Most Recommended
Half Moon Bay
The Good: Very easy to find, lots of cute shops all nautically themed, piers, easy parking.
The Bad: Very touristy. That means lots of people. Also, where was the beach!? Only found piers.
The Ugly: SMELLS. Rotting fish smell is not my favorite.
Baker Beach
The Good: Gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Nice sand, clean beach. Can watch enormous barges coming in with all our junk from China.
The Bad: Parking is awful. Find a spot to park on Google Maps and plan to walk a ways to get to the beach.
The Ugly: This is a clothing optional beach. That means lots of naked old guys. To make this even funnier, they were sunning themselves ONLY on the part of the beach where all the tourists were trying to take pictures of the bridge. Hello, exhibitionists!
Santa Cruz Beach
The Good: Also gorgeous. There is a boardwalk and a mini theme park. It is a good sized beach with lots of walkways around the area and good views. Very touristy, but there is tons to do!
The Bad: SO. MANY. PEOPLE.
The Ugly: They keep this place pretty clean, but with so many people and activities, it tends to be a little trashy. Also, touristy flashy colors painted on everything.
Favorite
Bean Hollow Beach
The Good: TIDEPOOLS! I don't need to tell you anything else, because that's the best thing about a beach. Okay, fine. It was also pretty, had nice sand, blah blah blah. Tidepools!
The Bad: Who cares!? There were tidepools with critters! Oh alright, it was extra windy. But that just made giant crashing waves that contributed to the tide pools! Huzzah!
The Ugly: Moot.
Grey Whale Cove
The Good: This little treasure has a fun hiking trail going into the hills above the beach. Really neat views. The beach itself is tucked away, cut out of a cliff. Nice and remote, and not very windy. Not very many people.
The Bad: There is a nifty stairway walking down to this beach. Unfortunately, at the end of said stairway is a gross pond of... muck. Walk past, THEN enjoy pretty beach.
The Ugly: This is also a clothing optional beach. Stay away from the north end with the ugly naked dudes.
Ocean Beach
The Good: AMAZING parking. Nice sand. HUGE. Usually has a lot of people, but it's so big that it's not a problem. You can usually see a volleyball or frisbee game happening. It is right next to Golden Gate Park, so if you fancy some trees you just have to turn around 180 degrees.
The Bad: This is also a popular tourist stop. It's also very windy.
The Ugly: Nothing of note.
We've been to other beaches, like Pacifica and Pescadaro. We have driven by even more. These are just our favorites!
