Manresa State Beach

Great beach for a quiet day. No bathrooms or restaurants, and a ton of stairs to get down there, but that meant we had plenty of beach to ourselves. It was a perfect getaway.

Fantastic beach in my opinion. I just hope it doesn’t get any more crowded than it already is. You have to pay for parking most of the time (you can ask to check the surf and they’ll let you in) or you can just do what I do and park down the street and walk. There isn’t much to say about the beach itself, it’s absolutely beautiful. The sand is clean, there’s usually at least one life guard on duty, its a great place for BBQ’s and family outings, and you can always walk down far enough to a secluded spot if you don’t want to be around people. Great place for dogs too. They even have an area in the parking lot with an outdoor shower to wash the sand off you and your surfboard or whatever. The only thing that isn’t great here are the bathrooms. My god are they dirty and disgusting. Still not enough to merit me docking a star though.

When with the family, the online page said there were openings but they were first come first serve. There were open spots but the lady in the front said there were no open spots. We went and check and there were 5 spots open and she said that no we couldnt have those spots. We check back and the spots were open and she still refuse to let us have one spot. She was very unprofessional and she didnt know any thing. We called the website and they said there are openings but she still refused to give us a spot.

A beautiful beach that is an amazing alternative to the craziness that is Santa Cruz. It’s a surprisingly large beach. The parking lot is pretty big (we didn’t have issues parking) and it was significantly less crowded than other beaches I have been to.
I’m a fan!

FYI, there’s 170-​something stairs, but it’s not so bad. Parking was easy. $ 10 There’s a clean-​enough bathroom by the parking lot. It’s the same as all the beaches around there, which is nice. And they allow DOGS! On leash. And it wasn’t crazy with loads of dogs. Just nice to be able to bring the dog.

You have to go past the beach in order to get to the camp site.
A nice combo of camping and the beach. You have to book way in advance ;). They have bathrooms and showers. make sure you bring quarters! They also have lock boxes so you can store your food. Bring cash for parking… or you can park in the neighborhood (it is quite a ways from the campsite)

Would like to thank both of the Lifeguards on duty, my daughter wandered off, they were so professional, calm and completely on it, Thank you Thank you Thankyou !!! Rose in the tower and the gentleman in lifeguard truck, so sorry I forgot your name, Forever grateful :-)

Loved this clean beach, water looked pretty clear, white soft smooth sand compared to other California beaches. Parking was $ 10 but if your there for hours it’s worth it! The top view from the bazillion stair steps is beautiful. One of my favorite beaches.

A fun beach off of the beaten path. There’s a $ 10 parking fee but some people prefer to park out front (limited space). There are stairs and a paved ramp to the beach. Good surfing, paddle boarding, and body boarding place.

Beach day! Went on a Saturday and this beach was not crowded at all. We got lucky and found a spot right in front of the entrance, free parking, win! Otherwise, parking is $ 10 upon entrance. There was plenty of parking spaces on a Saturday for us.
This beach allows dogs (on leashes) so feast your eyes on all the hairy babies but beware of their poops as you tread across the land.
This beach feels a little smaller than one’s I’ve gone to before but we did not have trouble finding an open space to camp. One of the best moments was catching the beautiful sunset as it started to go down.

Clean, cool location, and easy access to your cars all good things in my book. I came spring break weekend and kinda packed but that’s to be expected I guess. The sky’s were blue and the weather was warm, got there and only about 10 people were on the beach 4 hours later 5,768 people showed up :) Ya it was kinda packed, like I turned to the right and a dude was like in my personal space packed other than that I’ll definitely be back, maybe on a week day

This is my absolute favorite beach. Never crowded, gorgeous views all around and dog friendly.

Great beach for walking and surfing. It is a bit out of the way but well worth driving too.

I almost didn’t want to write this review because I want to hide this beach from the masses. It is one of my favorite beaches in California. The beach is clean and good for a nice long walk or run. Although there are always people on the beach, it is rarely crowded. Most of the visitors are families, rather than the drunken party crowd. I love how relaxing and serene this beach is.
As for the wildlife, there are often surfers out in the waves. If you are lucky, you might see some dolphins or a whale close to shore. There are lots of little sand crabs to catch and release.
The parking is above sea level on a cliff. Beach access is at the bottom of some rather steep stairs. $ 10 parking fee. The toilets are at the parking level, unless you walk down the beach a ways to some large port-​a-​potties.

