Tamarack State Beach

The first thing I noticed is that this beach is clean. It wasn’t crowded at all, which surprised me for a Saturday. We saw a beautiful sunset too. Awesome!

Fantastic place to walk around, play in the water, & soak up the sun! There is street parallel parking or you can park in the state parking lot for a fee. There are an assortment of fees 0 – 1 hour etc. Some people have posted pictures of the fees already ~so go & take a peek at those. Lots of nature to be seen from people walking their dogs, squirrels wondering around, & to pelicans and seagulls flying above. We live in such a beautiful area go out and enjoy it.

I’m a beach walker, close enough to the water, but not enough to get wet in the surf type.
This is my family’s favorite beach. It is probably the closest to us. I started coming here before they started charging for parking in the small lot. Just park alongside the street and save yourself some money.
I love that the city is restoring the native vegetation along the banks. It is a beautiful sight… although a work in progress. But natives like to take their time and they are tricky to transplant so I give them a lot of credit for their efforts. Not to mention starting this project in the midst of a historic drought.
This beach is close to restaurants. A very pretty stretch of the coast and just perfect for an evening stroll with the kids.
Enjoy!

Best of the best for locals and visitors. Beautiful views, ample parking, good mix of tourists and locals. Many restaurants to select from but not a tourist feel at all. Love this beach.

I used to love coming here when I lived in Carlsbad a few years back and when I was younger I used to come here to surf. It’s a great area for walking/​biking and I always see a lot of people doing so. I decided to come here and have lunch with my daughter since we were in the area. The free parking on the street was all full so we went to the «Pay by Plate» lot. I guess they changed it to a Pay by Plate lot because they weren’t making enough money with the old machine. (People would pay for longer than they needed and give their pass to someone else who was just coming in and needed a pass, it was great!) I paid $ 2 for 1 hour, which wasn’t bad. It gave me enough time to unload the baby and hike up the hill to the little picnic tables overlooking the beach. I decided to stop by the restroom on the way back, and I was disappointed to find that they didn’t have a bathroom big enough to fit a stroller in! I wasn’t about to leave my child unattended outside the restroom while I went, or bring her in without her stroller (the bathrooms weren’t very clean and there was toilet paper everywhere) so I’m only giving 4 stars. I love this beach though! I’ve gotta come bring the jogging stroller and take a nice walk next time!

This beach has a small parking lot that charges by the day. There is a lot of street parking nearby to avoid the fees. There is a restroom that is open most hours. It does tends to get dirty during the summer season. There are water stations to wash sand off and recycling bins nearby. This area gets really crowded during the summer. There are other beaches that are less crowded nearby. Waves can get busy during times of swell but lifeguards are there during the busy season.

Great surf here on a very specific swell the locals know what that is and I will not say! Only minus about this is they put pay parking in the beach lot now which pisses just about everyone off cuz it doesn’t benefit any of the locals who have been going here for years and years it’s more of a stab in the back for being a loyal surfer to the break!

This is usually my go to beach– for everything. Hanging out, swimming, getting exercise or checking out the sunset on the cliffs. Miles of sand and fun waves.
There is a ton of street parking and a pay per day lot. Heck you can even park your motor home on the street and stay a few days. I’ve even seen people BBQ and set up huge breakfasts here.
Not to mention if you want to join a Christian worship, you can come here Thursday after work and find a group to sit around a campfire with. Don’t get it mixed up– there are NO bonfire pits so you’ll have to bring your own fire.
The boardwalk stretches from Cannon to to Carlsbad Village before you hit the shops. If you want to run it, it’s a total of 3 miles there and back.
Bring the kids to this beach. Bring the family, neighbors, friends, whatever! Perfect for huge groups!
Surfers– grab your boards. Waves are great here.

Very good beach. However, I recommend parking in the lot near Carlsbad Village Drive because its free.

Been coming here after work lately to go running and it’s a really peaceful beach. It’s pretty quiet around 2 or 3, but if I go during the sunset, the crowd is much bigger and parking gets a bit tricky.
What I like most about this beach is that it’s much cleaner than the other beaches.

This beach has to be one of my favorites — the parking isn’t plentiful but it is close to the shore. The beach is clean & not nearly as crowded as some of the others I’ve been to.

