Garcia River Beach(Stornetta Public Lands, California Coastal National Monument)

Located at the mouth of the Garcia River near the city of Point Arena, Garcia River Beach is a beach with brown sand. This beach is a part of Stornetta Public Lands and the California Coastal National Monument. The Garcia River forms an estuary near this beach, before flowing into the Pacific Ocean. 

Garcia River Beach does not have lifeguards or any other amenities, so plan your trip accordingly. The beach also does not allow dogs.

Garcia River Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, scuba diving, fishing, and hiking. The water near Garcia River Beach is unsafe for aquatic recreational activities including surfing and swimming as the water here is known to have extremely strong currents. However, if you are an experienced scuba diver, you can access a nearby offshore rock formation named Arena Rock via boat and dive into the water around this rock formation. The water around this rock formation has kelp beds which are home to a vibrant array of marine animals. Scuba divers also go into the water near Garcia River Beach to collect abalone shellfish. The large variety of fish present near this beach also makes it a great fishing spot. However, if you are planning to fish here, kindly make sure that you follow the local fishing regulations. You can also watch migrating gray whales in the water near this beach (generally between December and April). An extremely rare animal that you can view in the area around Garcia River Beach is the Point Arena mountain beaver. Garcia River Beach is also an ideal beachcombing spot as the incoming ocean waves often deposit a large variety of interesting objects on this beach.

The Point Arena - Stornetta Public Lands spans over 1,600 acres and is the first mainland-based portion of the California Coastal National Monument. This site has a variety of diverse habitats including wetlands, grasslands, and forests of cypress trees. You can explore these public lands via hiking trails present here, which also offer great opportunities for a fun wildlife watching session along with a unique insight into the exquisite biodiversity of Central California.  

In order to access Garcia River Beach, you need to park at the small free southern parking lot of a state park known as Manchester State Park, which is located near the end of Stoneboro Road. From this parking lot, you need to walk around half a mile to Manchester State Park’s beach area. Once you reach Manchester State Park’s beach area, you need to walk a mile south along the coastline to finally get to Garcia River Beach. We recommend visiting this beach wearing appropriate footwear as it is known to have lots of driftwood.

As an interesting fact, the area near this estuary was the site of a village of the Native American Bokeya Pomo people which was known to them as Pda’ hau.

There are many attractions near Garcia River Beach. B. Bryan Preserve offers guided tours on land rovers/trucks within its conservation area that has many interesting and extremely endangered herbivores from the continent of Africa including roan antelope, greater kudu antelope, sable antelope, and Grevy’s zebra. The Point Arena Light Station is a historical landmark that has a lighthouse that was constructed in the early 20th century (after an earlier lighthouse on the site was severely damaged by storms) and is over 100 feet tall. Apart from this lighthouse, there is also an indoor museum which is set in a 19th-century Fog Signal Building - this museum has interesting exhibits offering a unique insight into the property and the surrounding coastal region’s interesting natural and cultural history. The Light Station property also serves as a 23-acre outdoor museum that has many interesting exhibits including a stone labyrinth (which is the westernmost part of a series of public artworks spread across the 39th Latitude known as the "Art Line"), a druid’s circle made from shale pillars, a gazebo from the 1992 Mel Gibson movie Forever Young (which was shot on the light station property), a native plant garden, and a number of interpretive historical plaques and markers present around the museum grounds. If you are looking for another attraction near Garcia River Beach, Coast Highway Artists Collective offers amazing artworks on display.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Garcia River Beach. Bird Cafe and Supper Club offers excellent gourmet dishes which are prepared using fresh and locally sourced ingredients. The Pier Chowder House and Tap Room offers a pleasant oceanfront dining experience and it also serves amazing seafood. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Garcia River Beach, Rollerville Cafe offers outstanding breakfast dishes French toasts, omelets, pancakes, and waffles. In addition, the restaurant also serves great sandwiches, burgers, seafood, tacos, and pasta. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Garcia River Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Elk Cove Inn & Spa is 20 minutes away by car and offers many amenities including a rooftop deck, a day spa, a beachfront gazebo, a guest lounge, and complimentary breakfast and wine and cocktails. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Wharf Master’s Inn which offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast, two observation decks, and a balcony. In addition, the hotel also offers complimentary coupons for the nearby Garcia River Casino. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Garcia River Beach, the 2-Star Lighthouse Pointe Resort has a pool.