Manresa State Park - Manresa Uplands Beach

Located near the community of La Selva Beach and below oceanfront bluffs, Manresa Uplands Beach – also known as Sand Dollar Beach, Manresa State Beach – Sand Dollar Beach, and Manresa State Beach – Manresa Uplands Beach – is a long and large beach with light brown sand.  This beach is part of a larger state-protected beach named Manresa State Beach.  Manresa Uplands Beach is open between 8 am to sunset.

Manresa Uplands Beach has lifeguards and the area near this beach has a couple of amenities including picnic areas and restrooms.  Dogs on leash are allowed on Manresa Uplands Beach. 

Manresa Uplands Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, surfing, windsurfing, hiking, camping, picnicking, beachcombing, wildlife watching, and fishing.    Manresa Uplands Beach is unsafe for water activities including swimming and paddleboarding because the water here is known to have dangerous currents.  However, despite these dangerous water conditions, highly experienced surfers often surf near this beach because it is known to have consistent and thrilling surfing waves.

If you like fishing, you can catch many kinds of fish near this beach including California halibut, bass, surfperches, and surf smelt.  If you like birdwatching, the blufftop area above Manresa Uplands Beach is a great bird watching site and you can see many kinds of birds here including finches, hummingbirds, and sparrows. 

If you like camping, the Manresa Uplands Campground near this beach is a tent-camping site that is open for reservations from mid-May to October.  If you are planning to camp in this campground, we recommend visiting Manresa State Beach’s webpage at the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s website for more information.

Manresa Uplands Beach offers beach wheelchairs for visitors with disabilities.  If you want to reserve a beach wheelchair, you can contact the authorities at Manresa State Beach by phone at (831) 763-7603.  You can also visit the city of Santa Cruz’s website to know more about the online booking of wheelchairs.

Getting to Manresa Uplands Beach is easy – from the community of La Selva Beach, you need to turn towards the south on San Andreas Road.  From San Andreas Road, you need to turn towards Sand Dollar Drive and then towards Manresa Uplands Road. 

Manresa Uplands Road will eventually lead you to the entrance for Manresa Uplands Beach, where you need to pay a $10 entrance fee.  After paying the fee, you can drive to the parking lot for Manresa Uplands Beach.  From this parking lot there is an access trail with a steep wooden stairway that leads down along the bluffsides to Manresa Uplands Beach.

We recommend avoiding leaving any valuables in your parked car while visiting Manresa Uplands Beach because burglaries have been known to take place here.  It is also important to note that portions of Manresa Uplands Beach might be seasonally closed off to public access because this beach is used as a nesting ground by the endangered Western snowy plover.

If you like taking pictures with amazing views, the blufftop picnic areas above Manresa Uplands Beach also offer fantastic Instagram-worthy views of the Central California shoreline and the Pacific Ocean. 

There are many attractions near Manresa Uplands Beach.  Pajaro Neighborhood Park is a recreational park that offers many amenities including a restroom, a public artwork, a playground, picnic areas, a plaza, a basketball court, and a baseball/soccer field.  Moss Landing Wildlife Area protects a portion of a large salt marsh and it offers many fun activities including hiking, wildlife watching, and seasonal waterfowl hunting.  You can see many kinds of migratory and resident shorebirds in this area, along with seals and sea otters on rare occasions.  The Agricultural History Project Center & Museum has interesting historical exhibits related to the agricultural history of Santa Cruz County and it also has a gift shop.  Seascape Park– also called Seascape County Park – is an oceanfront blufftop recreational park that has a beach below it named Seascape Park Beach and this park also offers many amenities including a playground, walking paths, restroom, a picnic area, and grassy recreational area.  Seascape Park also offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.  If you are looking for another attraction near Manresa Uplands Beach, The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a 20-minute drive away and has beautiful redwood forests – this park also offers many fun activities including hiking, biking, picnicking, wildlife watching, and camping.  The forest is also home to many animals including racoon, deer, cougar, and native bird species.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Manresa Uplands Beach.  Cilantros is a Mexican restaurant that offers many amazing Mexican dishes including Mexican style-seafood, nachos, fajitas, burrito, and enchilada – this restaurant also offers excellent margaritas.  Imura Japanese Restaurant offers amazing Japanese dishes including tempura, sashimi, and sukiyaki.  Fish House Bar & Grill is known for serving excellent seafood including oysters, cioppino stew, seafood-stuffed ravioli, and calamari – this restaurant also offers live music performances.  Aptos St. BBQ is a restaurant that offers amazing barbecued dishes including brisket, barbecued chicken, and St. Louis-style ribs and it also offers live blues music performances.  If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Manresa Uplands Beach, Pixie Deli offers a variety of amazing dishes for breakfast including eggs, burritos, and bagels – this restaurant is also famous for serving amazing rotisseries chicken, soups, and burgers.

If you are looking for a hotel near Manresa Uplands Beach, there are many great nearby options.  The 4-Star Seascape Beach Resort offers many amenities including multiple restaurants, multiple pools and hot tubs, a golf course, a fitness center, a golf course, shopping stores, and spa services.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star The Sanctuary Beach Resort that is a 33-minute drive away and offers many amenities including a pool, a volleyball court, a bocce ball court, binoculars and bike loaner facilities, a lawn, a restaurant, and a spa.  Another great upscale resort is the 4-Star Inn At Depot Hill that is also a 20-minute drive away and offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast, wine-and-cheese tasting sessions, and complimentary port, sherry, and desserts in the evening.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Best Western Plus Capitola By-The-Sea Inn & Suites that offers many amenities including a pool, a hot tub, a spa, complimentary breakfast, and a fitness center.  If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Manresa Uplands Beach, the 3-Star Seacliff Inn Aptos, Tapestry Collection by Hilton is a 20-minute drive away and offers many amenities including a fitness center, gardens, a pool, and a restaurant.