Shark Fin Cove Beach and Sea Cave

To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles. Shark Fin Cove, located .7 miles south of Davenport, California, is one of these miracles.  Want to get away from it all and get lost in a beautiful place?  This hidden gem will impress you with a stunning walk-through sea cave and an island shaped like a shark’s fin, the result of hundreds, perhaps thousands of years worth of sand being pummeled by the sea’s incessant waves.  

Shark Fin Cove & Beach were previously owned by Coast Dairies.  In 2006, 407 acres of coastland and beaches were donated to California State Parks.  Shark Fin Cove & Beach are a small part of this donation and are part of the much larger Coast Dairies State Park.  Currently, the Coast Dairies State Park spans about a six-mile segment west of Hwy 1 North in Santa Cruz County, just south of the small town of Davenport and includes Bonny Doon, Laguna Creek, Panther, Davenport Landing, and Scott Creek Beach.

This secluded beach offers great opportunities for photographers because of the sea cave and other features, including the shark fin rock structure. There is also an old mining tunnel on the beach with a delicate waterfall trickling down that is said to be a geocaching site.   In addition, there is another amazing arch that may be crossed underneath at low tide.  Watching the ocean is mesmerizing but be aware that at times the powerful and dangerous waves here have the potential to sweep you out to sea.

This is a beautiful, rare, and amazing place.  Yet, there was another side of Shark Fin Cove Beach that made me sick.  People have used spray paint to defile the natural stone with senseless graffiti.  People also camp out here and leave their garbage lying on the beach instead of cleaning up after themselves and taking their trash with them.  They treat this place like a landfill.  It is incomprehensible and unthinkable.  How can you abuse such a place of perfect beauty and tranquility?  We all have a responsibility to protect areas like Shark Fin Cove and hand them down unharmed to those who come after us.  “The earth gets tired of being exploited.  A country was made to be as we found it”–Ernest Hemingway

How to get there?  From Santa Cruz, follow Hwy 1 north approximately 10 miles.  Just north of parking for Bonny Doon Beach, you will see a dirt pullout.  You will be able to see railroad tracks west of the parking area.  Take the trail over the railroad tracks and you will see a sign and behind it a trail leading down under a large pipe.  Follow the steep trail down under the pipe (try not to bump your head like I did!), and when you get to the bottom the sea cave is to the far left.  Straight ahead you will see the rock formation shaped like a shark fin.  The old mining tunnel with the trickling waterfall is to the right, just at the foot of the trail.

From the parking area, it is approximately .3 miles to the beach.  There are other trails leading to cliffs above the beach that allow beautiful overlooks of the area and lend themselves to great photo ops.  This is a great place to watch the sunset, beachcomb, or have a picnic.  Again, respect our seashore and leave no trace!

Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and beautiful vistas!