California State Parks says Manresa State Beach rewards visitors with sweeping views of bluff-backed sand and sea, from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the northwest to the forested Monterey Peninsula to the southwest. The beach is in La Selva Beach near Watsonville, about a mile up Highway 1 from Sunset State Beach. Wikipedia says the 138-acre site became a state beach in 1948.
Two parts
Wikipedia describes two facilities: Manresa Main State Beach and Manresa Uplands State Beach and Campground. The Uplands campground is tents only, with no RVs, and is open mid-May through October. State Parks lists more than 60 walk-in sites, with their own parking lot near the campground. Picnic tables along the top of the bluff have panoramic ocean views.
Dogs and fishing
Unlike Sunset, Manresa allows dogs on a leash on the beach. In the campground, leashes can be no longer than 6 feet. Surf anglers catch starry flounder, California halibut, barred surfperch, striped bass and surf smelt, and a sport-fishing license is required.
Fees and safety
The day-use fee is $10 per car, or $9 for seniors 62 and older. Fires are allowed only in park fire rings. Alcohol is banned on the beach and in the day-use area, and drones are banned. State Parks warns that rip currents, frigid water and deep offshore drop-offs make surfing and swimming hazardous for all but the most experienced surfers. The main beach hosts the junior lifeguard program, which teaches water safety.
Wildlife
Coyote brush, coastal sagebrush and lizardtail cover the bluff, home to Allen's hummingbirds, white-crowned sparrows and brush rabbits. On the beach, sanderlings, whimbrels, willets, gulls and surf scoters feed. Offshore are gray whales, dolphins and sea otters. Western snowy plovers nest in the foredunes, and disturbing a posted nesting area violates federal law.