This is a great spot… close to the Village so you can find plenty to do, aside from hang out at the actual beach. The night before Easter, we took our trailer down and parked it on Avenida Encinas (there is no parking on Carlsbad Blvd from 11pm — 5am) to sleep, and at 5am we dragged it over and parked on the street… it started filling up between 5am and 6am. This was such a fun and relaxing Easter, we just «camped» right there in front of the beach, bbq’d, friends swung by, played beach soccer, cornhole, rode bikes to Dini’s for a beer… fantastic spot and close to home. We will be back!

The beach is clean, there’s ample parking, and you can have a bonfire if you bring your own pit. Romantic place to watch the sun set.

This is definitely a perfect beach for the entire family. There is a small parking lot right on the beach that you have to pay to park. You can also park across the street for free and walk over.
There are average beach bathrooms here as well as showers at the top of the staircase. Lifeguards are here only during the peak season.
There is plenty of sand for your sun soaking needs. You will never be short of space at this beach. There is a long stretch of beach here and you have plenty of space next to you between visitors. People are all very nice here. You won’t really see anyone drinking or being belligerent like some other places.
The surf here is usually pretty good when there are waves. There are a lot of longboards out there on smaller days and a mix of both short and longboards on most other days. The waves can be slow and you have to work a little to catch them, but you get long rides once you are riding. Carlsbad High surf PE comes out here at like 9AM so it gets a little packed sometimes. It is definitely packed out in the water of days where the surf is good. Definitely give this beach a visit.
There are a lot of food/​drink sources in The Village.

What do people want to know?
How’s the parking situation?
Is there food nearby?
How the action?
And are there enough river rocks to develop callouses on the feet by the day’s end?
The answers are mixed.
First of all, there is a small parking lot that does not fill out too heavily on the weekdays, but does fill out on the weekend. Also, parking is $ 10 for the full day, and offered in hourly increments.
It seems that the locals have this figured out: They bypass the fee by parking several blocks away and walking it in. If you non-​locals choose to attempt this, know that you will be on a decline heading in to the beach, but a gradual incline on the way back to your vehicle. Have kids? I say pay the fee and call it, or choose another beach location. Also, there appears to be sections of the beach that have parking right along the highway — but the decline-​incline situation will be comparable.
You won’t find a pier here, or an avenue with ample food offerings, so plan to pack in your breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
This seems to be a bit more of a subdued beach compared with others. Given the parking-​to-​visitor ratio, it seems to get a bit less crammed than other beaches in the vicinity. Still, it draws a healthy gathering of teenagers, surfers and families with little children.
And, yes, you will find river rocks here. But not in too-​too much of an abundance. Still, it can be uncomfortable at times. So, if you have sensitive feet — even mildly sensitive — consider water shoes.

