This popular California beach to reopen this weekend. It’s driving distance from Modesto

Dominique Williams
·2 min read

A well-known Santa Cruz County beach will be reopening its day-use amenities Memorial Day weekend for the first time since severe winter storms caused catastrophic damage to the beach’s camping and recreation area and destroyed its iconic pier.

Visitors will be able to drive down to beach-level parking and picnic areas will be back open to the public at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California starting Saturday, according to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. These areas have been restricted since Jan. 5.

“After this year’s devastating storms, we are so excited to welcome back families and friends as they enjoy barbeques, celebrations, gatherings and fun times at Seacliff State Beach,” said Chris Spohrer, State Parks Santa Cruz district superintendent in a news release. “Seacliff is a special place not only for locals, but also for visitors who have been coming here for generations to enjoy cooler temperatures and make memories.”

Here’s this weekend’s hours and parking prices, including what’s been done to repair the damage:

Travel, hours and parking

Seacliff State Beach is around 120 miles and about a two-hour drive southwest of Modesto.

From Highway 1, travelers should take State Park Drive exit and proceed west through the neighborhood of Aptos to the beach entrance, according to the California State Park’s website.

While beachfront day-use access is re-opening, camping opportunities will not be available this year, according to the parks department.

Day-use hours are 8 a.m. to one hour after sunset seven days a week.

The parking fee is $10 per day. Fees support park operations, according to the department.

Repairs at Seacliff

High surf during the devastating winter storms wiped out all of the beach’s camping facilities and infrastructure including access roads, bathrooms, parking lots, walkways and the seawall, McClatchy News previously reported.

The storms also destroyed over half of Seacliff’s historic pier and severely damaged the remaining structure, causing the nearly century-old structure to be demolished.

A concrete WWI-era ship, the SS Palo Alto, sits at the end of the pier, according to California State Parks. Although it was built for war, it was not completed until after WWI.

The pier at Seacliff State Beach as seen before “recent storms destroyed over half of the pier and severely damaged the remaining structure,” California State Parks said.
The pier at Seacliff State Beach as seen before “recent storms destroyed over half of the pier and severely damaged the remaining structure,” California State Parks said.

Instead, the ship later made its only voyage from Oakland to Seacliff State Beach, where it was docked and “settled to the ocean bottom,” the department said.

“By the summer of 1930 a pier had been built leading to the ship,” according to the department.

The pier was damaged beyond repair and demolition began earlier this year.

Despite California State Parks staff, contractors and volunteers cleaning up debris, removing the damaged pier and repairing the promenade to increase access at Seacliff, more work still needs to be completed, according to the department.

“Some areas remain unsafe and are behind fencing,” the department said. “Visitors are asked to not enter closed areas.”

McClatchy’s Daniella Segura contributed to this story.