I arrived here around 11am, and there was only one other car parked in the small parking lot. The trail leading to the beach is peaceful, so the half mile walk was lovely.I thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet of this small stretch of beach while I read a book, and I will return for more solo time in the future.When I left around 1pm, the lot was filling up; so I guess you might want to visit this place in the morning (if you are interested in being more secluded.)And dont forget to stop by Half Moon Bays gorgeous little downtown area when you leave the beach. :)

Great Small beach is good ...but to get there is 0.5 mile walk and the .. steep staircase .. but its has bot amazing view.Parking lot is small with about 10+ parking spots and there is no street parking.Sand is graniny be careful with Rift currents .. pack food and water and enjoy good time

Great beach. The small lot and half mile hike between farms keep this beach pretty chill and clean.

A great place to be on a sunny day.Has a small parking lot, lucky to have a Porta-potty (what do you expect here in the North?) and an easy trail to the bluffs overlooking the Pacific ocean. There is also access to the beach.Dont forget to bring your sunblock and windbreakers.The patch of land along the trail is blooming with mustard flowers depending on the season.

10-15 min walk from the parking area to the beach. Easy walk and ok to bring items for a picnic setting. Be prepared - your walk will end with a staircase to access the beautiful beach.I love this beach access because is away from the highway but not a bad distance to walk and or roll a wheeled ice chest or carry some bags if your planing a little beach day getaway.

Absolutely beautiful place very clean and its free parking you cant beat that theres no price on memories and a beautiful place why charge for it thank you keep up the good area

Excellent views and a small beach. Long easy walk, public porta potty. Small parking lot. Make sure you hide your valuable items

Great beach for the family. Went during a heatwave and it was the only beach that wasnt packed. Theres a walk to get to it and stairs down the side of the cliff but worth it if you want some space. Theres port-o-pottie bathrooms and benches for viewing. You might even see a whale like we did.

Beautiful clean beach with friendly folks. There is a 15-20 minute walk to the beach from the parking lot. Dont bring anything overly large or heavy as the trail finishes with a long stretch of stairs. Some places can get pretty narrow. Overall, pretty nice place to hang out for a day.

Absolutely love this beach, the small hike wasnt too far about 10-15mins of walking. the stairs werent too bad going down but on the way back up I really wanted to get back into the water. Carrying a cooler up and down it wouldnt be the easiest thing to do but Ive seen a few families with them. The beach wasnt too populated on Saturday, we went around 2-5. Parking was free but very limited spaces. Other than that, this is now my go to beach.

I went to fish. The Beach access is limited to one stairway to a stretch of beach about a hundred yards long. Nice, but limited. No fish!

Great view. Not many people on the beach. There is also a trail for hiking.

Tiny parking lot. Allows maybe 12 cars max which I love cause it keeps the crowds to the bare minimum and keeps the beach quasi private.

It is a great place to walk with lovers♡ Gorgeous View, Fantastic Weather!

I really loved this beach. Beautiful views and its never busy. Always plenty of space to sit away from everyone. If you walk down to the end of the beach there are nice caves which provide some shelter from the sun!

The walk from the parking lot is almost a mile through fields and farm land, then a hike down a steep cliff to get to the beach. The sand is coarse and hurts your feet to walk on it by sanding the skin off your instep. Yet inspite of all this I love this beach and come back any time I am in the area. The water is unsafe to swim in due to the constant rip currents and it is very cold. Still, there is a sacred healing vibration that soothes my soul. I love this beach.

Out of all the places I visited this one was my favorite! Shout out to my sister and her friend for taking me here. The views are just incredible and I have never seen anything like this. The ocean and sun just look incredible. Make sure you bring some food to eat on the beach. Def one of the most beautiful places ever!

Great place for an easy mostly flat hike with gorgeous views of cliff shores, sea lions, wild flowers and beach access

Views are amazing here. Not much water adventure unless youre well versed in swimming I wouldnt reccomend going in the water at all. Waves are usually strong, not kid friendly. Take WALKING SHOES, I highly reccomend taking a pair of shoes just to get you from the parking lot to the beach ( its a long walk ) and then 50+ stairs that take you down the side of the hill. Pack light!!

Great sunset

Nice walk (about 10-15 minutes) before 40+ stairs down to beach, not very busy.No bathrooms, only portapotty at parking and before stairs to beach.Not very kid friendly as the surf is dangerous and the sand is very rough, so no sand castles.Good size beach, very limited exploration possibilities on the beach.

Really great hike. The trail Gate was locked but easy to jump over. Love the cool breeze along the entire trail and ocean views. It took us about a little over two hours to walk the entire trail and back. Parking was ample.

