Nicely secluded beach with amazing views. On good days youll have massive waves which makes a very interesting site to look at. Youre covered by cliffs on both sides and its not that crowded due to limited parking. The one downside is there are no restrooms at the bottom and its very difficult to cross highway 1 from the parking lot to go down to the beach.

This place is beautiful and peaceful! Need to arrive early in the morning because parking is very limited, but the beach is gorgeous and the waves are mesmerizing! There is never a crowd, only a few folks attempting to fish!

This beach was fantastic they have Awesome hiking trails beautiful views I love the mountain views the cliff do use the weather was pretty nice it gets a little windy and the waves are beautiful to watch when he hits the cliffs. I recommend Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Definitely one of our favorite local beaches to go when its sunny and warm. Hiding between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, there is a short hike with several flights of stairs from the parking lot. Parking can be hard to find so go early. The water has a lighter shade of blue that are less often seen in California beaches. Definitely not as crowded as other nearby beaches likely because of the limited parking space.

Such a cool beach. Huge waves and a fun swing up on the cliff overlooking the beach.

Another tucked away beach just south of Pacifica. Very peaceful on a weekday. Parking is on the other side of the road and easy to miss, so make sure to slow down after coming out from the tunnel if coming from the north.

This is a really nice beach located about 3 miles south of Pacifica. Nude sunbathing, although less common than in past years does occur on this beach so dont be surprised to see some birthday suits. Water is rough to swim in and swimming is rare except for very hot days in the summer and fall. Parking can be difficult so arrive early on warm weekend days.I highly recommended visiting this beach !!!!

You park up off the 1 Highway and have to cross super quick to get to the main trail leading down to this little gem! Less people, beautiful views of the bluffs, and cool waves. I dont recommend for surfing since the waves have big drops, but its cool to chill at!

Hard to get to, have to cross the road at a blind corner from the parking lot. But its a beautiful little beach. Clean and beautiful, please be sure to keep it that way if you visit!

Must visit. Less crowded, clean, calm!!

Beautiful little place, but be careful getting down to it! You have to cross a love y highway and hoof it down a billion steps.

Nice hike with spectacular views of the ocean and access to a relatively secluded beach when you cross the street.

Beautiful beach, i don’t know why there were so many mussel shell on the shore?

Its a cozy cove with spectacular views. Its a great place to see whales. Some even come so close to shore they almost knock surfers over.

Love this place. This has always been my to go to place as a kid now I take my kids here. Highly recommended

This is my favorite beach ever. In love every time we go. Parking sucks though

Amazing views with a pleasant breeze... Narrow hike and irregular paths but the views are too great... Benches are available at most of the beautiful spots. A very decent and beautiful hike

Lovely Beach site very interesting we did a photo shoot there Waves were pumping lots of interesting rock formations would be great on a sunny day but it was nice anyway.

Beautiful place but not very clean.

View was awesome a bit raining here but nothing to distract the beauty of this coastline ...

Beautiful spot to spend the day! Less crowded than many other nearby beaches. Theres also a clothing optional portion of the beach which is cool :)

Beautiful views and a peaceful beach with plenty of sight seeing and a swing at the top overlooking the beach

Beautiful little beach. Parking can be a hassle but well worth the effort. Hike up the trail and there are a lot of good vantage points to look out for whales. We saw a few!

The beach is beautiful! But parking is extremely difficult to find. A good place for young adults and thrill seekers.

Beautiful beach, parking is across the street. It is sad that people litter this place with thrash in-spite of there being a carry in and out rule.Definitely recommend this place.

A spacious and beautiful beach! The parking lot is across the street from the trailhead. The trail is not terribly challenging, and the stairs down to the beach make it an easy trek. There is plenty of space to spread out and enjoy a day at the beach. The water here always seems to be a deep shade of blue-green, and the spray on the rocky outcroppings along the beach is lovely!

Beautiful ️ Views and amazing waves crashing on the beach. Wish people would take out their trash...

Please stop crowding the coast, PLEASE. Its ruining our lives. Sincerely, Coastside residents.

