Moonstone Beach Boardwalk
Moonstone Beach Dr
Cambria, CA
An easy, level boardwalk strung along the bluff above Cambria's coast, past marine-sanctuary tide pools, driftwood coves, and the smooth pebbles that give the beach its name, ending at a favorite sunset point.
The Moonstone Beach Boardwalk is the gentlest great walk on California's Central Coast. Running about a mile along the top of the bluff at the north edge of Cambria, this level wooden path keeps the Pacific in view the entire way, with the surf breaking on the rocks below, tide pools glinting at low water, and Monterey pines leaning in the sea wind behind you. It is easy enough for a stroller or a wheelchair on the main stretch, yet wild enough to feel like a real piece of coast.
The beach takes its name from the smooth, translucent pebbles, the moonstones, that beachcombers hunt along its gravel, especially after a winter storm churns them up. Between the tide pools protected inside the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the driftwood-strewn coves reached by short stairways, and a north end that ranks among the best sunset spots in Cambria, the boardwalk packs a lot of coastline into one relaxed walk.
What Guests Love
- An easy, mostly level boardwalk with nonstop ocean views, doable for all ages and abilities
- Stairways down to driftwood coves and tide pools full of anemones, urchins, and crabs
- Beachcombing for the smooth moonstones, jade, and jasper that name the shore
- Sunsets over the Pacific, especially from Leffingwell Landing at the north end
Worth Knowing
- The main boardwalk is mostly flat and accessible; the spur trails and stairs down to the beach and tide pools are steeper
- Tide pooling is best at low tide, and the pools lie within a marine sanctuary, so look but do not take living creatures
- It is about a mile one way, so allow a couple of hours round trip if you stop for the coves and tide pools
- Coastal fog and wind are common even in summer, so bring a layer for the bluff
Details
Cambria, CA
Learn about Moonstone Beach Boardwalk
A walk along the bluff
The boardwalk runs roughly a mile from the south end of Moonstone Beach Drive north toward Leffingwell Landing, hugging the edge of the bluff the whole way. It is mostly flat and built for everyone, which makes it a favorite for families, older visitors, and anyone traveling with a dog. Benches are set along the route so you can simply sit and watch the swells roll in.
Every few hundred yards a spur or stairway drops down to the beach itself, so the walk is really a string of small adventures: a driftwood cove here, a stretch of tide pools there, a viewpoint over a rocky point. You can do the whole thing in an hour, or spend a lazy afternoon dipping down to the sand and climbing back to the path again and again.
Tide pools, moonstones, and marine life
The waters off Moonstone Beach are part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and it shows in the tide pools. At low tide the exposed rocks fill with sea anemones, spiny purple urchins, snails, hermit crabs, and darting little fish, a living aquarium you can crouch beside. Because it is protected, the rule is simple: look closely, touch gently, and take nothing living home.
The beach earns its name from the small, smooth stones scattered along its gravel. Beachcombers search for the translucent moonstones as well as bits of jade, jasper, and agate, and the pickings are best after a storm has rolled fresh material up onto the shore. Whales, sea otters, and harbor seals turn up offshore through the year, so it is worth pausing on the bluff to scan the water.
Sunsets and the north end
The boardwalk finishes near Leffingwell Landing, a small day-use park at the mouth of a creek, and this north end is one of the most loved sunset spots in Cambria. As the light goes gold and then pink over the Pacific, the tide pools catch the color and the surf lights up on the rocks, and there are picnic tables and benches for settling in to watch.
It all sits just off Highway 1, which makes Moonstone an easy and rewarding stop whether you are day-tripping from Cambria or breaking up a longer drive up the coast toward Big Sur. Time your walk to end at the north end near sunset, and you will understand why this quiet mile of boardwalk has become one of the Central Coast's small classics.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Cambria
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve
About 2 miles
A free public preserve on Cambria's coast with a bluff-top trail through rare Monterey pines, ocean overlooks, and wildlife.
Hearst Castle
About 9 miles
William Randolph Hearst's hilltop estate above San Simeon, a lavish 20th-century mansion and gardens open by state-park tour.
Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
About 15 miles
A free bluff-top boardwalk where thousands of northern elephant seals haul out on the beach year round.
Leffingwell Landing
About 1 mile
A small day-use park at the north end of the boardwalk with picnic tables, tide pools, and prime sunset views.