Love the view, was there for burmese temple donation. After we had awesome burmese foods (free) and take a walk there.

Beach is good but the walk to staircase is 0.5 mile and the staircases are horrible.. steep staircase and pretty damage at the end and be careful while taking kids they might get hurt..

Nice walk from parking area to the point. To get to the beach there is a set of stairs. We have a daughter with special needs so down and up was very difficult. She loved her time on the beach so worth the effort. We watched a sea lion swimming close to shore. Since the stairs are steep and damaged, getting out was a struggle. We had a great time and enjoyed the secluded hideaway.

Recommend on a weekday not a weekend gets really crowded in the area around the afternoon.

Very quiet and less people compared to the other beaches in the area

It is Natures miracle. It is one of the best sunset viewpoint.

Great spot to park and hike along the cliff trail or head to the beach! Safe... with porta potty and amazing views!

Amazing views! Relatively flat walk. Saw lots of wildlife. The parking lot isn’t huge so it might be hard to find parking during busy times. The parking lot is free. Trails are flat but not paved. There are handicap parking spaces and portable toilets. There is beach access down a steep staircase.

Easy walk (about a half a mile or so), gorgeous area and the beach was fantastic. Sheer cliffs around so be careful. You could use a wheelchair to go to the benches at the lookout, but definitely not to the beach. There are stairs, however, they are not for the out of shape, elderly, or disabled. The stairs need repairs and can be dangerous.

Nice secluded beach area got there by bike and enjoyed beautiful views and not crowded beaches with clear sand

The beaches here are well worth the effort of walking down to them, plus more challenging access gives the place a more secluded and pristine feel.

Short hike. Nice ocean view and beach access!

Its a bit of a walk to the beach itself, but thats a nice way to have more quiet

Nice shirt walk to the beach, great views not too busy.

Nice walk with my wife

Beautiful beach and quiet.

Love this spot its my favorite relaxing getaway day

One of the most beautiful trails in the Bay Area

A beautiful coastline, not sure how you could disappointed. However, dont expect to see a lot of sun and warm temps.

It is a pretty hike to the beach. The steps going down are not too challenging, but not little kid friendly, as they can easily trip. The beach has a pebbly sand, and enough area for a small beach excursion.

Best little beach. Shhh keep it a secret because its amazing when you have it to yourself or very few people are there. The walk is nice as well.

There is such a beautiful trail that starts here and you can chose to head to the beach or walk 7 miles out and back.

Beautiful secluded beach with great views from the bluffs above. Stairs leading down to the beach are about a 600 yard walk from the parking lot, which is right off Highway 1. A hiking trail extends along the bluffs to the South. Restrooms available at the parking lot and the beach.

Nice beach with coarse sand

The beach had the least amount of people in the area during Labor Day weekend.

Small parking lots that fill up quickly on weekends. From there its a short walk to the beach. There is a much longer bluff hike to another entrance to the South.

Beautiful sea shoe, cliffs and sand and waves.

If youre looking for a a beach thats not so congested. I think this Beach would best suit you. There is about a ten minute walk/hike to the beach and a flight of stairs youll need to walk down to meet the beach. The sand is like soft pebbles and the sunset reflecting off the ocean is eye gazing. Just be careful for the sprinklers walking back after sunset from the property owners you walk passed. Nice little getaway. Parking is limited, just keep that in mind.

Beautiful views

Place i will bring my first love

A relaxing stroll with nice views. A good daytrip in the area.

So beautiful and peaceful

Very nice view and hiking trail here.

Excellent place for taking rest with children and friends! It is not overcrowded! Especially it it is awesome when the sun goes down.

My favorite place when visiting HMB, start here and walk to the RitZ Carlton. Small parking lot available but you can also park on the street

Beautiful beach with wild surf which is not visited that much. There is quite a riptide.

Walk out to the end of the path for a spectacular view, descend the staircase and walk barefoot in the ocean. Welcome to California!

Secluded beach without a lot of people. Good place to listen to the ocean waves and watch seabirds!

Beautiful running trail

Located bout 2-3 miles south of Half Moon Bay. There is a small parking area on the west side of Highway 1. The trail is about a mile to a beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs. On the weekend you can also hike or bike along the Cowell-Purisima Trail which runs 3 miles south along the bluffs above the ocean.

Beautiful views and usually less crowded

Its about half a mile to the look out. Its high relative to the ocean so on a clear day this would be great for whale spotting and similar. There are a few benches well positioned for something just like that.Steps lead down to a beach that feels somewhat accessible. If you have bad knees or joints, this could be daunting. Because of that, I had the beach completely to myself. You may also.Its a fair climb back up, so pace yourself or plan accordingly.

