Waddell Beach

Great beach off the beaten path. Not crazy crowded like other beaches if you like to drive a bit farther.
Great place to relax on the beach and watch some para– sailors fly by.

Epic beach, you can’t miss it. Always a kite or wind surfer tearing it up out there. Perfect sand to build sand castles. Across the highway from Big Basin. If the coast is foggy, there is often a bit of sun at this location. Don’t just stop to take a photo. Park, find a nice patch of sand, and stay awhile.

My husband and I wanted to go to the beach, but didn’t want to fight the usual crowd that you would find at Cowell’s or Seabright. After looking up a few beach locations along the 1, we decided to go to Waddell.
Oh boy we cannot be happier with the choice we made. Long story short, this particular beach has a LONG stretch of sand/​land and while there are waves, they don’t go up really high. This means you can put your blanket down somewhere that’s close enough to the water (so you can see all your stuff if you decide to go for a dip), but still have it be far enough where you won’t have to move your stuff every 30 minutes.
There’s also not much of a crowd (we went on Sunday around 1:30pm), which in itself is awesome. The people that were there though were all pretty scattered so you didn’t have to fight for a space on the beach. The surfers are nice, they don’t bug you or get all mean or anything.
Plenty of parking (you can park across from the beach where there’s a little bit of parking or right along the beach), and there are bathroom facilities (that’s handicap accessible). The facilities are generally pretty clean for a beach bathroom, which is always appreciated!
No trash on the beach other, which is great :) Let’s keep it that way!

I wish I knew how to surf like all these surfers with parachutes! It’s a great sight to see them all above the ocean with the sky as their background. So jealous of their picture perfect adventures.
This beach is absolutely beautiful. My family and I came here after our backpacking camping trip at Waddell Creek. The water was cold and it was really windy, however the kids still had loads of fun. In fact, they found these puddles of water further out in the beach and submerge themselves in them. They told me it was like they were in a bathtub because the water was much warmer than the ocean water.
If you’re on Highway 1, stop for a while and enjoy the view.

The kite surfers are really what make Waddell special, but on not-​so-​windy days it’s just a quiet beach with lots and LOTS of seagulls. We were there last Saturday, and while there were kids chasing the birds and the occasional surfer on the somewhat tiny waves, the beach was virtually deserted.
Unlike the rocky and pebble-​riddled beaches to the north and south, Waddell’s a fine-​grained sandy wonderland.

This is a beautiful scenic beach with a lot of life.
Makes me wish that I knew how to surf or kite surf, or possibly hang glide!
I stumbled into some amazing tide pools here during low tide that I did not expect to find. I got to photograph some beautiful starfish and other sea creatures. Rock formations are amazing here too. A great beach to love your special someone at.

One of the best wave spots in the world. Surfing in the morning, kiteboarding after noon. Super advanced riders, a lot of fun.
BTW, While you go kiteboarding, your family may enjoy a hiking trail to the creek, absolutely no wind there.

Waddell Beach is an amazing find. We were driving along Highway 1 from Santa Cruz to Pescadero and we stumbled upon the windsurfers in Waddell Beach. It was a windy and sunny day… perfect for windsurfing and we had a blast watching them play with the wind.
So very very cool.

Surfing/​Kite surfing
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I continued this rolling down the State HWY 1 and took in what a dear friend does on a consistent basis in SF: kite surfing. When I use to hang out with him often (he’s now married) I’d hear about his exploits running off the minute the wind reports came in to his Blackberry: Chrissy Field, along the Delta, Santa Cruz, Ocean Beach. He was there. Regardless of where he was at. Talk about living in the moment.
So it was only a matter of a few seconds of driving and then pulling over to see close to twenty-​thirty people kite surfing, their kites a colorful display in the rising winds. After I pulled in, I propped myself up against my windshield, settling on my hood and watched the entire process of unloading, unwrapping and unwinding, then getting the kite up into the air and then swoosh, off they went. Whipped along the water by the strong winds. I even watched as some of them were airborne 6 ft +. How awesome is that!
A nice beach with lots of recreational potential. Today it was packed with kite surfers, but the guys mentioned that surfers and windsurfers would be out here, slicing the waves. In addition, lots of tourists, such as myself, were pulling off just to catch the players out teasing mother Nature.
Clean facilities and ladies, if you want to see a bunch of rugged good looking men in unzipped wetsuits, this is your place for the wicked wet dream that will pleasantly haunt you well into the evening. Not to mention, especially friendly half naked men. Several guys still wet from the water, saw me snapping away and casually mentioned that there was a BBQ taking place nearby and I was welcome to join them.
I usually don’t blush much, but come on! They were half naked, wet, and definitely not something I needed in terms of encouragement. I peeled out of there before consenting to something I would not even trust in my best judgement :p
No dogs allowed here on the beach, however. Boo!
On to the next beach…

If you wanna really do it right and you have the stamina for it then take the 15+ hike from Big Basin up and over and down to Waddell and then catch the bus or have a friend pick you up from there. This was one of the best hikes that I’ve ever been on and said to be the most beautiful trail in the Bay Area.
You can either take the Skyline-​To-​The-​Sea Trail from Big Basin Redwoods State Park or do what we did and take Dool Trail to Sunset Trail that eventually drops down from Sunset Falls to Cascade to Berry Creek Falls.
–If you take Skyline all the way, be sure take a moment to hike up and see the other two waterfalls as the Skyline trail only passes Berry Creek Falls. The rest is all downhill from there as you follow Berry Creek to Waddell Beach.
The next time I’ll be sure to camp as there are a few lovely spots on the creek that we passed on our way. (I believe you must reserve one beforehand)
Savor the extraordinary beauty in your area folks and fall in love with your home all over again!

Hike up the Skyline to the Sea trail — 6 miles up to Berry Creek Falls — very nice redwoods — gorgeous hike. Takes a whole day, but well worth it…

If you are looking for a place to walk on a boardwalk, and eat cotton candy, and listen to ‘Tifany” being alone, this is not the place for you. On the contrary, if you enjoy 20′ flames from a bonfire, or maybe you like to have a 10,000 watt sound system while you do keg stands, and dance your ass off to bumpin’ house music, this is the beach for you. It is located aproximately 18 miles north of Santa Cruz, on the One. This beach has mad personality. the first sign of this is the rustic, barbed-​wire gate, followed by the rusted «keep out’ sign. Take a leisurely stroll through some killer bushes (trippy trees as some call them,) and you will find your way to a short drop off overlooking Waddell beach. To the north you will see the crazy parasailors, and to the south, just more rocky cliffs. But to the west, ah, to the west You will have one of my favorite sunrise, or sunset spots. anyway, before I ramble for too long, this beach is killer. It’s great for a family picnic, or for a full on keger-​rager. have fun at it, and make sure you pick up all your trash on your way out!