Point Lobos — Weston Beach
Point Lobos SNR, Carmel · near Carmel-by-the-Sea · Central Coast
Tidepooling
At a glance
- Fee
- $10/vehicle (free roadside Hwy 1 walk-in); lot fills by mid-morning
- Season
- Year-round, 8am–7pm · arrive at opening on minus-tide days
What is here
- Species
- Turban snails & hermit crabs · Tidepool sculpin · Harbor seals · Sea otters offshore
- Highlights
- Weston Beach Slabs · South Shore Coves
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Gear
- Grippy shoes for tilted sandstone slabs · Arrive at 8am opening on minus tides — lots fill · Layers and a long lens · Nothing leaves the reserve — not even a pebble
Tidepooling detail
- Nickname
- The Crown Jewel's Pools
- Pool type
- sandstone
- Program
- docent-program
- Mpa
- Point Lobos State Marine Reserve — absolute no-take
- Best tide
- Below 0.0 ft; pools in the Carmelo Formation slabs
- Docent note
- Point Lobos Foundation docents lead daily walks; tidepool brochure for Weston Beach
- Intl tip
- 3 mi south of Carmel on Hwy 1. The reserve caps entry — arrive at 8am opening on minus-tide days or walk in from the highway shoulder. Docent walks daily; absolute no-take. Combine with Cypress Grove trail and Carmel; a reservation system may launch — check parks.ca.gov first.
- Directions note
- Vehicle entry capped — walk in free from the Hwy 1 shoulder when the lots fill
The guide
Point Lobos is routinely called the crown jewel of the state park system, and Weston Beach — a shelf of tilted, striped Carmelo…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Point Lobos — Weston Beach — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.5104, -121.9387