This is a hidden gem. Very nice clean beach and not too busy. Perhaps its the 148 steps down/up to the beach and out? Its all worth it and just take the bite. By the time you get down to the beach your body will look great and in shape for a beach bod ;-)

Beautiful beach!! We visited on a Sunday in December with a 62° temp which is much better than the 2° it was in Minneapolis (home city). Very relaxing to just sit and watch the waves roll in.

Beautiful beach, cozey and secluded.

Really nice beach with beautiful white sand. Waves crash against both sides of this nice cove.

Beautiful secluded beach, there is ample of space for people to keep social distance of 6ft & wear mask.

A clean quiet beach with some decent waves. There are stairs that you can take from the road to the beach. We really enjoyed our time here, even though there was one naked dude feeding the birds

This was another special stop on our journey down the 1, coastal road. The cliff views from above are spectacular. The views from the actual beach are equally as stunning. We didnt see any special wildlife. No whales. But so worth the pause in driving.

Beautiful place for a walk!

Beautiful little cove that has a lovely beach to take a walk on...a little steep to get down to the beach but take the steps and you will be fine. Its well worth the effort...make sure whatever you bring in, to take back out with you.

Great place just prepare for a hike and lots of stairs to get to the beach

The Beach is clean and beautiful. Not much people around compared to other beaches. Great area for surfers too. Calm and Peaceful place.

Beautiful beach and peaceful. Downside is you gotta walk like 15 minutes up the stairs and trail to the potter potties(which arent suitable for kids or women in the afternoon)

Worth the hike down to the beach . Spectacular place to take pics .

Gray Whale Cove State Beach is a clean and secluded beach with magnificent views of Devils bunker on right side and a cliff on another. With properly designed stairs you can access the beach. It is a perfect place to take your beach tent and enjoy the soaking sun and windy sea shore. On the nearby rocks you can see lots of black shells. Its nearby many restaurants in half Moon Bay and Montara. Thus making it your perfect one day escapade. A small trek from here up above the hill will take you to the Devils bunker which is of historic importance and has a beautiful viewpoint towards ocean. The beach has enough parking on other side of road and you need to descend a bit in order to reach to the beach.

Beautiful sunset point

There is so much history in this area.. We loved the vibe here...

Such a beautiful place, looks romantic!

Magical beach . The sunset is not to be missed !!

Water was ice cold when I visited in June, but when youre from Michigan... The beauty of the place was breathtaking. Not crowded and peaceful. Have to tackle some stairs to and from, but well worth it.

Haha read a previous review about there being no wildlife, not sure about that one there was birds of all kinds all over the beach fishing the waves. Was a wonderful today and glad I got it to spend it at this beautiful spot. Would recommend to anyone, but not accessible to all as the steps to get into the beach area are quite steep, definitely worth it though.

Great way to get your walk as you hike up this trail

This beach is fairly clean, quiet, with lots of space to spread out and soak up some sun. Clothing optional area is north of the rocks. No facilities, except for a port-a-potty in the upper parking area. Beware: parking is limited/frequently full on sunny weekends. Also, pack small and light since you will have to cross the highway on foot and climb a lot of stairs.

Used to be a beautiful place now just trashed by visitors who don’t care about anything but themselves. Human waste in the main parking lot, upper parking or has become a dumping ground for construction trash, litter everywhere and illegally parked Boondocking.

Yes very cool, theres little bugs in the sand and theyre cute

A beautiful place, but a dangerous crossing from the parking to the overlook and beach on the other side of the highway. I was almost hit by a speeding car, and when I ran to avoid it, couldn’t stop my downward trajectory and ended up with two broken ribs. I’m not sure the view was worth it.

Parking for this beach is a larger dirt lot right off Highway 1 that also has access points to hiking the McNee Ranch State Park. To get to the beach, you’ll have to cross over the Great Highway – which can get fairly dicey as the lot is situated in between two curves with cars whizzing by at 40+ miles an hour – and then walk down the path located to the north. The steep paved trail goes down to an overlook point that then connects to a large set of stairs going down to the beach. Once at the beach, there’s a giant log crossing the creek that flows into the Pacific.The beach is very clean. With views of fishing ships, wildlife, and the Devil’s Slide Bunker up on a cliff on the north side of the beach, it’s a nice place to just sit and relax. While I was there, I saw a seagull attacking a couple of crabs – which was pretty neat.

