Lighthouse Field State Beach
*HEAT ALERT: With temperatures set to exceed 110 degrees throughout much of the state this week, California is urging everyone to take extra precautions as they celebrate the Fourth of July. Governor Newsom has directed the Office of Emergency Services to activate its State Operations Center. Read about how California is preparing for this heatwave. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of California from 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 2, through Sunday, July 7, at 8 p.m. PDT. Please be sure to take extra precautions when heading outdoors and know before you go by checking the park’s webpage ahead of time. Visit our safety tips webpage and get the latest on the weather at weather.gov.
The Park is currently OPEN.
Park Facilities
Parking
Restrooms
Outdoor Showers
Drinking Water Available
Restrooms
Outdoor Showers
Drinking Water Available
Looking for your next adventure?
California State Parks Backpacking Adventures offers naturalist-led backpacking trips through the Santa Cruz Mountains each summer, including our NEW "Cars-BA" Family Camp at Big Basin! Online registration is open now!
Please be advised, Lighthouse Field SB is one of the few California State Parks that does not accept the Annual Day Use Pass.
Also known as Point Santa Cruz, this area forms the northern boundary of Monterey Bay. It is one of the last open headlands in any California urban area. Surfers, tourists, birds - including the rare Black Swift and wintering Monarch butterflies are drawn to this area. Sea lions populate the offshore rocks.
This is one of the places where Monarch butterflies winter along the California coast. Monarchs are unique because they migrate each winter to avoid freezing weather. The Monarchs wintering here, come from west of the Rocky Mountains. Monarchs east of the Rockies go to central Mexico for the winter.
Lighthouse Field State Beach has the distinction of being home to California's first surfing museum. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point on West Cliff Drive. Overlooking internationally renowned surfing hotspot Steamer Lane, this museum has photographs, surfboards, and other interesting items tracing over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz.
Among many noteworthy community events, Lighthouse Field State Beach hosts "Caroling Under the Stars" each Christmas, a Santa Cruz tradition which attracts hundreds of locals and visitors.
