Manresa Main State Beach — Attraction in Watsonville Water Treatment Plant

Beautiful Beach with Great Sand, Great Views of the Sunset, and Relatively Quiet

Pros: This is one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever visited. Don't come expecting warm water for swimming though. The sand is great, even if it gets everywhere. When it's sunny, the beach can be nice and warm. The sunset is great, excellent view. It's a relatively quiet beach, few people nearby. Nice, relaxing place to BBQ, eat, play, or various family activities. The beach is quite large; it goes on for miles. Easy parking to find. Great experience, lots of good things.

Cons: The water is definitely not warm enough to swim in, and the waves can be quite unpredictable. Caution must be used when venturing close to the water, as help will likely be miles away. Also, parking is paid, though it works for all CA state parks.

Tips: This is one of the best beaches to enjoy the day, bring games and fun things to do, well worth it. Stay for the sunset it's amazing. Do be wary of your safety as it can be quite empty and isolated at some...

A little gem. You have to unload your camping gear from your car and carry it to the campsite before moving your car to another more distant parking lot. Campsites are large with both bathrooms and pay showers.

Separating the parking from the campsites mean that the sites are very quiet and unspoiled by headlights. You can walk down to the beach in a few minutes, or sit on the benches overlooking the ocean from the high cliffs. When you go to sleep, you can hear the waves from the campsites.

The plants and animals are surprising varied with the terrain moving from brush lands to woodlands to beach. We visited in June and I was stunned by the number of bird species. If you're a birder at all, this you'll be very happy.

Not surprisingly, the campsites tend to get reserved very early, so you have to really plan ahead, or in my case, know...

New favorite beach spot! Easy access to the beach. Clean individual restrooms in the parking lot,and a lifeguard always on duty for the kiddos. The beach was clean and didn't stink or have hardly any dead coral or seaweed upon shore.Tons of surfers and fisherman on the beach, but all we ran into were very respectful and left a large open area for kids and families to swim. The girls found tons of seashells while we were there. No bonfire pits that we saw but there were many people bbqing and the rangers/lifeguards let them be. Up near the parking lot there were grills and many benches to use and enjoy the views. Parking is ten dollars though so bring some cash in advance! We will definitely be returning soon. Very highly...