Great Pacific Coast Parks for Beach Walks

A Sonoma County beach walk is bound to create great memories filled with awesome views, the sounds of crashing surf and barking sea lions, and the invigorating feel of brisk sea air.

Your memories might also include studying a tidepool, building a castle from driftwood, photographing sandpipers or gulls, posing for selfies with a whale in the background (spouting offshore, maybe), or luxuriating over a delicious picnic.

Together, we can protect and preserve the beauty and natural resources of Sonoma County for generations to come. Check out our page on Sustainable Travel, and look over the Leave No Trace Seven Principles.

Here are a few great beaches to help you create memories on your Sonoma County visit:

Gualala Point Regional Park

This stunningly beautiful park at the junction of the Gualala River and Pacific Ocean, offers fabulous ocean views, white beach dunes, and, in summer, a sandspit at the river’s mouth to play in. On shore walks you’ll hunt for sea glass, collect shells, try your hand at fishing (depending on the season), construct driftwood castles, roll down sand dunes, or just sit and appreciate the views. Feel like putting on the miles? Head south along the park’s Bluff Top Trail, walking atop coastal cliffs that afford far-ranging views (stop at Whale Watch Point to check for passing gray whales). The park’s campground nestles under redwood trees beside the river near the crashing surf.

Stillwater Cove Regional Park

Situated on a particularly gorgeous stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline near Fort Ross State Historic Park, 210-acre Stillwater offers fabulous ocean-view hiking, along with great birding, fishing, a beach suitable for launching kayaks and other small boats, abalone diving, and 20 reservable campsites (plus a hiker/bicyclist group site). Be sure to catch a glimpse of history by taking the short trail to the historic one-room schoolhouse at Fort Ross.

Sonoma Coast State Park

This truly amazing park consists of a series of beautiful beaches separated by rocky bluffs and headlands, stretching 17 gorgeous miles along Highway 1 from Bodega Head to slightly north of Jenner. Along the way are more than a dozen access points that allow you to park and make your way onto a beach. Among them:

• Shell Beach, a good stop for beachcombing and tidepools.
• Goat Rock, near a haul-out spot for fun-to-watch seals.
• North Salmon Creek and South Salmon Creek beaches, great surfer hangouts.
• Bodega Head offers beautiful coastal bluff hiking. It’s also home to many beaches  for oceanside strolls or settling in with a picnic, and is a noted destination for whale watching. 

Download a brochure and map of Sonoma Coast State Park.

Doran Regional Park

Seeking the perfect beach for a family outing, anything from a Sunday picnic to a camping trip? You need look no further than Doran Regional Park. A beautiful, two-mile stretch of golden sand that rests between Bodega Harbor and the open ocean, it’s a top choice for picnics, flying kites, building sand castles, and riding horses. Protected by Bodega Bay, Doran’s calm waters rank among the county’s safest for swimming. You can launch a kayak or a speedboat from a jetty at the harbor’s mouth, take a lovely walk on dozens of trails (including the avian fancier’s favorite, the Bird Walk Coastal Access Trail), or pitch a tent (no hookups for RVs).

Sea Ranch Coastal Access Trails

The Sea Ranch, which extends for 10 miles along a beautiful strip of the county’s far northern coast, is known for panoramic views of sea, sky, rocky ocean outcrops, and migrating whales. Although The Sea Ranch is a privately-owned community, the public can use trailheads on its property (access points are located along the Pacific Coast Highway).

Six trails ranging from one-quarter mile to two-thirds of a mile lead to beaches – Salal, Walk on Beach, Black Point, Pebble Beach, Stengel Beach, and Shell Beach coastal access trails. The two northernmost trails, Salal and Walk on Beach, are connected by the three-mile Bluff Top Trail, which takes you along the headlands overlooking the ocean. Download a map of North Coast Access Trails.

See Sonoma County’s safety tips for water activities here.

Written by Sonoma Insider Suzie Rodriguez.