The water itself was clean and pretty, but the beach was littered with seaweed, feathers, bird crap and misc trash. I was surprised after reading all the reviews. I thought a state beach would be groomed. I am comparing with state beaches back east where I’m from. Maybe that’s the problem. All the photos are beautiful, but sitting on the sand was a disappointment. Maybe I was in the wrong are, I don’t know.

Recently was recommended this beach by a friend of mine who is an avid surfer, and grew up in So Cal surfing. I can see why he loves it so much. It is the quintessential beach. Gorgeous scenery, not to crowded, great surfing to watch or par take in. Rather easy access. It was the perfect day with the perfect weather, and not too crowded at all. Rather like places in Malibu with stunning views and gorgeous homes to look at as well. The few people that were there were minding their manners and simply as wonderful as the place. As opposed to dealing drugs and looking like hood rats. I am taking 2 friends there to go paddle boarding next week. YAY! I found the perfect beach for me.

This beach is beautiful! It has a campground also. When we came it was nice and quiet and we were able to watch the amazing sunset from the top of the stairs! I like how this beach is very clean. According to the locals, they’ve spotted a whale and several dolphins. How cool is that!
There are 2 restrooms close to our friends’ campground. The beach is also easily accessible from there. Be careful about parking. There are 15-​min ones and the longer parking is actually before this one. Park at the 15-​min to load off your things.
I will definitely check this beach out again and actually go down the stairs, which seems like an endless one from the top.

Would return again and would recommend to a friend.
Camped with a good sized group of 5 families (10 adults, 10 kiddies (all under 8)). Didn’t take long to get there from the San Francisco South Bay; just a quick jump to the coast via Hwy 17 and 1 South.
Check in at gate was quick and easy.
The big drawback on this campground is that it’s a walk-​in and you cannot park your car at the campsite. You have to unload/​load and then park up the hill (about a 5 minute walk between the campground and parking lot)
We had 3 campsites reserved. But the sites we got were such a good size, we ended up only using two of them. So 5 family sized tents on just two sites with plenty of room to spare still.
Sites were in good condition with each site containing a wooden bench with lockboxes attached at the end and chained to the ground, and fire rings. No real canopy, so everything is pretty open. Weather was mild for us, but on a hot day, I could see where a pop-​up canopy might come in handy for shade.
Bathrooms were in good condition and they also had showers (you need quarters for the showers)
Beach is about a 5 minute walk away and pretty easy to get to.
Again, would return again and would recommend to a friend.

I recently went back to camp this previous weekend after going once years before with some friends. There are a lot of pros and cons to this campground, but it is a beautiful beach. As many already know. the weather in Santa Cruz area is always on and off. Some days are warm with clear skies, others gloomy with intense dew and fog. We were really lucky and saw the sun halfway through Saturday and Sunday. It made for a really enjoyable weekend for my bf and me.
Pros:
— On a nice day, the views along the beach are amazing. Perfect place to watch sunset on a clear day.
— Seems to be a popular place to surf.
— Spacious campsites with clean amenities
— Walking/​Running path nearby the campgrounds to go on a walk or jog
Cons:
— You need to walk all your things to your site, so if you’re lucky and your site is close to the loading parking lot, you don’t have to make so many trips and walk too far.
— The main parking lot is about a 10 min walk uphill from the campgrounds so for some people, that can become tedious and not as convenient as with other campgrounds where you park in the same lot as your campsite.
— Weather is on and off and it can get really dewy overnight so your camp chairs and tent can get really wet. I highly recommend a tent cover as it can get really cold at night.
Suggestions:
— We came later in the evening and realize the ranger station was closed so we were really confused on how to register our vehicles. Just park and unload and wake up the next morning to go down and get your permit. No worry about dealing with registration until the morning if you arrive late at night.
— Bring extra rags to wipe down your chairs and coolers or pack them up overnight so they don’t get wet overnight on cooler nights so that you have something dry to sit on the following morning.

Our first time camping here at Manresa State Beach was nice and would recommend it for sure. They have walk-​in campsites and some sites have a fantastic ocean view. The 5 mins walk to the beach is not bad. You have to haul everything from the drop-​off parking lot to your site. I would suggest you bring a dolly or a cart.
At the beach, I saw people fishing, surfing, body boarding and it even has fire pits built-​in along the sand for the night. btw youll have 3 bars on your 3G Smartphone on the beach than at the campsite.
Firewood is available at the entrance for $ 8 and they have a liquor store nearby if you forget the marshmallows and ice! The fire pit is about 2ft high and came with a small grill. Bringing your own grill is an option. We’ll definitely reserve again and come back to this Gem in South Santa Cruz County.