Park · California
Sunset State Beach
Sunset State Beach is a park in California, at a modelled elevation of -0 m. Loma Prieta stands 1,154 m to the north, 16 miles off. Big Sur Coast Highway - Route 1 passes 19 miles off.
What to expect
- Operated by
- California Department of Parks and Recreation
How to reach it
Coordinates36.87334, -121.82421
- 19.3 mi off the Big Sur Coast Highway - Route 1, National
Overlooks nearby
- 1 Shepherd's Knoll · 21 mi
- Rumsien Overlook · 24 mi
- China Lookout · 29 mi
Named places within 25 miles
Parks
- Sunset State Beach: 0.3 mi
- Struve Slough: 3.4 mi
- Seaview Ranch Park: 3.5 mi
- Manresa State Beach - Soquel Creek Water District: 3.6 mi
- Las Brisas Park: 3.7 mi
Nature reserves
- Sunset Wetland Natural Preserve: 0.3 mi
- Pajaro River Mouth Natural Preserve: 2.0 mi
- Zmudowski State Beach: 2.6 mi
- Tarplant Hill: 3.7 mi
- Manresa State Beach: 4.2 mi
Picnic sites
- Lower Shade Ramada: 0.6 mi
- Emmet Reed Picnic Area: 8.8 mi
- Pourroy Picnic Area: 9.1 mi
- Special Events Ramada: 9.5 mi
- George's Picnic Area: 9.9 mi
Attractions
- Crystal Bay Farm: 3.0 mi
- Sea otters: 5.1 mi
- S. S. Palo Alto: 8.3 mi
- Giant artichoke: 8.6 mi
- Capitola Wharf: 9.8 mi
Peaks
- Tarplant Hill: 3.7 mi
- Mulligan Hill: 8.7 mi
- Bean Hill: 10.5 mi
- Atherton Peak: 10.6 mi
- Mount Chamberlain: 10.7 mi
Artworks
- Motorcycle from chains: 4.1 mi
- Motorcycle from license plates: 4.1 mi
- Compass: 4.8 mi
- If it has no other explanation, it must be art: 5.7 mi
- Cabrillo Gallery: 9.8 mi
Historic sites
- First High Altitude Aeroplane Flights: 5.6 mi
- Night Fighter: 10.0 mi
- Surfer Memorial Statue: 12.4 mi
- Bridge Creek Historic Site: 12.5 mi
- Santa Cruz Hostel: 12.7 mi
Beaches: 58
- Palm Beach: 0.4 mi
- Sunset State Beach: 1.1 mi
- Jetty Beach: 4.8 mi
- Island Beach: 5.2 mi
- Beer Can Beach: 6.5 mi
Museums: 51
Gardens: 40
- Bamboo Giant Nursery: 7.9 mi
- Tiger Lily Garden: 9.3 mi
- Roses of Yesterday: 10.4 mi
- Ksitigarbha Garden: 11.3 mi
- Beach Flats Community Garden: 12.5 mi
Springs: 13
- El Pajaro Springs: 11.9 mi
- Olive Springs: 13.8 mi
- Crystal Springs (private): 14.5 mi
- Dodero Spring: 14.5 mi
- Badger Spring: 15.1 mi
Waterfalls: 12
- Fairy Falls: 11.5 mi
- Five Finger Falls: 12.3 mi
- Maple Falls: 12.7 mi
- Bonfante Falls: 14.0 mi
- Triple Falls: 14.3 mi
Cliffs: 7
- Capitola Bluffs: 9.7 mi
- Chrystal Cliff: 13.4 mi
- Anthony's Bluff: 13.5 mi
- Upper Quarry: 15.5 mi
- Upper Quarry: 15.5 mi
Lighthouses: 3
- Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light: 11.5 mi
- Santa Cruz Lighthouse: 12.4 mi
- Point Pinos Lighthouse: 17.7 mi
Covered bridges: 2
- Felton Covered Bridge: 18.3 mi
- Felton Covered Bridge: 18.3 mi
Natural arches: 1
- Natural Bridges Rock Arch: 13.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 21.1 miles of Sunset State Beach. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loma Prieta | N 356° | 1,154 m | 16.5 mi |
| Crystal Peak | N 358° | 1,097 m | 16.6 mi |
| Mount Umunhum | NNW 348° | 1,063 m | 20.3 mi |
| Mount Thayer | NNW 345° | 1,061 m | 20.7 mi |
| Mount Chual | N 358° | 1,046 m | 17.0 mi |
| Fremont Peak | ESE 114° | 966 m | 19.4 mi |
| Ralph's Mountain | NNW 342° | 828 m | 20.3 mi |
| Santa Rosalia Mountain | N 353° | 806 m | 13.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:12 | 18:45 | 19:19 |
| June solstice | 05:49 | 19:52 | 20:31 |
| September equinox | 06:56 | 18:32 | 19:06 |
| December solstice | 07:17 | 16:15 | 16:55 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 51 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 58 | 61 | 63 | 63 | 64 | 61 | 55 | 50 |
| Precip in | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 4.0 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Watsonville Muni AP, 5 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element relation/3727637
Day trips start here
- Moss Landing · 5 mi
- Watsonville · 5 mi
- Aptos · 9 mi
- Capitola · 10 mi
- Marina · 13 mi
- Santa Cruz · 13 mi
Private beta · Free to join
Take the scenic way to Sunset State Beach.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.