Sand Dollar Beach

Big Sur, California

4.8/5

based on 6 reviews

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Details

Distance

0.35 miles

Elevation Gain

82 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by The Outbound Collective

Sand Dollar Beach is protected from Northern and Southern winds. Get the fire pit going and relax with your buddies at the campground.

Head into Big Sur and get a campsite at Plaskett Creek. You can either make a reservation through recreation.gov or show up and hope to luck out on one of the first-come, first-serve campsites. The campground is much more crowded during the prime summer months, so if you want to get better surf and a more isolated campsite, head there in the fall or winter.

Plaskett Creek is really close to Sand Dollar Beach, which makes it an easy walk once you cross the 1. The beach is in a cove, keeping it protected from northern and southern winds. This break is more user friendly than the other neighboring breaks. The lack of wind and fun waves makes it a great beach to get a few waves or hang out and snap a few shots of friends getting a few good ones.

Once you head back to camp, each campsite has a picnic table, fire pit, and grill, so kick back and get the food going!

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Features

Camping

Photography

Surfing

Hiking

Easy Parking

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Scenic

Reviews

Andy

Sand Dollar Beach

11/23/20

Surfed here every year. There is great camping literally across the street

5.0

Elena P

Sand Dollar Beach

07/17/20

Fun wave in big surf, the water is clean but waves can get big so always be careful

5.0

Explorer

Josh Currie

Explorer

Sand Dollar Beach

02/16/16

Sand Dollar is one of the more accessible beaches along the coast and when the waves are good, an awesome surf spot. Unfortunately right now with the winter storms all the sand has been washed out and what was a sandy beach is now millions of rocks!

4.0

Explorer

Clare Healy

Explorer

Sand Dollar Beach

09/25/15

A mandatory stop for anyone driving through Big Sur! Beautiful beach and great surfing right off of highway 1.

5.0

Cate Anderson

Sand Dollar Beach

08/24/15

Sand Dollar Beach is INCREDIBLE... my sister and I stopped here on accident a few years ago and found the tiniest sea shells... not bigger than your thumb nail. It's totally worth it to head a little a futher north too to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park... gorgeous waterfall when you hike around and the tent sites are nice and spread out.

5.0

Grant

Sand Dollar Beach

10/15/13

if you don't have a state park pass, bring some $1 bills

4.5

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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Sand Dollar Beach

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Leave No Trace

Nearby

Hike down to Jade Cove

Explore San Carpoforo Creek

Luxurious Camping at Treebones Resort

Camp on Prewitt Ridge

Surf Willow Creek

Camp at San Martin Top

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