautiful. And long. Dump Station too.
Long beach with plenty of space to walk a very long time. Family and dog friendly. Reasonably sheltered. Drinking fountain & bathroom facilities near the entrance. Very user friendly. Frequent sightings of boats to provide interest for an otherwise a flat sight line.
New brighton state beach is always nice to visit. The beach is clean and beautiful. The backdrop of the beach is 100 plus feet of a up cliff side. Youll find at the top a nice camp ground with bathrooms and showers along with a really nice place to picnic or bbq.
The campsite is great. The ocean breeze typically keeps the mosquitoes away while also having some cover from the sun with towering trees. The beach could use a regular combing. It regularly has heaps of kelp / seaweed that attracts flies making it harder to enjoy the time at the beach. Thankfully, with the state park pass, you can drive down the road (or walk along the beach) to sea cliff generally avoiding the problem.
The location so close to the ocean is why I gave it 4 stars. Ive stayed at way nicer campgrounds with more amenities and much cleaner facilities. The bathrooms were never kept as clean as I like. Although there were lots of kids there while we were there. Showers could of been hotter. Campsites were very close. Very little privacy. Still all in all a nice place. Might of been better if we hadnt tent camped.
Been coming here for 50 years. Its gotten a bit old but still very nice
Nice walk to the beach, shame the beach pits were put out due to COVID. Beautiful scenery overlooking the ocean. Showers and bathrooms are available for campers. Very close to Capitola for day trips.
Lovely. Its a wonderful beach around the Capitola-Santa Cruz area. Many come for surfing as the area is known for that. Its wonderful abd doesnt get really crowded.
One of the best beaches after Santa Cruz; because it is quiet, clean and picturesque. This is probably because you have to pay to get in; so this keeps crowds to a minimum. Yet, somehow the rich have beach homes down here; but if you want to enjoy a good beach then you have to be willing to pay a little.
Beautiful camping area! Very clean showers and restrooms!
Great beach!!Water is always calm and easy for children to get into. I usually visit this beach in July and August.Does get crowded and you will need to get there early to save a spot for gathering. Nice spot to fish for rock fish.
What can I say, we love this beach! Clean sand, clean facilities, and one of the 3 beaches in SC where they allow bonfires (so long as they are in the provided fire rings). The beach is in a little cove so it isnt super windy. Stretches all the way to Del Mar beach but is less crowded. Easy access to the camp grounds and hiking trails around. While we have no problem paying to park inside (gotta support our state parks and beaches!), there is relatively easy access from the nearby neighborhoods, and we often walk along the bluffs when we dont have a lot of equipment with us.
Parking is easy, beach is small and dog friendly, its not as crowded as Santa Cruz and if you want to camp up on the bluffs, make sure you reserve on reserve California 6 months in advance. I camp here every summer.
Great campground great beach always enjoy NBSB
Cool beach to just chill in and relax. Its not unusual to see sea lions and dolphins here. Very family oriented. Its a state park so there is a cost of ~$10 to park inside.Oh, its also very close to Capitola downtown so we often order a delivery of pizza my heart right to the beach :-)
Clean + easy Access beach. Friendly staff members. Beach goers were all nice people
Nice Dog friendly beach. We also enjoyed camping in the nearby campgrounds
Ive only stayed in one other state camp ground but I like this one the sites arent too close there was a deer in our camp site lots of owls and you could hear the ocean at night. Oh and we saw sharks in the water from the cliff above! I guess done might find that scary but I thought it was cool. There was regular sightings of dolphins and whales too! The only downside was a two week stay limit!
You can do all the personal well-being activities and its good for the soul. Working there is amazing! JJC Electric serving Santa Cruz
Its a beach in Santa Cruz, Its always great! Perfect spot to bring the lady friends as well, nice hiding spots around rocks but still in the open enough to get your jollies off by being risky
I always love it here . This is my 3rd year be here .
Nice campground short walk to ocean
If you like long stretches of beach. If you like long walks. If you like finding treasures in the sand. Then please enjoy this incredible beach all freaking year! You cant possibly be disappointed. Go for an evening sunset from new Brighton its magnificent. If money is an issue there is a trail directly off park ave. You can park on the hill and just a short walk gets you there for free or pay ten bucks but you gotta go by dark so it a best to park above. Google the area and you will see the r.r. tracks will guide you to the trail. Peace my friends and please please remember to let go off the stress and let the ocean give you clarity.... Please bring out what you brought in.. Love to you all.
Nice campground, easy walk down steps to ocean, close to Santa Cruz and Aptos.Right off highway one so during the summer you need reservations six months in advance.
Good quality food ...great portions.... Good people
Good place. Just do not go too deep. Ive heard there could be sharks there. Have not seen myself though. Clean beach, less people than on Capitola.
