San Simeon Beach

During our May 2010 vacation, driving south along the California coast, we stopped at Hearst Castle and bought tickets for several hours later, giving us time to drive down to nearby Old San Simeon and San Simeon Beach.

We ate an amazingly good, very large deli sandwich at Sebastian’s. The manager explained how to access the beach. She was very tanned and not wearing a bra – a fellow naturist? We didn’t ask.

Beach parking was only two minutes from Sebastian’s. A long dock extended out into the ocean near the parking area. At the beach we talked with an older fellow who owned a wonderfully restored ‘Woody’. We then walked to the far west end of the beach towards the far high rocky point that hid the nude area.

At the base of the rocky point were several caves, uncovered by the low tide. The walls of the caves were covered with sea life – star fish and anemones. PJ took lots of photos. I found a nice rod and reel nearly buried in the sand.

We sat on a rock in the cave and took off our shoes and socks so we could walk around the rocky point without getting them wet – we were still too easily seen by textiles on the beach to get naked. (I’m sure this would be difficult during low tide.)

Around the rocky point was a small, but beautiful sandy cove, with high cliffs, topped by beautiful evergreen trees. No one else was there. We undressed and enjoyed the sun for about an hour. It wasn’t even necessary to place a towel in the sand as several smoothed out areas on the cliff were perfect for lying out and sunning.

Soon it was time to return so we could make it to Hearst Castle - a spectacular place.

We definitely recommend a visit to San Simeon Beach if you visit this area of California. Here is a link to several photos: http://imageevent.com/kenandjane/sansimeonbeach