We love going to the shore, and North Cali beaches seem to be at their finest in October. There’s just one problem. Pumpkins. It takes more intrepid souls than us to sit in three hour traffic to Half Moon Bay on October weekends, so we’ve used the past few weeks to check out some more Santa Cruz beaches. New Brighton State Beach has quickly become a favourite. It’s absolutely beautiful and usually (by my European standards) really, really empty. An added plus in October are the monarch butterflies–we were surrounded by them on the short walk down to the sand.
The beach here is wide and slopes gently to the sea.: perfect for sand play and paddling. The boys loved it.
- The Puppy Dog had a magnificent time
- Look Mom! Sand!
There was plenty of parking right by the beach. I should mention there is a $10 charge to park: coming from England I think that is entirely reasonable for a day use fee, but I did meet one American who thought it was outrageous. The state beach is nicely maintained. There aren’t many amenities, but there are basic bathrooms and a great outdoor shower to de-sand toddlers.
The Outdoors Parent 
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