This Beach is beautiful. There is a lot of wood scattered on this beach. It is a long beach with plenty of space. They have just two fire pits on the beach but if you can get one or find people willing to share one, as my group did,that is really a nice option. Bathrooms are easily accessible. As it is a state beach, parking is 10 dollars.
This beach is perfect for a picnic, swimming, and walking or jogging. Its even better when the beach is not littered with the seaweed, but thats not in any ones control. Theres different wildlife to see, such as sea lions, dolphins, and once I even saw a shark. Beautiful place to stay at.
Nice state park with easy access to the beach.
Great beach. One legged bird looking for food, poor thing!
I love this place is very clean this time and the sun sets from the close-up you are absolutely beautiful.
Pretty chill. A little kelpy and a little sharky, but pretty
Beautiful day, sandy beach, love the campground. Wish more sites had power.
This is a beautiful and clean beach. I went during the week and it was not busy, and there was also plenty of parking. Its a great place to walk along the coast and enjoy the weather.
We come here every year in October, its cool at the campsite but still warm down by the beach. We love taking our dogs and going on walks in and around the camp. Coming down to the ocean there is a lot of stairs but if you cant make it (bad knees or what have you) there is a day-use area that you can drive to thats much closer to the beach.
I really like this place especially when you get a nice secluded spot
Nice day even though the fog rolled in fast, it made for a beautiful, but spooky scene. My family and I went in the water anyway, the waves werent big, people were fishing right from shore near other swimmers, they caught quite a few fish too. I have never been on any beach that has as much sea creatures close to shore as this one did. Something swam between my legs about 2 feet deep and almost made me trip&fall, but i ran so fast I am not sure my feet were even touching the sand at that point. There were hundreds of pelicans & seagulls as well as a couple of seals within swimming distance from the shoreline. & the kids had fun building stuff with driftwood and collecting sandstones too
Great campground and beach with plenty to do. Camping, Hiking trails, Beach, Sea glass hunting and more. Close to town if you need supplies.
I went camping here. The place was very nice and comfortable. The temperature was just right. I saw a beautiful sunset.You need to go down the steep slope to the beach, but the scenery from the top of the hill is so wonderful. I wanna go camping here again.One bundle of firewood is available for $8. There were very few bugs.
One of the best beach walks on the California Central Coast! Enjoy a stroll from Capitola down to Rio Del Mar for lunch. Have fun with some sand between your toes.
Great place for family or with friends
Great place to camp, but they changed the reservation app so hard to get in. Been camping here for 20 plus years and now gone from 10 campsite with family and friends to us. Miss my family here, but so hard to reserve.
A great place to go for scenery and the views. Sunsets are great. Make sure to look up visiting hours before you head out. They sometimes close rather early. But overall, the beach is clean and they have trails that you can walk through and explore the area.
Easy access, close to Aptos & Capitola, good facilities a nice uncrowded beach, make New Brighton a great place for Fall camping. It always nice to be close enough to fall asleep to the waves.
Beautiful beach, specially to visit as sunset approaches.
Big level paved camping
I absolutely adore this beach, but the State Parks have done nothing to fix storm damage from 3 years ago. Park rangers stake out at the top of the closed ramp seen in the background of this photo to harass and ticket anyone who bothers to walk up it. The stairs are only accessible because somebody placed a stump to get to the first platform.
So beauthiful place! The best for the family.
Great for the family. Beach is clean, camping is great. Make reservations to camp, 10.00 to park for day use.
A great place to enjoy the water and scenery.
Very good visit for the family.
A soft sand beach in a protected cove. The water is fairly shallow for a ways out and is markedly warmer than most central coast beaches. Its also a short walk from the parking area so all of these things together make for a good young family beach. Remember that your parking pass is good at all the state park beaches for the day you get it so check out a few. You wont be sorry! August 2019 update - sharks have been seen close to shore (100) also at Seacliff Beach nearby.
The beach was beautiful! Nice sand (not too many rocks) with hardly any trash around. I heard that the bathrooms werent the nicest, but they have them right on the beach, so I cant really complain about that. Even when there were a lot of people down at the water, it didnt feel crowded because there is plenty of shoreline to walk down and find your own oasis. I walked on both sides of the beach entrance. There is a large-ish set of stairs to get up to the parking lot or campground making this beach not very handicap friendly. The day use fee is $10 per car. While the water was cold, it was nice to walk along the shore and it is open all the way to the concrete ship which is now broken near the pier. Lots of pretty rental houses sit right on the shoreline as well, which are nice to walk by and enjoy looking at. Very nice beach all around.
