Pleasure Point

Unilocal 100 review challenge: ⁶⁶⁄₁₀₀
So who doesn’t wanna go to Pleasure Point? The point is this spot gives so much pleasure, that your body will completely give in. Your eyes will dance at the beautiful view of the ocean. The tiny details of the steps nearby to sit on. The cute totem pole, which I had had had to get a snap shot of.
Pleasure point… Where you inhale the salty sea air… letting your lungs fill with freshness. Your cheeks puff with air… until you can’t take anymore. Where your body naturally unwinds, at the site of endless water and sky. Your body will slowly start letting go of life’s burdens. Taking in the sounds of the ocean waves crashing in your ears making you close your eyes and mouth smile. Drift away into pleasure point.
Don’t you wanna forget?
Take a walk!
Ride a bike!
Take a pic!
Enjoy!
Nature!

Awesomeness here. Love strolling along the coast and coming here to chill and watch the surfers do their thang. Love seeing all the different species of birds and looking out yonder to see what can be seen out in the water. Saw what appeared to be either an orca or something out in the distance. That was quite cool. Thumbs up!

Love the little beaches hidden here and there pleasure point pizza is my absolute favorite. One of my favorite little hideaways.

Best surf spot on the continental US. This place is the reason SC is voted #1 surf town. There’s a wave for everyone here.

It’s called Pleasure Point for a reason. It really is a place of divine pleasure. There’s multiple surf breaks in the Pleasure Point vicinity, all with jagged cliffs, spectacular sunrises and sunsets and so many waves … Waves that break all day and night and don’t get blown out like our Orange County beach breaks. Santa Cruz’s Pleasure Point looks idyllic, like something out of a fairytale. You will most certainly remember fondly, your time spent at this stunning Point. I stayed here a week and fell in love hard because no place along the coast can really compare. It’s really something special.

BEST –SHORT-​CUT DIRECTIONS… Take Soquel Dr. off hwy 1, turn right — then left on 7TH Ave. Take 7^th to East Cliff — turn left. enjoy the scenic local drive.
7^th Ave is quicker to Downtown also.

This is a family friendly beach, with convenient stairs for access. Parking can get pretty difficult, but other than that, no complaints here! There are man made holes in the rock for water to flow through and make kind of like a water fall-​ish thing, which is pretty cool. After the tides, shells wash up, rarely sand dollars, but many mini conch shells and other spiral shells wash up as well (see photo). There’s also a market at the top that’s pretty convenient too pass by as well!

Due to a pair of bad knees, I’m fairly beach-​aversive, as sand is one of the least knee-​friendly surfaces I can walk on. Luckily for me, while you do get a sense of ‘but all the cool kids are on the beach!!’, there is a paved path above the beach (at the Point!) that you can walk around comfortably.
Basically…
+ Beautiful views
+ Decent amount of parking in the area
+ Kid & dog friendly (although let’s be real, dogs are the preferred beach-​goer in my book)
+ Paths around/​on the Point for exploring/​getting exercise
I had a lovely afternoon here, but don’t make my mistake — bring your sunblock!

Been living in Santa Cruz for about 2 years and last night was my 2^nd time here. We walked along the coast and I was amazed w/​myself that I never took the time to explore nor appreciated the fact that I live so close to the ocean. For those of you that can sense the hostility in my check-​ins and reviews about Santa Cruz, it’s still there but last night I just walked aimlessly and let my mind wandered off.
Thanks for driving out, Dave.
Fortunately, it wasn’t cold. I took my Sharks jacket off. Surprisingly there were hella people up and out and about; walking their dogs, skateboarding, etc. I guess I’m usually at grandma-​status so being out late to galavant is not something I find enjoyable but last night’s rendezvous was fun. It’s different.
Watching the waves made me reflect on my life. I go back and forth and I never stop no matter the outcome. We came down the stairs and got a better look at the waves. It was high tide last night… I didn’t dare go down the stairs more. It was nice to get out and just chill and talk.
More and more, I realized that I put too much on my plate, I critique myself to the max, and I do not know how to relax. You’d think that after being dropped off around 1AM, I’d sleep in but I was up and got to the gym at 6AM this morning. It is not even 10 and my house chores are pretty much done.
I hate wasting time.
I’ll frequent this spot more. I need to learn to relax.
There are plenty of street parking and a parking lot. The roads are well lit so I don’t think safety is an issue here. I don’t think we went past 3 minutes w/​o seeing another human being. If you run into trouble, simply scream and run! And always obey the signs because they’re there for a reason.

Daydreams of being stranded on a an island don’t compare to what I found here. Beyond what you can ever imagine, this beach offers isolated sands, smooth rocks, various tidal pools and surfing.
The beach is located just to the north of Capitola. Isolated stairs will lead you to different areas of the beach that are drastically different in scenery depending on which stairs you take down to the water. Friendly seals find your presence interesting enough to swim around you while keeping a safe distance.
There are random local eateries nearby or you can drive a little to the north or south and find enough good food to keep you busy for days.
Great views, clean sands, and nice waters on a sunny and clear day make me a fan of this spot an then some! This is a great place to stop and relax if you are in the area.

