Are there any good beaches in Northern Ca for a family vacation?

[DL4my2kids]

My DD is 4 and keeps asking to go to the beach. I also have a DS 7. We live in Concord CA. We kind of had in mind a place to stay on or near a beach (Walking distance) that the kids could play on. We would need to leave on a Friday afternoon and return on Sunday.

Thanks.

 

[mamacatnv]

As a kid we camped at Sunset Beach - it is down near Watsonville and has a wooded camping area that has easy beach access.

http://www.santacruzstateparks.org/parks/sunset/

 

[McQueenofHrts]

I am not quite sure what you are looking for, but have you looked into Doran Beach in Bodega Bay? You can camp there or there is a hotel next to it. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the hotel.

Good Luck!

 

[mamacatnv]

Here are a couple of links:

Doran Beach - Bodega Bay
http://www.sonoma-county.org/PARKS/pk_doran.htm

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/california/californian-websites/camping-california-coast.htm

This hotel is a favorite of ours - the hotel is beautiful, very close to the beach and has a great pool, restaurant and grounds: BestWestern SeaCliff Inn - Aptos, CA - couple miles south of Santa Cruz in Hwy 1

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=05432&disablenav=false


happy planning

 

[BillyFan]

How about driving down to Santa Cruz and going to the Boardwalk. There are tons of hotels and motels in the area. Also, Natural Bridges is not far north of there.

 

[DL4my2kids]

We are definately going to be checking those beaches out.

We decided to make this a Monterey trip. We are staying at the Best Western Beach resort. We've stayed there before. It's not bad but IMO over priced. They are right off the water which is a benefit. We'll do the beach, aquarium, wharf etc. We are talking about going to Gilroy Gardens formerly known as Bonfonte gardens. We haven't been there so perhaps on the Sunday we leave Monterey, we'll head to Gilroy. DH grew up in Gilroy. I heard it was great for the little kids so it may be wonderful for my 2.

 

[mamacatnv]

We are definately going to be checking those beaches out.

We decided to make this a Monterey trip. We are staying at the Best Western Beach resort. We've stayed there before. It's not bad but IMO over priced. They are right off the water which is a benefit. We'll do the beach, aquarium, wharf etc. We are talking about going to Gilroy Gardens formerly known as Bonfonte gardens. We haven't been there so perhaps on the Sunday we leave Monterey, we'll head to Gilroy. DH grew up in Gilroy. I heard it was great for the little kids so it may be wonderful for my 2.

Sounds like great fun! I checked out that hotel a couple of years ago but since we went in late Dec. decided it wasn't worth the cost. We like the Monterey Bay Lodge and the Portofino Inn. I have not been to Sunset in years although we drove by it a couple of years ago. I do remember that I thought the water was calm and it was a great place to find sand dollars. But it has been 20+ years since I was there.
Monterey has some really nifty tide pools out near Pacific Grove. Lovers Point Beach was our favorite.
Have fun

Sea Cliff is a much busier beach IMO but we love that hotel I mentioned. We stay there when we want to go to Santa Cruz.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I was just going to suggest Monterey! Feel free to check out the trip report in my siggie, we just went a few weeks ago- you can PM me if you have any questions. Your kids would love the aquarium. There are sooo many nice northern California Beaches- Fort Bragg is a beautiful area too and your kids might like a ride on the Skunk train up there. I used to like it as a kid and glass beach is pretty cool- Mendocino (on the way to Fort Bragg) is beautiful too. And of course Bodega Bay is so pretty as well.

Lots to choose from! Have fun

 

[PinkBudgie]

Also check out Sea Ranch. You can rent houses there for a weekend, a week, or whatever. My family did that several times growing up and I always had a lot of fun.

I also love Doran beach.

If you go near Bodega Bay don't forget to visit the school used in The Birds.