Manresa State Beach

Here's the deal: I'll tell you about Manresa State Beach and you promise not to show up on a sunny weekday morning. That is the time and place for a hermit's delight. Miles of shoreline, perfect, wide sandy beach, views through the rising mist and fog across the Monterey Bay, and not a soul to encounter except one or two fellow hermits who share the same secret of this treasure.

When you arrive early on a summer morning, you may find that you dip into the fog as you drive down the hill from the Cabrillo Highway 1 to the ocean, past Seascape. Along the beach, you walk in a circle of visibility, the inner edges draped by fog. The world doesn't seem to exist outside of your vision. You hear the waves crashing and you walk as if on a treadmill, the sand passing underneath you as you concentrate on your thoughts. The water always feels refreshing to me over my feet at the edge of the surfline, not warm, but not at all too cold.

Keep walking south with the surf to your right and the fog begins to lift, like steam rising off a hot pavement. The fog plays peek-a-boo with the sun, hovering at the dew point. The sea cycles from gray and gloomy, slightly frightening in that its power is enhanced by the limited distance you can see into it, to sparkling and inviting, a cheerful god dressed in shades of blue. The donut hole of clouds gets pushed off to the horizon, the sullen grey fogbank receding until it disappears. Monterey Bay reveals itself, diamond-tipped ripples, pelicans skimming the waves under sunshine, and baby gulls huddling together on the sand, circled by their skeptical eyed parents.

On a clear day, you can see the curved shape of the Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz to the right and the northern boundary, and the Monterey Peninsula to the south to the left, with the hint of Carmel behind it.

There are California state maintained beach areas and parking, or you can find small communities with beach access and residential parking. I found one along Sand Dollar Drive, just past Seascape. A walk down wooden stairs between vacation rentals brings you to the beach, a short distance from a favorite beginner's surfing area, and solitude as you walk further south.