I jog 4 miles there just about every time I go 6* for the beach
New Brighton State Park is a wonderful place to camp or spend a few hours at the beach. Located just a few miles east of Santa Cruz, it has the ocean, the back, but a smaller crowd. For campers, there are over 100 campsites. They vary from tiny to spacious, many suitable for three or four large tents others for good sized RVs. There are also very large group sites and an area reserved for bicycle campers.There are many restrooms and coin operated showers that get daily cleanings. Bring your own towels and soap. Only toilet paper is supplied. Firewood is also sold on-site.
Fantastic State Park, $5 a night if youre on a bicycle and they have plenty of spots for bicycles, no reservation necessary.
Always clean and plenty of good sitting in sand.
Great beach--lots of.other friendly dogs. I wish theyd fix the dog bowl portion of the drinking fountain.
Saw a juvenile shark today, Just cruzing around.
Nice overgrown path down to a beautiful beach. Convenient restrooms well kept. Saw great white sharks here on a warm July day! Busy, but plenty of beach if you want a quiet spot. $10 to park for the day.
Great beach and views of the ocean and bay
New Brighton Beach great place to visit with family and friends to get away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday life a great spot to enjoy the day or the weekend with your family I highly recommend New Brighton me and my family been coming here for the last 11 years we think this will be a place for you to
Loved walking this beach from my car camping site. Book long in advance for weekends. I walked on easily in late October during the week, but the best sites were taken. I think these were 20-22 or something.
Easy to walk to and from Seacliff. Theyve clean it up a lot.
Awesome camping and a super lovely Beach area. We love this place a lot. The ADA site was a little over grown with grass
Great beach to explore or visit, anytime of the yr with great views and good hiking spots
This beach is like a private beach. Was not very crowded, there was a lot of space to set up on the sand for our family. The walk from the car to the sand was not far at all, but there were some stairs to go down. We were able to bring down an ice chest, folding chairs and blankets. It helps to have helpers with you. There are restrooms, although we didnt use them (we brought the potty chair for our littles). There are a few fire pits set up so you can build a fire (bring your own wood) which was nice. Over all, I would recommend visiting this beach.
Best beach spot ever! Dude!
I finished up a walk here this evening and the cliffs here are one of my absolute favorite spots to frequent on the Santa Cruz coastline.My phones camera leaves something to be desired to put it mildly, but there was no shortage of onlookers capturing yet another beautiful sunset /beachscape that we fortunate residents have the privilege of photographing or finding one of the benches nestled in one of the cliffs nooks and simply drinking it in.
Walked from New Brighton Beach to Sea Cliff. The Day was perfect. The walk was beautiful.
I love New Brighton Beach. I usually walk in from Park Ave. to avoid paying the $10 entrance fee. It is a long beach that runs into Seacliff and Rio del Mar. You can take a very long walk headed south. Dogs are allowed, but leash is required by law. No alcohol allowed. Nice swimming beach, but juvenile great white sharks like to visit the cement boat, probably to feed. Dolphins at sunrise and sunset. Pack your trash
I like this beach a lot. Locals mentioned that sharks are at this beach often. Not too many people, sand is super soft. :)
Great place. Fairly quiet. Bathrooms and dog friendly.
The best beach.
Poor coordination at checkin. Didnt know park had wifi, no new visitor info sheet. No help with where spots were in relation to beach etc by staff. It is hard to see signage at night: bigger brighter for night driving and senior vision. Had to back up in dark as drove into 1 way street.
Beautiful beach.
Our narrator guide was the best! The crew treated us to the best that the bay had to offer us. They could use a larger, newer boat.
Its a great place to camp if you still want phone signal
Nice beach. Warmer water than some other parts of northern California. Watch out for the great whites. Many days you can see them from the beach.
Great place to go for the day, not very crowded most of the time and a great place to go on a walk
Wall to wall walks are the best. #packyourtrash
Clean restrooms parking camping foshing and swimming! Grat fun!
Highly recommend the campsites! Easy, short walk to the beach. Stellar sunset views!
Need some updates in restrooms. But overall is very nice place with gorgeous views and a dog friendly beach!
If you dont wanna deal with the tourist crowds as much as in other places, this is the place to be. The shark warnings posted all over really help keep the kids in check. Definitely worth the $10 to get in.
The cool breezy weather was interspersed with moments when the sun broke thru the overcast. An
Best place to camp with the family and all our dogs. Everyone always has a memorable time.
- Address:1500 Park Ave, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
- Site:http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=542
- Phone:+1 831-464-6329
- State park
- Park
- Tourist attraction
- Monday:8am–8pm
- Tuesday:8am–8pm
- Wednesday:8am–8pm
- Thursday:8am–8pm
- Friday:8am–8pm
- Saturday:8am–8pm
- Sunday:8am–8pm
- Wheelchair-accessible car park:Yes
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance:Yes
- Good for kids:Yes
Similar organizations
- New Brighton State Park1598, 1500 Park Ave, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
