Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve

A very nice place to walk or bike ride along the dunes. I spent some relaxed days here on my bike, hopping down to the beaches when I felt the urge.

Natural Bridges is a great place for kids! You’ll want to check out the monarch butterfly grove, especially when they’re migrating. We took a tour and our volunteer docent (Emily) was excellent and informative. She walked us through the life cycle of the monarch, and then escorted us down to the eucalyptus grove where the monarchs congregate and answered more questions for a good long while.
The tide pools are also wonderful. We took a short path from the beach to the pools, and the kids really enjoyed finding sea anenomes, crabs and other goodies in the pools. The beach was fine, but the real standout is that gorgeous natural bridge. There were dozens of pelicans roosting on it, and when the took off flying, it was pretty stunning.
We splurged for parking ($ 10), and thought it was worth it to be close to everything, but you could easily park on the street and walk right in.

I love coming here. The beach isn’t super crowded like Santa Cruz. Which I like. This beach has a beautiful rock formation, tide pools that are great for kids to explore a little of the sea life, and some rocks that you can climb. My sisters and I always come here on my older sisters day off from work. I really enjoy coming here, hope you go too!

a good place to chill and enjoy the beach! however, there is no place to wash your feet afterwards. still a must place visit when you’re in santa cruz!

Very nice view. Tip: go early in the morning to get a photo-​op under the bridge. On the other side, you will find a rock where seagulls and seals rest.
Con: no station to wash feet afterwards although there is a public bathroom nearby. Parking can also go by fast as a lot of tourist visit here.

Awsome place bring the family. Or if still young take a date. You don’t need to pay 10 $ u can park on the street and walk 3 min to beach access. Or u can pay park bbq and have a nice lunch set up a area and be in the woods with the beach 100 yards away. Walk along the cliffs with kids to look at the tide pools u can see many creatures kids love it. Be safe because it does get wet and slick. In the winter u can see the butterflies by the thousands. Really cool place. I came as a child and will now be making it a habit to bring my family

Cool place.
My last visit was my second time here. The first time was a short visit with a friend.
The last visit with my husband and baby was awesome.
We visited the monarch place first then walked down the beach for lunch and to enjoy the sun.
Place was pretty crowded because of the warm weather.
the natural bridge is a sight to see.
clean beach, good view.
parking available for a fee.
would love to come back!

Such a wonderful peaceful place to walk and enjoy the eucalyptus and the butterflies. Great pains have been taken with raised walkways to allow people in wheelchairs or maybe with some challenging abilities to be able to enjoy this canyon and see the butterflies and it’s very accessible. It’s also a really awesome beach for the family you can get down to the water and planet from here and the waves aren’t too rough. Check for low tide and go tide pulling there are tons of little critters to find here

Is a very nice location with cliff side you can enjoy the view. Park up on top for small fee. They take only cash. The beach and sand is clean and the water is clear. Just be careful crossing over the rocks as it is slippery and notorious for sneaker waves crashing a top

SO NiCE! its a beautiful beach with amazing landscapes. It has tide pools, parking lot (need to pay or you can park on the street which is free), bathrooms. Its a nice place to sit around and take pictures. One thing that annoyed me is there were to many people so we couldnt take a decent picture with the bridge, but hopefully when you go its not as crowded.

The beautiful arch, the expansive beach, the tide pools, has a parking lot, has bathrooms, what more could you ask for! A beautiful beach to watch the sunset

This beach is beautiful and a great place to come and relax and take photos. Try to come in a car more equipped to tread over dirt and rocks because parking is on the side of the road! It’s also a little harder to get down the hill so wear sneakers!