Lovely beach for a walk and/or sit down. It was vacant up until around 4pm (January, 2019).

My secret beach with my parents and best friends. Its beautiful and not too much people. Semi-secluded. Perfect place too lay down and listen too the waves with your love one

Nice secluded because with a swing at the top of the trail.

Secluded. I dont know about the fishing

Workout plus amazing beach all in one!

Went on a Monday so almost empty. Not great for swimming (has a riptide). Its a beach how bad can it be?

Beautiful beach and waves lots of surfers don’t forget sunscreen

Beautiful beach, gorgeous sand, amazing waves. The scale of the beach just perfect, with high cliffs create a sense of seclusion. This was I believe a private owned beach at one time. But is now a state beach. Enjoy and keep it beautiful.

100 + steps to get down to the beach. Very nice place to spend the morning.

Less crowded. Porta potty near the parking lot. Parking is across the highway, so be careful crossing because there is no crosswalk.

A beautiful little beach. It needs some love and care, and lots of stairs to get to it, but I do love it and the hiking trails in the hills nearby.

The views here are amazing. The cliffs are iconic and could not take enough pictures. Even on a foggy day, it is worth going to because you get a different perspective. When we were there, we were lucky enough to see some whales out in the ocean, which we were not even anticipating. That only happens a few times in the year so we got lucky.

I love it here very beautiful

Very nice beach clean lots of trails in the area.

Amazing view of the Pacific! If you want to get on the beach, there are lots of stairs down the cliffside. Beautiful sand!

Typical California coast beach; nothing special. I would recommend other beaches.

Very nice place. Very relaxing and soothing. Very recommended for groups

A beautiful place to enjoy Gods creation!

Went here for a hike and this is a great scenic spot. The gray whale cove trail is a moderate to easy hike. The path forks right above the parking lot where you can chose to hike up the small hill for a quick burn or go the easy route to the path that goes by the sea. Either ways you treat yourself to these gorgeous views that make the time spent worth it.

Awesome surf spot with a cool hike down to the water.

Amazing beach hidden from the crowds of Linda mar beach

Gorgeous, though there was a lot of trash and this beach was not easily accessed. Lots of very steep stairs.

Lovely little beach that wasn’t too crowded when we went. Lots of families with kids.

Enough space to keep social distancing, careful with the wooden stairs!!

Dangerous Beach -not easy to get to - you have to cross busy HWY 1 with cars whizzing by at 45 mph. Parking is terrible...Then you have to go down several very steep steps to get to beach. It is beautiful but it is just like all the other beaches along the coast. Nothing spectacular - no wildlife, etc. Also, it is also a nude beach that is frequently visited by mostly males so be aware if you bring small children.If you drive a mile or two further down the coast you have many beaches to choose from that are just and beautiful and more importantly safe to access!

Love this beach!!!Had a great climbing exercise on the stairs while my wife was having fun with my son.

Hard to cross highway, but beautiful view!

Highly recommend!! One of the most beautiful beaches anywhere..the north end is the nude beach mostly a mixed crowd and the people are friendly. Sometimes you can actually see a whale as the name implies, simply the best of the best..

Breath taking view, nice sand, not crowded.

An amazing little cove. A bit of a hike up and down. There is a parking lot right across the street, but be careful crossing the highway.

Beautiful sunset

Awesome beach great place to bring family, little bit of walk from main road but absolutely worth it! Great view of coast line and ocean. Would definitely come back to spend another day!

Beautiful, secluded beach with picture perfect sunset views, and cliffs on both sides making it feel super private and serene.

My favorite beach of all time. This is such a chill spot. Its closed off and private and great during weekdays since theres often no people so its kind of private. It is a nudist beach, but of all the times Ive gone Ive only seen one man in the nude. Its literally my favorite spot in the Bay.

Lovely clean beach!

Always beautiful and peaceful.

Beautiful scenery. Very clean.

First ever hike on the Pacific seaboard. Worth the visit!

Love this place. Great beach with nice views.

If you find a parking, go up the hill and behold, trail starts from parking lot.

Beautiful beach along the coastline

Nice beach! Good to view it from a high view point

Awesome fun.

Great beach but lots of stairs

Amazing coastal views!

Serene... Secluded... Beautiful...