Natural Bridges State Beach
West Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz · near Santa Cruz · SF Bay Area
Tidepooling
At a glance
- Fee
- $10/vehicle day use
- Season
- Docent tidepool tours roughly Mar–Jul · monarchs Oct–Jan
What is here
- Species
- Ochre stars · Aggregating anemones · Shore crabs · Monarch butterflies (upland grove, fall–winter)
- Highlights
- The Mudstone Shelf · Monarch Grove
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Gear
- Wet-friendly grippy shoes · Sun layer — the shelf is exposed · Tide chart; go below +1 ft · Camera for the arch at low light
Tidepooling detail
- Nickname
- Pools Beneath the Arch
- Pool type
- sandstone
- Program
- docent-program
- Mpa
- Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve — no-touch, no-take
- Best tide
- Below ~1.0 ft; the mudstone shelf west of the beach
- Docent note
- Docent-led weekend tidepool tours in season; visitor center hands out reef maps
- Intl tip
- An easy add to any Santa Cruz visit — pools, the arch, and (Oct–Jan) the monarch grove in one stop. $10 parking, docent tours on weekend low tides in spring. Strictest rules on the coast: no touching anything. West Cliff Drive's surf overlooks are the classic follow-on.
The guide
Natural Bridges anchors the west end of Santa Cruz's West Cliff Drive with its famous offshore arch, a beloved beach — and, on …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Natural Bridges State Beach — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.9483, -122.0602