As far as beaches go, for me, I am simply concerned with how clean it is and how many people are there. These two questions often go hand in hand as many of the nice beaches in SoCal are heavily visited and not always kept up. This is not the case for San Buenaventura State Beach though. As a state park, this beach costs ten dollars to get in (as of 2014) but also has people working to maintain the area. It is a large state beach with miles of coast, three parking lots, many picnic benches, and its own oyster shack called the Jolly Oyster. All of this makes for a great place to spend a hot summer day. Here is all the information.
Details
- Dawn to dusk
- 10 dollars to enter
- Jolly Oyster for food if you didn’t bring any
- I wrote this post in 2014
This beach is beautiful as it has Ventura Pier north of it and miles of coastline south; even the bathrooms with their unique architecture are well kept up.
The walk from the car to the sand goes over some small sand dunes with beach flowers during the spring and a beautiful juxtaposition of color with the sky and the ocean.
When we were there on Father’s Day, there were maybe 25 people on the beach, so we had it mostly to ourselves, and it was relaxing to soak in the sun while watching the waves crash gently on the shore.
This also allowed me the opportunity to take some pictures without the crowds that are normally found on the beach.
The beach also has a small rock jetty that you can explore on both sides, but unfortunately, no tide pools with them.
I did, however, see a large number of sand crabs floating in the water, and more than a few children digging them up and excitedly showing anyone who would look. The picture below has about 100 in it, but it’s hard to tell as they are floating in the waves.
Due to the lack of people, I was able to find a lot of unique shells such as the perfectly kept sand dollar.
The rest of the time, I simply spent sitting in the sand and relaxing before visiting the Jolly Oyster for lunch before I headed out. All in all, I really love this beach and can’t recommend it more. It was clean, beautiful, and relaxing. Just remember to bring sunscreen, water and food, and be sure to leave the beach how you found it for others to enjoy. Let me know in the comments if you like this beach as well and get directions below.
