🏖️ A 2.5-mile beach in Alameda, California, known for its warm, shallow waters.
🌊 Operated by the East Bay Regional Park District, offering diverse recreational activities.
Why Go
🏊♀️ Swim in warm, shallow waters
🚴♀️ Enjoy sand dunes and a bicycle trail
⛵ Engage in boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, windsurfing, and kiteboarding
🧺 Picnic with family and friends
🎣 Fish from the shore
♿ Explore accessible facilities and beach wheelchairs
📜 Discover local history and wildlife
🏰 Attend special events like the Sand Castle Contest
🦀 Visit the Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove
Why Avoid
🚫🐕 Dogs are not allowed on the beach itself
🚧 Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary currently has no entry due to restoration work
⚠️ No lifeguards are on duty for swimming
⏰ Hours
- Park: Open daily 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Gate closure: 7 p.m.
- Bathrooms close: 6:30 p.m.
💰 Cost
- Parking Fee: $5 per vehicle
- Trailered Vehicle: $4
- Buses: $25 per bus
- Boating, kayaking, and sailing fees apply (specific amounts not detailed) 🛶
🅿️ Parking
- $5 per vehicle, pay with credit or debit card at pay station in parking lot 💳
- Seasonal parking fee at Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove 🅿️
🚻 Toilets
- Bathhouse with changing rooms available at the west end of the beach 🚿
- Bathrooms close at 6:30 p.m.
🏊♀️ Swimming
- Water is warm and shallow, suitable for swimming ☀️
- A bathhouse with changing rooms is at the west end
- Swimming is permitted year-round during park hours, but no lifeguards are on duty ⚠️
🐕 Dogs
- Not permitted on the beach 🚫
- Allowed only on lawn areas and along paved pathways, must be on a leash (six-foot maximum) and under control 🚶♀️
- Owners must clean up after their dogs 🗑️
♿ Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible facilities include reservable picnic areas (Neptune and Crolls Garden), Rocky Shoreline Tide Ramp, the bathhouse, and the Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove
- Wheelchair accessible parking and paved trails are available
- Beach wheelchairs are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis (call Visitor Center or park office to arrange) 📞
🏛️ Attractions
- Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary: Located at the east end, home to aquatic birds and salt marsh creatures (currently no entry) 🐦
- Crab Cove: A marine reserve at the north end where all plant and animal life is protected 🦀
- Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove: Features exhibits and aquaria highlighting San Francisco Bay flora and fauna 🐠
- Encinal Beach and Trail: A conditionally designated official San Francisco Bay Water Trail site 🚶♂️
🚣♀️ Activities
- Boating: Sailboards, kayaks, and car-top inflatables permitted (no boat launch facility) 🛶
- Boardsports: Popular for windsurfers and kiteboarders; rental equipment and lessons available seasonally 🏄♀️
- Picnicking: Picnic tables, barbecue pits, and lawn areas available; reservable group picnic areas offered 🧺
- Fishing: Allowed from shore, subject to State Fish and Game regulations (license required for 16+) 🎣
- Naturalist-Guided Programs: Available for school and organized groups at Crab Cove Visitor Center by reservation 🌿
🎉 Special Events
- Annual Sand Castle and Sand Sculpture Contest: Held in June, attracting many participants and spectators 🏖️
- Concerts at the Cove: Free music events with extended Visitor Center hours and family activities 🎶
📜 History
- From the 1880s until WWII, known as the "Coney Island of the West" with amusement centers and attractions 🎡
- Crab Cove Visitor Center preserves this past through exhibits and a "Memory Lane" self-guided trail 🚶♀️
🏛️ Managed By
- East Bay Regional Park District, under cooperative agreement with the State of California and the City of Alameda 🌳