Shark Fin Cove
Shark Fin Cove
4.5
About
Shark Fin Cove is a small and quiet cove, named after the giant rock shaped like a shark's fin, located along the Pacific Coast. Here, you can swim in the waters, laze by the beach, explore the sea caves and old mining tunnel, and even embark on a hike along the trails at the top of the cove—it's great for its sunset views, too. Just make sure to visit during low tide if you want to access the cove. To get there, you'll have to walk along some abandoned railway tracks, and descend a steep trail to reach the beach below. – Tripadvisor
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
46 reviews
Excellent
29
Very good
12
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Geof J
Germantown, WI495 contributions
Oct 2024 • Family
This is a nice little beach surrounded by cliffs with a quite rugged trail down to the waterfront. Parking is along Hwy 1 and you have to watch traffic when crossing the road. The access trail is steep and rocky. There are trails along the top of the cliffs giving interesting views of the cove from above that are well worth a visit. The area is fascinating and the coastline beautiful.
Written October 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
russianwulfgar
Milwaukee, WI1,760 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
Yes, it's a small beach. Yes, there's a little graffiti around. Yes, there might be some trash. Yes, the climb down is a bit steep, but it's a short climb and doable (and I'm 60 and have no stamina and a heart condition. It was EASY compared to that ridiculous Pfeiffer Falls hike). But JUST GO ANYWAY! Seriously, this was a fantastic beach, the best we saw on our 10-day trip up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. Why? Because of the spectacular sea cave where if you go at the right time, the waves just come crashing through and you can get as close as you want to them. We only found one other place on the PCH you can do that, but this place was even better than that one. I could have stayed a lot longer here just enjoying watching the waves come through this cave, but we had to get going. We got there around 10 a.m. and there was a nice man hauling bags of trash off the beach, just a nice guy doing a nice thing, he was not a park worker (we asked). We had the beach all to ourselves, no one else around until we left, and then 2 more people showed up. If you're a nice person, do yourself and everyone else a favor and pick up one piece of trash and get it off the beach. If a bunch of folks did that, this would be a cleaner beach. And if you're the type of person who brings stuff down to this beach, then take it with you when you leave. I mean, come on. P.S. The sign at the top of the trail says "Shark Tooth Beach," not "Shark Fin Cove."
Written September 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trisha
Fair Lawn, NJ649 contributions
May 2022
This was such a great find for my partner and I. From top it does look like a Giant Shark's Fin. There are trail around it which is very nice to soak in the view as well and walk as far or less you want. I highly recommend to visit when around Santa Cruz area. The parking is on the roadside and could be an issue since there are only few spot available any given moment. Descending to the beach or ascending might be an issue for someone who has bad knees or ankle. But it is a short distance. Only think broke my heart to see the graffiti and how people don't take out their trash. We shouldn't destroy the nature or it's magnificence.
Written August 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Russ Lacuata
Long Beach, CA9,834 contributions
Aug 2020 • Friends
One of the best beaches in all of California. It is easy to get to, located just south of Davenport. When you see the fin coming out of the water, then you will quickly realize where it got its name.
Written August 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LA_dweller
Joshua Tree, CA4,449 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
The Shark Fin Cove Parking lot (which shows as a "P" on Google Maps) does not have signage that we could see so we missed it but then there is another area to pull out (parking lot) just past it. Basically shark fin cove is in the middle of the two car parking areas.
If you enter it on the Google Map app, as we did, it locates it properly so just pick the parking lot right before it or right after it. Then you will climb a little bit of a hill and an old railroad then runs parallel to the highway.
Basically, in between the two parking lots is shark fin cove. So you have to walk a little but not a lot. I would not go visit at night because we did see a used needle in the tracks and you could tell that some people may have been living under the bushes by a hill parallel to the tracks we followed..
We did not walk down to the beach, but we enjoyed the view and sight from the hill where we could walk around for different view points. Worth seeing.
If you enter it on the Google Map app, as we did, it locates it properly so just pick the parking lot right before it or right after it. Then you will climb a little bit of a hill and an old railroad then runs parallel to the highway.
Basically, in between the two parking lots is shark fin cove. So you have to walk a little but not a lot. I would not go visit at night because we did see a used needle in the tracks and you could tell that some people may have been living under the bushes by a hill parallel to the tracks we followed..
We did not walk down to the beach, but we enjoyed the view and sight from the hill where we could walk around for different view points. Worth seeing.
Written April 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melissa W
California34 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
From the cliffs, it looks like a very nice beach. But when you actually hike to the bottom you are surrounded by trash. Beer bottles, water bottles, red solo cups, plates and poop. I thought that it was dog poop, but then I saw the half buried t.p. next to it. Yuck! I guess that's what happens when 100 people visit the beach per day and there are no trash cans or bathrooms . This place needs to clean up their beaches. Very disappointing.
Written July 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Picazo1
San Jose, CA30 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
Great spot to get some amazing photos but you'll have to be careful not to get hurt in the process. In order to get to the beach you'll have to walk down a steep slope so make sure you have the proper shoes. The waves look pretty powerful and there are a lot of rocks so I wouldn't recommend getting in the water. There is a rocky area where people set up to take pictures of the waves crashing, it looks awesome but it is also extremely slippery. If you go stay on the sand and enjoy the view.
If you don't want to walk down the steep slope you can always view the beach and the ocean from above. You'll be on a cliff so I wouldn't get too close to the edge. Not recommended for small children.
If you don't want to walk down the steep slope you can always view the beach and the ocean from above. You'll be on a cliff so I wouldn't get too close to the edge. Not recommended for small children.
Written January 22, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brian D
Ithaca, NY661 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
Be careful at this beach. Don't let the name fool you it's not the Sharks you need to be worried of it's the waves and getting down to them, people die at this beach.
That said if you're reading this you must already know but Davenport because most people don't find it accidentally. It's a great Beach I've been going to for decades and I recommend going mid-week. Go early in the day take the time to enjoy the local businesses as well as the waves and Beach.
If you've got kids with you or old people you might want to just go to a beach that's easier to get to as you need to hike down to this one and sometimes it can be slippery or treacherous.
Parking is free but sometimes it totally fills up. The nearby restaurants are great.
That said if you're reading this you must already know but Davenport because most people don't find it accidentally. It's a great Beach I've been going to for decades and I recommend going mid-week. Go early in the day take the time to enjoy the local businesses as well as the waves and Beach.
If you've got kids with you or old people you might want to just go to a beach that's easier to get to as you need to hike down to this one and sometimes it can be slippery or treacherous.
Parking is free but sometimes it totally fills up. The nearby restaurants are great.
Written December 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
traveltime1228
Calgary, Canada72 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
I'm so happy we came across this quaint little beach, the scenery here is absolutely stunning. The beach area isn't over big nor busy, or at least it wasn't when we were there. We arrived early afternoon in late July and there was only a handful of people there. Perhaps it's the steep walk down that might deter people away but if you can manage to work your way down it is so worth it. I was worried that I wouldn't get back up but the hike up was sooo much easier than going down. The cave on the beach had water coming in and and out and made for some amazing photos. My only regret here is that we didn't have enough time to stay longer.
Written August 17, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Liz
Inverness, UK233 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
We didn't go down to the beach, but walk along the top of the cliffs and enjoyed the views along the coast. Interesting geology.
Written July 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dogs are allowed. When we were there, there was a family with a little dog on its leash.
Written October 8, 2018
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