San Carpoforo Creek Beach

Located in the city of San Simeon, San Carpoforo Creek Beach is a small, wide, and remote beach situated at the point where San Carpoforo Creek meets the North Pacific Ocean. San Carpoforo Creek Beach is a part of Los Padres National Forest and Hearst San Simeon State Park.  San Carpoforo Creek Beach is situated on the north side of the historic Piedras Blancas Light Station and Ragged Point Beach.  San Carpoforo Creek Beach is a well-known place for beachcombing and beach exploration during low tides. 

San Carpoforo Creek Beach offers a couple of amenities including a creek and dunes.

There are many fun activities at San Carpoforo Creek Beach including surfing, fishing, beachcombing, and beach exploration. If you are looking for additional activities, the Boucher Trail begins south of the beach and leads south to the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery. 

Getting to San Carpoforo Creek Beach is easy – the beach is situated at 18550 Cabrillo Highway and there is a small free pull-out parking lot with a fence and a gate on the north side of the highway bridge over San Carpoforo Creek. After parking, you will need to walk a few minutes west to the beach.

If you are looking for nearby attractions, there are many options within a 55-minute drive of San Carpoforo Creek Beach. Situated on oceanfront bluffs, Dinosaurs Caves Park is 11 acres in size and features a lawn, playground, rock arch, tide pools, caves, and hiking trails. The beachside Mustang Waterpark has an incredible stampede ride, two 600-foot-long waterslides, kiddie pools, three mini-slides, and bikes and karts. If you like photography, Swinging Bridge is a beautiful 171-feet-long bridge suspended 40-feet over Arroyo Grande Creek and is a great spot to take Instagram-worthy pictures. Another incredible attraction near San Carpoforo Creek Beach is Port San Luis Lighthouse, the only Prairie Victorian model lighthouse left on the west coast of the United States and is a fantastic place to click Instagram-worthy pictures.

If you get hungry, you can take a 25-minute drive from San Carpoforo Creek Beach to many nearby restaurants. The Italian restaurant Gennaro's Grill & Garden serves seafood, pasta, bread, desserts, and wines. If you like Asian food, Goshi | Japanese Restaurant features authentic Japanese dishes including sushi, unagi, soba, udon, and onigiri. Another good restaurant near San Carpoforo Creek Beach is Mistura, a Peruvian restaurant offering steaks, salads, entrees, desserts, beers, and cocktails.

If you are looking for a hotel near San Carpoforo Creek Beach, you can drive 40 minutes to the 4-Star pet-friendly Mexican-style hotel Avila La Fonda Hotel – it offers 28 incredible and spacious suites with a jacuzzi. Avila Lighthouse Suites is an upscale 3-Star hotel featuring a pool, spa, miniature golf course, table tennis, and hiking tours. If you are looking for a budget-friendly hotel near San Carpoforo Creek Beach, San Luis Bay Inn has a pool, gym, and tennis courts.