Favorite Beach: Dillon Beach

 Dillon Beach is a small but picturesque beach community in Northwestern Marin County, between Tomales and Bodega Bays.  It's the perfect spot to take your dog and a picnic, and enjoy a low key afternoon - without shops, restaurants, or other distractions.  The beach has a good-sized parking lot, and there is one small market with an attached cafe, but very little else aside from rental cottages.  This beach is great for surfing and swimming (but like at most California beaches, you'll want a wetsuit unless you're cold blooded) and has ample natural beauty, with pretty dunes, cliffs, and rocks along its edge, making for lovely walks.

Favorite Beach: Kehoe

 Kehoe Beach is a beautiful part of the Point Reyes National Seashore.  One of the few beaches in the park that allow dogs, it's great for a walk on a relaxed day with your favorite four legged friends.  The beach doesn't have very much parking, and it is accessed by a ten minute walk through flat fields - you might see a hawk or two on the way.  Once you're there, the beach is long, and very walkable, and has the benefit of being less windy than many beaches in the area.  It's a great place to spend an hour or two, well worth the drive.

Favorite Beaches: Venice Beach

Venice Beach is world famous for its year round good weather and position at the west end of Los Angeles County.  The town of Venice is artsier and grittier than many other LA beach cities, and it's been featured in countless movies and television shows, which brings a good amount of tourists and crowds.  Still, it's a great beach to walk on, or just to sit on to watch the sunset.

Favorite Beaches: Hendry's in Santa Barbara

Hendry's in Santa Barbara is one of the most walkable beaches in all of California.  Not too long to easily be able to cover the entire length, protected on one side by gently sloping cliffs, and covered in the softest sand, this beach is always a treat to visit.  We love it on a foggy morning after breakfast at the Boathouse, for sunning on a warm day, or as a perfect spot to watch the sun go down.  It's also a great surfer's beach all year round, so there's always action in the water as well.

Favorite Beaches - Stinson Beach

Stinson Beach is the beach we visited most often as children, and it is the best all-around beach option in The Bay Area's Marin County.  It has a large public beach with a parking lot and showers, a semi-private beach that can be accessed off of public roads if you prefer to street park, and a variety of great lunch spots nearby.  Additionally, it has enough waves for surfers and boogie boarders, but doesn't have too strong of a current for casual waders and swimmers.  We also love Stinson for its tide pools, perfect walking length, adjacent lagoon, and the charming town itself - the book store and surf shop there are always worth a visit.  It's a long, windy drive to get there over Mount Tamalpais, but this beach remains a perennial favorite, especially when we catch it on a perfect, sunny day.

Favorite Beaches - Zuma Beach

Zuma Beach is one of our favorites in California - easily the most accessible in Malibu, this beach is also clean, open, and visually stunning.  Though the drive up Highway 1 can be long and congested, it's always worth it to get to a beach where we can swim, sun, and surf.  We love this beach even after the summer heat dies down...  It's very walkable, with soft sand, and beautiful views up and down the coast.  The beach has a parking lot which charges a fee, but there's also street parking if you're willing to make the extra effort to find a spot.

Favorite Beaches - Limantour Beach

In the summer, there is nothing better than escaping to the beach for a day of fun and relaxation.  While the first thing that may come to mind is a day splashing in the surf and lolling on a towel in a bikini, Northern California's beaches are sometimes too cold to swim (or even sun yourself).  However, they are still worth a trip for their incredible beauty.  We would happily spend an August day running around in the wind on Limantour Beach, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County.  You can read more about planning your own visit here.