Manresa Beach is a great day trip for Bay Area residents. Manresa Beach is located about 16 miles south of Santa Cruz on Highway 1. To get there from the Bay , take highway 17 toward Santa Cruz. Route 17 ends at Santa Cruz. When route 17 ends, head south on route 1 towards Aptos. Continue on Highway 17 for approximately 16 miles until it exits San Andreas Road. Take a right at the exit bar and take San Andreas Road about 3 miles toward Ocean until Manresa Day Use the parking lot on the right side of the road. From San Jose, this is about an hour to an hour and a half. Day use Manresa Beach should not be confused with Manresa State Beach, which is another half mile south along San Andreas Road (although they connect the beaches through the beaches.
Manresa has a day-use parking lot for visitors, as well as public restrooms. Manresa is a beautiful, scenic beach with plenty of beaches for long walks and jogs. Although the beach area located immediately below the sun, to use the parking will be allowed to contribute a lot in hot summer days, the further along the coast the further south you go, the less frequented the beach becomes. There is also a “secret” entrance to Manresa beach with its own small parking lot, primarily used by surfers. The secret parking lot is located on the next street south of the day, use the parking lot along San Andreas Road, in front of you at Manresa State The beach If you go to Sand Dollar Drive, you are too far. This entrance consists of a small dirt parking lot (nobody collects user fees here!) and a steep staircase leading down to the beach below.
Although this part of the beach is generally less frequented than today’s area of use to the north, there are no public restrooms available, and swimming or surfing is done at your own risk (the beach brochure for Manresa states the most dangerous rip currents, < a href="https://e- info.vn/tag/cold-water">cold water temperatures, and deep holes in the sea surface and make swimming activities dangerous). Compared to Manresa State Beach, which boasts camping, picnicking and fishing opportunities, Manresa’s current land use offers little in the way of human amenities. This is probably for the best, as if the rough and lesser known California beaches are becoming a thing of the past.
Manresa is not lacking in wildlife. While combing the beach or sunk in the sand, I saw schools of dolphins in the sea, and pelicans and pelicans. The manres’ two major plant communities, coastal scrub and seashore, support a variety of birds including brush rabbits, mergansers and sand crabs. Plenty of sea shells are found on the beach for those interested in beach combing.
Manresa also offers beautiful sunsets and entertainment long after the sun sets. Many visitors enjoy a campfire on the beach in the afternoon surfing, swimming or sunbathing. The Manresa Day Use beach and its nearby less frequented beach area offer visitors looking to escape the stress of daily life and the bustling crowds of Santa Cruz a beautiful, peaceful experience. For more information on Manresa Day Use Beach and Manresa State Beach please visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=545.
