Pin 8 1.2K Shares

All beaches in California are public up to the mean high tide line, but there are many you can’t get to due to private land or other restrictions. Several are visible from above and are absolutely gorgeous beaches. Others are truly hidden and not visible from a nearby road or the bluff above them. The old saying is “out of sight, out of mind” but the team at California Beaches can’t stop thinking about how cool it would be to take off our shoes and run around on these beaches!

See the map above or the complete list of 19 beaches at the bottom of this page.

Cojo Bay Beach (CCC photo)

Several of the beaches are blocked by private property and have obvious “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out” signs. We have spoken with the California Coastal Commission about some of these beaches and even though the CCC has done a lot to open up beaches for the general public, their hands are currently tied with these beaches.

The two largest sections of the coast that are privately held and gated to keep the general public out are the Hollister Ranch and the Cojo-Jalama Ranch. These huge properties are adjacent to each other so they block out a huge chunk of land between Gaviota State Beach north of Santa Barbara and Jalama Beach near Lompoc. This is unfortunate as there are many great beaches and surf spots in this 20 mile long shoreline.

Another large ranch called the El Sur Ranch blocks access to three of the best beaches in the Big Sur area. No Trespassing signs and high fences line the perimeter of the ranch and keep everyone from walking on the sand at these amazing beaches. The first is Point Sur Beach, a long sandy beach which is located below and to the north north of Point Sur Lighthouse. Next is Little Sur River Beach, a huge beach at the mouth of the river that comes complete with a rock arch that you can’t see up close. And the third, Swiss Canyon Beach, has just been added to this list after we were contacted by lawyers for El Sur Ranch regarding people using the beach. This last beach has a direct access that doesn’t cross their land and they still made a big stink about it. The state park will likely cut off this hidden access from Andrew Molera State Beach.

Little Sur River Beach

Big Sur has several other beaches including Gamboa Point Beach that are closed to the public. The owners of another beach in the area have asked us not to mention it, but we can tell that it’s a beautiful beach and we’ll never see it.

Gamboa Point Beach

One famous beach called Red White and Blue near Santa Cruz used to be a popular clothing-optional spot that the private owners charged a small fee to access. The current owners have locked the gate and do not allow anyone in for any reason. The beach is for sale if you have $20M+ laying around.

Red White & Blue Beach

Martins Beach near Half Moon Bay has a similar story to Red White and Blue, but in that case the Coastal Commission was able to win a legal battle to force the billionaire owner to open the gates to the public. We have been to Martin’s and were kicked out after stepping over the gate and walking down to the beach in the middle of the day. Currently the beach is said to be open, but the owner is still fighting this legal battle even though the US Supreme Court has decided not to take the case.

Martin’s Beach

Two of the “never see” beaches on this list are state park beaches. They rank high on our list of the best beaches in California – if only you were allowed to visit them. Wilder Beach is a large beach below the old Wilder Ranch property. It is permanently closed to protect bird habitat. The other beach is one of the most photographed spots along the Big Sur Coast. It’s the beach where McWay Falls hits the sand at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Oh how we wish we could walk on this beach and stand under that waterfall!

See Related: Waterfalls at California Beaches

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

The city of Laguna Beach has a rugged coastline with numerous coves between Dana Point and Corona Del Mar. In three locations the coves have rocky points making access from adjacent beaches difficult or unsafe. Each of these three beaches, Emerald Bay, Irvine Cove, and Three Arch Bay, have gated communities behind them so unless you get invited by someone who lives there you won’t get to see those beaches.

Note that this list below does not include beaches on the sandy waterfronts of our military properties at places such as Vandenberg Air Force Base, Camp Pendleton, Naval Base Coronado, and NAS Point Mugu. There is another long stretch of land between Avila Beach and Morro Bay that is not included. This 10 mile long stretch of rugged coastline is closed to the public for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.

Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach

Let’s hope this list doesn’t continue to grow. We support the California Coastal Commission’s fight to keep beaches open as developers and private land owners fight to keep them closed.

See Related: Our List of the Best California Beaches

Beaches on this map