Pot Belly Beach(New Brighton State Beach, Potbelly Beach)

Located in the city of Aptos, Pot Belly Beach is a part of the New Brighton State Beach park and is situated in front of Pot Belly Beach Club and the private Potbelly community. Also known as Potbelly Beach, Pot Belly Beach welcomes dogs on-leash and offers many activities including hiking, surfing, fishing, and beach walking.

If you are looking for attractions near Pot Belly Beach, you can drive 17 minutes to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center which offers many multimedia exhibitions including theatre, touch pools, and an underwater robot. The gravity-defying Mystery Spot is among the most prominent illusion-based tourist attractions – visitors can experience demonstrations that disobey gravity inside a wooden building and while walking up a steep hill here. Bigfoot Discovery Museum is devoted to an American folklore ape-like creature Bigfoot and features tchotchkes from the 1970s Bigfoot boom and the 1980s resurrection with Harry and the Hendersons memorabilia. Another great attraction near Pot Belly Beach is Monterey Bay Aquarium that is home to sea creatures including jellyfish, great white sharks, captive killer whales, rockfishes, African penguins, and the Pacific sea nettles.

Getting to Pot Belly Beach is easy – after you get off of Park Avenue, drive down to New Brighton State Beach’s paid parking lot on New Brighton Road. You can walk south on sand from New Brighton State Beach through a long stretch of homes to reach Pot Belly Beach. There is also free street parking available on New Brighton Road near the railroad tracks outside of the Potbelly community entrance from where you can access the beach through a gate with a brown state park sign. Please do not use the Potbelly Beach Road access point because it is marked "Private Property."

If you are looking for attractions near Pot Belly Beach, you can drive 17 minutes to Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center which offers many multimedia exhibitions including theatre, touch pools, and an underwater robot. The gravity-defying Mystery Spot is among the most prominent illusion-based tourist attractions – visitors can experience demonstrations that disobey gravity inside a wooden building and while walking up a steep hill here. Bigfoot Discovery Museum is devoted to an American folklore ape-like creature Bigfoot and features tchotchkes from the 1970s Bigfoot boom and the 1980s resurrection with Harry and the Hendersons memorabilia. Another great attraction near Pot Belly Beach is Monterey Bay Aquarium that is home to sea creatures including jellyfish, great white sharks, captive killer whales, rockfishes, African penguins, and the Pacific sea nettles.

If you are looking for a restaurant, there are many within a seven-minute drive of Pot Belly Beach. If you are looking for an upscale restaurant, Pino Alto Restaurant is located on the beautiful Cabrillo College campus and serves salad, entrees, and desserts in the incredible and historic Sesnon House. The vegetarian-friendly Thai restaurant Bangkok West features Asian art and offers Thai classics including curries, soups, stir-fries, Thai tea, and spring rolls. Another good restaurant near Pot Belly Beach is Manuel's Mexican Restaurant, a small eatery featuring traditional and authentic Mexican items like enchiladas, tamales, and margaritas.

If you are looking for a hotel near Pot Belly Beach, you can drive six-minutes to the AAA 4-Diamond and 4-Star hotel Inn At Depot Hill that boasts 12 Mediterranean-styled suites. The 3-Star pet-friendly Capitola Hotel was awarded the Travellers’ Choice 2020 Award by Tripadvisor. If you are looking for an affordable hotel Pot Belly Beach, the 2-Star Quality Inn & Suites Capitola By The Sea has a nice pool.