San Francisco Bay doesn't have many real sandy beaches, which makes Alameda's Crown Memorial State Beach unusual. The East Bay Regional Park District calls its 2.5-mile beach, with dunes and a bike trail alongside, the park's "showpiece." Wikipedia notes it is popular with birdwatchers in fall and winter, when grebes, ducks and loons turn up.

A beach built and rebuilt

The beach is largely engineered. The park district says wind and water had badly eroded it by the early 1980s, so in 1982 it was restored with sand from the bay, pumped ashore through a pipeline from a barge. Groins were later added to hold the sand in place. A $5.7 million project in 2013 pumped in another 82,600 cubic yards of sand, returning the beach and dunes to their 1987 footprint.

Neptune Beach

Long before it was a state beach, this shoreline was a resort. According to Wikipedia, from the 1880s until the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, the area around today's visitor center was part of Neptune Beach, an amusement park and resort community with bathing spas and waterfront houses. It was nicknamed the "Coney Island of the West." During the war, the site was a training base for Merchant Marine officers. The park is named for State Assemblyman Robert W. Crown, who campaigned to preserve it as public parkland.

Crab Cove

At the north end, the Crab Cove Visitor Center (formally the Doug Siden Visitor Center) has exhibits on the bay's marine life and Alameda's history. Wikipedia says it includes an 800-gallon aquarium system with interactive stations. Naturalists run programs for school groups and on weekends.

Hours, parking and getting there

  • Hours: The park district lists the park as open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. unless posted otherwise, with the gate closing at 7 p.m. and bathrooms at 6:30 p.m.
  • Parking: $5 per vehicle, paid by card at the lot's pay station. Buses pay $25.
  • Entrances: The main entrance is at Eighth Street and Otis Drive. Crab Cove is reached by turning from Central Avenue onto McKay Avenue.

Rules and access

Swimming is allowed year-round during park hours, but there are no lifeguards. Wikipedia notes that dogs aren't allowed on the sand itself, only on lawns and paved paths on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Windsurfing, kiteboarding and kayaks are permitted. The park district says beach wheelchairs are available, and the bathhouse, the reservable Neptune and Crolls Garden picnic areas and the Crab Cove visitor center are wheelchair accessible.