Pretty walk to the beach from parking lot. Make sure you exit parking lot on/before 6pm or you will get a $100 ticket. Which I have... even though it was still light out at 645pm...and now i cannot go online to pay or DISPUTE it because their system cannot find the citation

Great escape!

So many small beach parks in northern CA that are worth stopping for a quick walk. This is one of the best. Great views.

Nice quiet and clean beach. There are a lot of trails to walk along the coast or around the beaches.

Beautiful place to walk or run. The coastal views are amazing.

Beautiful cozy beach with great shells that you can find. however there is a long walk to the beach from the parking lot and stairs

Wonderful California coastline views. Follow the Beach Access guides to get down to the ocean, but the views from the coastline are spectacular.

Very enjoyable area , great weather , great people, and highly recommend !

Free parking for Cowell Beach access. Slightly hidden from the main road by trees, so hopefully there are little to no problems with criminals looking for cars to break into.

Flat walk along the cliff tops. No beach access.

Love this beach to relax and enjoy picnic time!

Walked along the cost on the trail and it was a great hike. It was pretty flat except for a small part so I dont know if it qualifies as a hike but we had a great time. Took us about 2.5 hours with stopping along the way and in the middle to go to the end of the trail and come back. Parking is pretty limited. I was lucky to snag a spot, but saw a lot of people parked along route 1.

Beautiful, ample parking in the lot and across the street, and a fantastic trail. The beach was quiet, well-maintained, and sparsely populated. We did the Sunset POST hike along the trail, and it was fabulous. Saw some seals along the coast, as well!

The area is pretty quiet if you are looking for a relaxing walk. Make sure to layer up, as it can get windy during sunset hour. Once you get to the beach area, theres a bike-friendly trail that heads south, which closes at sunset.

Coast trail only open on weekends. Limited parking. Bathrooms. About five minute walk to bluff. Not much to look at.

Great beach, long walk. My favorite sand. Big gravel, not as many people

Great place to hike/jog, with great views from the cliff. Easy (other than two - three spots that requires little effort ). EasyDuring spring you could see the wild mustard in the farms, most times you would see a bunch of cows hanging out and having a better life than many of us

Beautiful

This beach is one of the hidden gems. If you dont mind some walking with scenic view, this is a beach for you. Not suggested for people that cannot climb stairs. Availability of parking spot during weekends is a big question. Parking is available during weekdays pretty much all the time.

Nice quiet beach. Limited parking but wasnt crowded when we went on a Sunday morning.

Its a shame that being a local, I never before visited the Cowell Ranch Beach. Every time I drove south from HMB I would pay attention to the large number of parked cars in the area, especially on weekends, and would be curious as to why. I would tell to myself, I must visit this place! Today I finally did with my granddaughter. I am so happy for my decision - it was fantastic! First of all a nice walk from the parking lot to the beach. About 20 minutes enjoying the walk and playing with my granddaughter. At the end of the road, you arrive to a great wide opening with a fantastic view of the ocean and a lovely hidden beach. Everything was so so exhilarating! We both had an exciting experience and I am once again convinced - the Coastside is a Paradise!

One of those “hidden gems”. Beautiful, secluded beach after a short walk and a climb down a staircase. Very calm and peaceful since there are hardly any people. The beach was extremely clean, and the water was very clear.It does get a little windy/cold sometimes, have a jacket if you’re sensitive to that.Only downside is the number of parking spots like everyone else has pointed out. Although parking’s free there are only abt a dozen spaces, and you will have to wait it out in the parking lot or try again some other time if the lot is full.

Its such a beautiful place! Flowers are great and beach has such a nice view

Great place to hike

Requires a short hike. Small beach off the beaten path

Beautiful, somewhat tucked away in hmb. Even enjoyable on a misty day.

A lesser know haven for hikers!

Lovely

Very small and relaxing. Very hidden

Great beach. Theres a little bit of a walk to get there, but there is stair access to the beach. There are benches on the upper level and access to the trail. Only drawback is that parking is limited.

Beautiful beach! A bit of a walk to get there from the parking lot (0.3 miles) and some pretty challenging stairs, so not ideal for those with limited mobility.

Quiet and clean place with two toilets available. The only minus is for broken steps down the steep stairs.

Its a 10 to 15 minute walk to the beach from the parking lot with about 60 to 70 stairs down to the beach. Its well worth the walk. The beach has never been crowded when have visited it. And there is a lot of sea glass to be found.

A favorite place for family bike rides

Beautiful sunset viewing and a very nice trail for evening walk!!

Beautiful hike down to the beach. Large grainy sand. Not too messy. Nice and cool. Definitely not too crowded. Water was clean. Big underto and cross tides. Lots of fun