Skip to content
New Brighton State Beach, Capitola, CA

Photo: MarsRover, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

New Brighton State Beach

A Monterey Bay beach park in Capitola with forested bluffs, a campground, hiking trails, and fishing and beachcombing along the shore.

Capitola, CA

About New Brighton State Beach

New Brighton State Beach sits on the Monterey Bay coast in Santa Cruz County, just south of Santa Cruz in the town of Capitola. The park pairs a sandy shore with forested bluffs and offers a campground with tent and RV sites, hiking trails, and wide views over the bay. Visitors fish, comb the beach, and swim in warmer months. The Pacific Migrations Visitor Center in the campground covers natural and cultural history. Dogs are welcome on a short leash, drones are banned, and alcohol is allowed only within registered campsites. The park covers about 95 acres and sits beside the neighboring Seacliff State Beach.

  • #beach
  • #bluffs
  • #camping
  • #hiking
  • #fishing

What's around here?

The closest stops to New Brighton State Beach, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Eat & Drink
    Date Night

    Shadowbrook Restaurant

    $25–$50

    Romantic creekside fine-dining restaurant in Capitola serving seafood, prime rib and steak since 1947.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Capitola

    No admission fee

    A pastel-colored Santa Cruz County beach village built around a small wharf and Capitola Village's shops and restaurants.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Stay
    Outdoor Adventure

    Beach RV Pleasure Point

    $50+

    Small full hookup RV park near Santa Cruz's Pleasure Point surf break.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    2.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Twin Lakes State Beach

    Check prices

    A Monterey Bay beach beside the small-craft harbor in downtown Santa Cruz, known for swimming and picnicking.

    3.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Manresa State Beach

    Under $25

    A bluff-backed Monterey Bay beach in Santa Cruz County with tent camping, fishing, and ocean views.

    5.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Local Gem

    UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden

    Under $25

    A 115-acre botanic garden of Mediterranean-climate plants from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    6.5 mi awayMore like this

Near New Brighton State Beach

More of the same kind

Keep exploring