![]() Main Beach (Boardwalk Beach), Santa Cruz.Coast Dairies/Panther Beach, Santa Cruz.– Karen Simmons, Friends of Lighthouse Field, Chair It rates extremely poorly for designated beach off-leash recreation. Nature, great climate, great people, everything we enjoy as well. Make sure you have your pup on a tight leash as cyclists and joggers also share this popular path. Whichever direction you go affords you fab vistas. This area is also a great place to explore the pathway along West Cliff Drive. On busy days, try parking across the field and walk through the trails over to the beach. Park in a small lot across the street or in the lot at the lighthouse. Poop bags are provided at many places along the trails and at the beach entrance the public is nice to donate them. Lots of trails here to walk your pup on-leash. ![]() Check out the tide pools on the other side of the arch at low tide. A gentle pool forms just under the arch for calmer water pup swims. You’ll want to take a picture at sunset of the rock arch on one side. “Its Beach,” as locals call it, curves with views of the lighthouse and Seal Rock. It used to be off-leash but not since the state reclaimed it from the city. Google Maps even has it labeled as “Dog Beach.” This is a dog social mecca, and at any given day you’ll find dogs swimming, playing and fetching. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought for sure this was an off-leash beach. Lighthouse Field State Beach, aka Its Beach or Dog Beach Click on any of the four buttons to jump to the section of your choice: This is a long post, featuring 40 places you can take your dog (and 13 places dogs aren’t allowed), so to make it easy to navigate we created these handy little buttons below. If the curve changes, we’ll be sure to let you know. To help set things straight, we’ve gone on a dog park crawl and put together the following lists of dog-friendly recreation areas. On visual cues alone, it’s confusing where you can legally exercise your dog in Santa Cruz. However, compared to Carmel, San Francisco, or other bay area cities, we are way behind the curve.” On the upside, most locals are very dog-friendly, and if you do not mind the technical off-leash violation there are plenty of open spaces and beaches. Coopman, Live Oak Off Leash Advocates (LOOLA) spokesperson, says, “It is the tale of two cities – it is the best of places and worst of places. Most people think of the beaches from 20th to 26th Avenue as being dog beaches, since we’re used to seeing happy pups frolic there. FOLF would like to see Its Beach allow dogs off-leash, “We are a beach community, and as a community, designating less than two percent of county beaches for dog recreation seems reasonable,” says Simmons.Įastside pups face the same conundrum. “Our off-leash beach areas are minimal and few for the tens of thousands of dogs in this county,” says Karen Simmons, Chair of the Friends of Lighthouse Field (FOLF). Once upon a time Its beach did have legal off-leash hours. This beach is ironically referred to by some (including Google Maps) as “Dog Beach,” even though dogs are not allowed off-leash. Just east of Mitchell’s Cove is Its Beach. Another startling fact to throw at you…off-leash romp time is limited to before 10:00 am and after 4:00 pm. Mitchell’s Cove is the only beach in Santa Cruz County where dogs are allowed to play, fetch, swim and run off-leash. That’s what would happen if every dog in Santa Cruz County gathered at the only off-leash beach in Santa Cruz. Along with Wilder Ranch State Park’s Victorian homes, barns, living history demonstrations and tours, the park offers 34 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails.Imagine 51,000 dogs crowded onto Mitchell’s Cove Beach on West Cliff. Explore remnants of old lime kilns at The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park or Fall Creek. Hikers will love Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park with its mellow, just-under-a-mile loop trail or the more challenging Pipeline Trail, which runs parallel to the San Lorenzo River. Centrally located within Capitola-by-the-Sea, Capitola Beach is the de facto playground for the charming village. Santa Cruz’s Main Beach connects prominent county landmarks: the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Santa Cruz Wharf, and the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Whether you’re looking to swim, camp, soak up the sun, or hike there’s a local spot that’s sure to inspire.įor beach-goers, the craggy cliffs of Davenport, the sandstone arch at Natural Bridges State Beach and the wide expanse of Sunset State Beach all offer plenty of options to catch some surf and sun. ![]() Santa Cruz County offers 29 miles of scenic coastline and over 14 state parks and beaches.
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