Best Bay Area Beach Trips with Kids

12 destinations from the Dublin, CA area. Tide pools, sand, and somewhere warm to eat afterwards. Northern California beaches are cold - these are the ones where that does not ruin the day.

Destination	Kids	Drive	Days	Cost (2 nights, family of four)
Monterey / Carmel-by-the-Sea	4.5	1h 59m	2–3 days	$1,500–3,000
Santa Cruz / Capitola / Felton	4.4	1h 17m	2–4 days	$1,200–2,500
Pismo Beach	4.0	4h 23m	2–3 days	$1,200–2,500
San Luis Obispo / Avila Beach	3.7	4h 10m	2–3 days	$1,500–3,000
Morro Bay	3.7	4h 15m	1–2 days	$1,200–2,500
Santa Barbara	3.7	6h 07m	2–4 days	$1,800–3,800
Fort Bragg	3.5	4h 10m	1–2 days	$1,000–2,500
Bodega Bay	3.4	2h 01m	1–2 days	$1,200–2,500
Cambria	3.2	4h 16m	1–2 days	$1,200–2,500
Mendocino	3.1	3h 59m	1–2 days	$1,500–3,500
Mount Shasta	2.6	5h 10m	1–2 days	$1,000–2,500
Big Sur	2.6	2h 40m	1–2 days	$1,500–4,000

Monterey Bay Aquarium & Ocean Kelp Forest - family day trip 1h 59m from Dublin, CA

Monterey / Carmel-by-the-Sea

The aquarium that sets the standard, plus wild otters, a rocky headland and serious seafood.

4.5 kids 4.8 adults 1h 59m 2–3 days $1,500–3,000

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk & Ocean Rides - family day trip 1h 17m from Dublin, CA

Santa Cruz / Capitola / Felton

An old-fashioned seaside amusement park at one end and a steam train through redwoods at the other.

4.4 kids 3.6 adults 1h 17m 2–4 days $1,200–2,500

Pismo Beach

A wide flat beach you can drive onto, a dinosaur-themed playground and a monarch grove.

4.0 kids 3.1 adults 4h 23m 2–3 days $1,200–2,500

San Luis Obispo Creek Walk & Downtown Plaza - family day trip 4h 10m from Dublin, CA

San Luis Obispo / Avila Beach

A children's museum, a farm stand and a calm beach within a few miles of each other.

3.7 kids 4.0 adults 4h 10m 2–3 days $1,500–3,000

Morro Rock Volcanic Monolith & Harbor - family day trip 4h 15m from Dublin, CA

Morro Bay

A harbour town under a volcanic plug, with sea otters rafting in the bay below it.

3.7 kids 3.5 adults 4h 15m 1–2 days $1,200–2,500

Santa Barbara

A zoo on a hill above the sea, a hands-on science museum, and warm south-facing beaches.

3.7 kids 4.9 adults 6h 07m 2–4 days $1,800–3,800

Fort Bragg

A beach of sea-polished glass and a steam train into the redwoods, in a plain working town.

3.5 kids 3.2 adults 4h 10m 1–2 days $1,000–2,500

Bodega Bay

A working crab port with a sheltered beach - the best seafood on the coast road, and little else.

3.4 kids 3.2 adults 2h 01m 1–2 days $1,200–2,500

Moonstone Beach Boardwalk & Coastal Pines - family day trip 4h 16m from Dublin, CA

Cambria

Pine-backed coast next to an elephant seal colony you can watch, free, from a boardwalk.

3.2 kids 3.5 adults 4h 16m 1–2 days $1,200–2,500

Mendocino

A clifftop village where the redwoods run to the sea, with a beach of tumbled glass nearby.

3.1 kids 4.0 adults 3h 59m 1–2 days $1,500–3,500

Mount Shasta

A 14,000-foot volcano over a swimming lake, with a waterfall you can walk behind.

2.6 kids 2.8 adults 5h 10m 1–2 days $1,000–2,500

Bixby Creek Bridge & Coastline Cliff View - family day trip 2h 40m from Dublin, CA

Big Sur

The most dramatic stretch of the California coast, with a waterfall that falls onto a beach.

2.6 kids 3.3 adults 2h 40m 1–2 days $1,500–4,000

Costs are a fixed yardstick: 2 nights, family of four, lodging, food and activities. Not the cost of the stay we recommend.

Beach days that actually work with kids