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I love everything about the Pleasure Point. The view here is priceless and the people here are always nice. If you love dogs, sitting on the bench by Jack O’Neill old house here, you will see dogs walk by every 30 seconds, all shape and size.
The only few places on the West Coast that you can spot a lot of pro-​surfers here. The waves are pretty good here. The sunset is beautiful. And when high tide, the ocean can blast up to the bench at time, kind overdressing to be wet. It’s good place to sunbathing. A walk way down the the surf point. A market down the street for you to buy food. And a public restroom is just a few blocks down.
Parking is tough here for visitors, but if you come early, you shouldn’t have any problem.

I came here to surf and the swell was awesome. The view was outstanding and I came to honor the grave of Jay Moriarity. A surfing legend who surfed at this very spot. So while I was having fun I was also honored. No better spot to be.

Came here during sunset and it was very nice. This is the spot for surfers! Easy access to the ocean with stairs accessible, super convenient.
You can walk through the rocks if you’re feeling wanderful, definitely great views and you can catch glimpses of sea otter floating around with the surfers.

As we go through life, once in a while, we discover places that manage to touch our sensibilities in profoundly pleasing ways: we fall in love. Maybe it’s a bookstore (Border’s, why’d you have to go bankrupt), a certain restaurant, or in this case (my case), a beach: Pleasure Point.
I’ve been coming here for over a decade; and, as a transplant from Hawaii, it offers everything my soul needs: good surf breaks, great scenery, and an overall chill place to hang out. Top it off with common sightings of sea otters breaking open their crab supper right next to you as you’re waiting for the next set of waves… the experiences to be had on this little bit of coast can be very Animal Planet-​esque — without the basic cable fee… it’s priceless!
On countless occasions, I’ve made the drive over the hill, just to sit on the cliff side benches of «The Hook,» and clear my mind by watching the surf crash along the smooth rocky shore.
Having said that, the locals are definitely territorial here, and to be perfectly honest, locals on any surf break are territorial, duh… So, if you come here to surf, don’t be a kook.
But, if you’re here to just lay on the luscious white sands, or the velveteen, wave-​worn-​rocks along the beach — you’ll feel guilty at how relaxing it can be. When the guilt creeps in, just own it — like a Boss!
Other than that, I only have one other warning to make before ending this review: if it’ll be your first time coming here, there’s no getting around it, you’re gonna fall in love; you’re gonna fall fast; you’re gonna fall hard; and for this place, for Pleasure Point, you won’t mind falling over and over again, for the rest of your life. No heartbreaks here.

Pleasure Point and «The Hook» are renown for local surfing. The beach is at the base of the cliff along East Cliff Drive, halfway between the Boardwalk and Capitola. The beach is dog friendly but leash laws are strictly enforced. Man vs. Nature is nowhere more evident than here, with the encroaching vacation homes challenging the eroding cliff until the next big slide.
If surfing or watching surfers is your thing, you’ll give this beach 4+ stars! Otherwise, it’s a nice place to walk or ride your bike, though East Cliff is a narrow street that could do with a lot less traffic.
One of the nicest features of the beach is the Point Market & Café, where you can get cheap, quick and delicious food/​drinks to go. Check out

Better beaches? For dogs: Hidden Beach, Lighthouse State Beach or 26^th St. Beach. For kids and sunny weather: Seabright Beach or Harbor Beach. For volleyball watching: Harbor Beach or Main Beach.
So start out your beach walk with a burrito and hot cuppa joe from Point Market & Café and you’ll be set!

I loved this beach growing up in the area as a kid, its a great place to watch surfers and the waves are beautiful.
They also have a decent amount of tide pools and the water is relatively clear with a minimal amount of debris. The sand is soft and it doesn’t turn TOO rocky when you start getting out into the surf like some places are in Santa Cruz.
The surfers can get kind of aggressive out here, especially with fighting for waves with out-​of-​towners, but what else is new. Locals over tourists.

So lovely!
Great place for surf, great place to watch the surf.
Beware of the locals, they can be brutal to rookies. That’s okay, I like it rough. No harm, no fun.
I miss living in SC :.(…

This is where I stop and stretch on my East Cliff runs. It’s a great people watching spot. It is a horrible place to surf. So, I would definitely try some where else.

Wow, what a breathtaking stop on a wonderful bike ride down to the boardwalk. Being from the Third Coast (Chicago – now don’t go hating, beach bums!), I don’t often see the ocean, and this is as good a spot as any. Loved watching the surf crash on the rocks and the surfers «wipe out!» (i.e., the old Surfari’s song) on the waves.
I was alone, but it would have been a perfect spot for a picnic with a sweetie on this gorgeous, sunny day.

Yay beach!
Yay tidal pools!
Yay sand!
Yay wine!
Woof woof doggies!