Cowell Beach

Cowell sits in the lee of the cliffs on the west side of the Santa Cruz Wharf and is the town's most popular open water beach. In summer, buoys mark an out-and-back course just under a mile, and many swimmers loop the wharf instead. Watch for fishing lines and curious sea lions near the pilings, and arrive early, since metered parking by the beach is limited.

Directions

Photo: Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Latest reading · SwimScore 78/100 (Good swim) for a typical swimmer: air 23°C, wind 15 km/h, waves 1.6 m, UV 7. Updated 23 Sept, 22:00 UTC.

Know before you go

Best conditions: The cove is generally protected from the wind by tall cliffs; summer swim buoys mark a course of just under 1 mile.
Getting in: City beach on the west side of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, below the Dream Inn.
Parking & transport: Limited metered parking at Cowell Beach; paid parking on the wharf and at the Boardwalk lots. Residential streets above the wharf need a permit in summer.
Lifeguards: City of Santa Cruz Marine Safety guards Cowell's to the San Lorenzo River daily in summer, usually 10:00 to 7:00, plus spring and fall weekends. Headquarters is at #1 Municipal Wharf.
Water quality: Monitored by the City of Santa Cruz lab and Santa Cruz County Environmental Health. After years on Heal the Bay's Beach Bummer list, Cowell stayed off it for a fifth straight year in the 2023-24 report card after bird screening under the wharf and Neary Lagoon fixes.
Season: Lifeguards daily in summer and on spring and fall weekends; swim buoys are set in summer.
Who swims here: Santa Cruz Masters open water swimmers meet at Cowell Beach on Sundays at 2pm. The club runs the 1-mile Roughwater Swim around the wharf and the 2-mile Cruz Cruise, and the Monterey Bay Swimming Association's 10K Pier-to-Pier swim finishes here.
Watch for: Fishing lines around the wharf
Sea lions near the wharf