Marina State Beach(Marina Dunes Natural Preserve)

Located in the city of Marina, Marina State Beach is a large and beautiful state-protected beach with light brown sand. This beach is situated below a blufftop sandy area.

While Marina State Beach does not have lifeguards, the beach has many amenities including restrooms, showers, picnic tables, and hiking trails. Dogs are not allowed on the beach. 

Marina State Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, picnicking, paragliding, fishing, hang-gliding, surfing, and hiking. The water near Marina State Beach is highly unsafe for recreational activities including swimming and kayaking due to extremely strong rip currents and considerable depth. In addition, the water here also has a severe undertow, making it look calm on the surface but becoming dangerous once you go into it. In addition, we also strongly recommend that you do not leave children unattended anywhere near the water in Marina State Beach as sneaker waves are also known to pull people offshore into the water. Despite the dangerous water conditions, surfers occasionally surf in the water here as it offers good surfing waves. However, if you are planning to surf here, we recommend being very careful and avoiding surfing here if you are a beginner surfer. The beach is popular with hang-gliders and paragliders, who often use a blufftop launching platform above the beach to launch themselves and enjoy a fun gliding session. If you are planning to hang-glide or paraglide here, you can call (831) 649-2836 for further information regarding the rules of using this blufftop launching platform. In addition, flying radio-controlled gliders is also a popular activity in Marina State Beach. There are picnic tables near the beach that offer fabulous Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean. You can watch many kinds of animals in the water near Marina State Beach including seals, sea lions, and sea otters. In addition, you can also see many kinds of birds in and around Marina State Beach including gulls, sanderlings, whimbrels, and willets. There is a hiking trail along the blufftop sandy areas above this beach named the Dunes Nature Trail which offers a unique insight into the local flora and fauna. This trail goes over a boardwalk and also has interesting interpretive displays. As an interesting fact, the sand dunes present around Marina State Beach are some of the highest ones present along the Central California coastline. If you are planning to fish in the water near Marina State Beach, we recommend that you follow the local fishing regulations.

Getting to Marina State Beach is easy - the free parking lot for the beach is located near 1 Reservation Road. Another smaller free parking lot is located near the end of Lake Drive. Both of these parking lots are easily accessible from Cabrillo Highway / Pacific Coast Highway and you can easily walk to Marina State Beach from both of these parking lots. We advise visiting this beach wearing layered clothing as the weather here is known to change suddenly.

There are many attractions near Marina State Beach. Casino Monterey offers many fun and exciting card games including blackjack and poker. Windy Hill Park is a grassy park that has interesting swings for kids. In addition, this park also has many amenities including walking paths and picnic spots which make it ideal for families. If you are looking for another attraction near Marina State Beach, San Carlos Cathedral is a United States National Historic Landmark that was built in the 18th century and is one of the oldest cathedrals in the United States which is still in use. In addition, the cathedral is also one of the oldest stone buildings in California. The cathedral also displays unique Spanish Colonial architecture with Moorish influences.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Marina State Beach. Montrio Bistro offers outstanding Continental and American dishes. In addition, this restaurant has been praised by the prestigious MICHELIN Guide. New Korea Restaurantoffers fantastic Korean dishes and is famous for serving excellent bulgogi. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Marina State Beach, Coffee Mia Brew Bar & Cafe offers amazing breakfast dishes, soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts.

If you are looking for a hotel near Marina State Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course offers many amenities including complimentary shuttle service from a nearby airport, a restaurant, a sports bar, a lounge with a fireplace and jazz music, a spa, a pool, and a gym. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Embassy Suites by Hilton Monterey Bay Seaside which offers many amenities including multiple restaurants, complimentary breakfast, a pool, a hot tub, and a gym. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Marina State Beach, the modestly priced 3-Star Laguna Lodge has a garden.