I wish I could give it less than one. Unfortunately, it looks like photos don’t copy in.
August 5, 2014
Open letter To: City of Carlsbad
City Hall
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92 008
Dear City of Carlsbad.
My husband and I are residents of Carlsbad. We work, shop, dine and use our recreation facilities here in Carlsbad.
Over the last year, we elected to start going to Carlsbad beaches more frequently. We’d gone to the strand in Oceanside routinely, but decided that it would be nice to go closer to home. Over the last 6 – 8 months, we have witnessed some disturbing things at the beach at the end of Tamarack, which is now called Tamarack State Beach, I guess.
I would like you to know of several recent incidents that are quite alarming to not only Residents, but the Tourists who tend to frequent this beach, as well.
1. About 2 months ago late in the afternoon, there was a dead seal on the beach when we arrived. There was a cone near it, so I knew the lifeguards knew about its existence on the beach. We were there for about an hour, and then the tide began to rise, washing the seal nearer to where we were sitting. The stench of it became quite strong, and my husband went to talk to the lifeguards in the tower nearest to the jetty (also closest to where the dead seal was). My husband asked if there was something that could be done about removing it from the beach, and the lifeguards told him «no.» When we could no longer stand the stench of the dead animal, and as it continued to approach our location, we gathered our stuff to leave. Obviously we were not the only people offended by the smell/​sight of the dead animal, and seeing that the lifeguards were not going to do anything about it, some people on the beach grabbed the dead animal by a rope and drug it out into the water beyond the jetty.
2. There is a continual problem with surfers (and skim boarders) mixing with swimmers. The flags to separate the two areas on the beach will be present, but it is never enforced by lifeguards. We have witnessed several children hit by boards, as well as several very close calls. While I understand that this should be a parent’s responsibility to police where children are involved, I also feel that lifeguards should be enforcing the separation rules for everyone’s safety, and they are not.
3. Graffiti is quite an ugly issue on this beach. I understand that you cannot keep people from doing it, but for goodness sake, CLEAN IT UP! People have taken what looks like charcoal, and written profanities (among other things) all over the seawall. Evidently when people saw that it was not cleaned up, people thought that it must be acceptable, and more appeared. Now the entire length of the wall is covered. Oh then this kind of stuff appears on the bathroom walls.
4. The last thing on today’s list is the restrooms. Being that they are public restrooms, everyone visiting Carlsbad might be likely to use them. This is for sure a lasting impression about the City of Carlsbad, when they leave. The bathrooms, are so atrocious, it’s embarrassing. Here it what it looked like on June 22^nd.
I have witnessed drains back up, trash, toilet paper, etc. The bathrooms stink. There is never any toilet paper left, no soap in the containers, etc. Very unsanitary.
This is what it looked like on July 23^rd.
Last night the drain was back up, and the puddle was so deep, that when a gal went to step beyond it, the water (or whatever it was) covered her entire shoe. It was completely unusable. So I decided to walk to the next bathroom (the one by the light on Pine) and guess what? SAME THING! This is what it looked like last night.
That was the final straw for me. I have tried to get over the lazy lifeguards, the graffiti, and the unclean, unsanitary bathrooms, but last night was just too much. I hope that you will take this constructive criticism to heart and get it together at Carlsbad/​Tamarack State Beach for the sake of Carlsbad Residents, as well as visitors. As for me and my husband, we are never going there again. We’ll go back to Oceanside.
Best Wishes,
Cynthia Scott, a very concerned and dissatisfied Resident.

This is my favorite beach in North County. It’s never really crowded, people are super friendly, tons of local places to eat, clean bathrooms, and you’ll see tons of people being active– running the stairs, running, biking, everything. It’s really lovely.
You’ll see amazing sunsets here and sometimes even spot a dolphin or two.
Parking can sometimes be a hassle, but you can always find something.

I love this beach. I have fond memories and always enjoy myself when we come here. It was the first beach I came to when I came to the US.
Never have a problem finding parking. Restrooms are conveniently located and the area itself is nice and clean.

I was driving down the coast (09-​05-​2013) to attend a film festival in La Jolla my board when I came across an amazing little stretch of Beach with some very nice peaks and almost no one in the water so I stopped to check it out a little further. On further inspection it was amazing to see some ‘A’ frames breaking with barely anyone in the water. I am without a doubt coming back to this spot soon, real soon!!!
I walked down onto the beach and I was very pleased to see how clean this beach was. The residents that call this stretch of beach home have obviously been doing an amazing job keeping their beach clean for themselves, for visitors and most importantly for those who call the Ocean home.
This stretch of beach is located on Tamarack Ave & Carlsbad Blvd in the City of Carlsbad. You can park for ‘free’ on Tamarack Ave which is an elevated roadway above the beach which gives you an amazing view North/​South along the coastline.
If you want to come and relax and enjoy the sunset you can park and get an amazing view for ‘free’ on the benches provided that face west. If running is your thing a running /​bike path is provided just adjacent to the Beach. Staircases are set up every couple hundred yards to make your way down from Tamarack Ave to the beach. After you have had an amazing day at the beach and cleaned up after yourself you can shower at the showers provided on Tamarack Ave and be on the 5 freeway headed home within minutes.
If you are coming to this beach to relax, workout or surf please Be the Good. Please help the residents and those who call the Ocean home by picking up the garbage you see. It does not matter if the garbage you see is yours simply pick it up and if it is recyclable please recycle it.
Help us keep the Ocean Blue!!!

One of many spots on Coast Hwy to enjoy the beach. It’s clean and a popular place for many to stop.
So, if you are hoping for a good spot to chill, especially during the summer, come early and plant your umbrella and cooler down.