Open-water swimming in California
From the coves of San Diego to San Francisco’s Aquatic Park and the alpine water of Lake Tahoe, California’s open water changes every few hundred miles. The spots worth knowing, with live conditions and the best time to swim.
Best water right now
SwimScore out of 100 for a typical swimmer, updated .
The spots swimmers actually use
Researched one by one — access, lifeguards, water quality and hazards — with a live SwimScore.
Aquatic Park
The curved arm of Municipal Pier shelters this small cove at the foot of Polk Street, so the water inside is calmer than the open Bay. It is home water for the Dolphin Club and the South End Rowing Club, whose clubhouses stand beside the cove. There are no lifeguards, so stay near shore, watch for rowers and paddlers, and give harbor seals and sea lions at least 50 feet.
La Jolla Cove
La Jolla Cove is a small, north-facing cove below Scripps Park and the home water of the La Jolla Cove Swim Club, whose members swim here every day of the year. Summer brings the smallest surf and water near 70°F; winter can drop to about 50°F. Read the lifeguard chalkboard before you go, and when the surf is up, watch for Takeoff rock and the inlet to the right called the Hole.
Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe
Sand Harbor, on Lake Tahoe's Nevada shore, pairs gently sloping sand beaches with granite boulders and very clear water, and it has been the traditional start of the Olympic Club's Trans Tahoe Relay. The water stays cold all summer, so ease in slowly. From mid-May through September, cars need a day-use reservation, and the park can close when it fills.
La Jolla Shores
La Jolla Shores is about a mile of sand with a gentle, sandy-bottom shoreline, and San Diego lifeguards say its summer waves are usually the mildest of any city beach. Cove regulars swim here when surf closes out the rocks across the bay. Shuffle your feet as you wade in, because stingrays are common on this sandy side, and get to the Kellogg Park lot early on summer weekends.
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.
Crissy Field East Beach
East Beach sits on the Bay side of the Presidio with the Golden Gate Bridge in view, and it has the easiest setup on this shoreline: a large lot, restrooms and drinking water a short walk from the sand. There are no lifeguards, and the Bay here is cold with tidal currents running toward the Gate, so check the tides, stay close to shore and don't swim alone.
Manhattan Beach Pier
Manhattan Beach is wide, open Santa Monica Bay sand split by a roughly 900-foot concrete pier, with county lifeguard towers along the beach and surfers working the peaks near the pier and up at El Porto. It is the finish of the International Surf Festival's two-mile Pier-to-Pier Swim every August. Give the pilings and surfers a wide berth, and stay out of the water for three days after rain.
Ventura Cove, Mission Bay
Ventura Cove is a sheltered Mission Bay cove off West Mission Bay Drive with no surf and no significant current, which is why triathletes and newer open-water swimmers use it for buoy work. A volunteer-coached, Masters-style group swims here Monday mornings at 7. Expect murkier water than on the ocean side, and note there are no lifeguards from November until spring break.
San Carlos Beach
This small sandy beach beside the Coast Guard breakwater has calm, shallow, sheltered water, which is why it is one of the busiest scuba training sites on the coast. Swimmers share it with divers, so watch for dive flags and keep clear of the boat launch. Sea lions haul out on the outer breakwater. The city lot above the beach is paid parking, with restrooms and rinse showers close by.
Corona del Mar State Beach (Big Corona)
Big Corona sits just inside the east jetty of Newport Harbor, which blocks all but the most southerly swells and keeps the water gentler than most of the open coast. The one-mile Don Burns Ocean Swim starts at Tower 3 by the jetty each August and heads down the coast along the swim lines. The beach lot charges a fee; street parking runs along Ocean Boulevard above.
Hermosa Beach
Hermosa's two miles of open sand face straight into Santa Monica Bay, with good swimming areas between the volleyball courts and the surf breaks. The pier is the starting line for the International Surf Festival's Pier-to-Pier Swim, and the qualifying check-out swims happen on its south side each July. Swim near a staffed tower and keep clear of surfers at the pier.
Santa Monica State Beach
Santa Monica's 3.5 miles of state beach run north and south of the pier, with staffed lifeguard stations along the sand. Water right at the pier has graded F in Heal the Bay's report card, so set up north of it toward Wilshire Boulevard, where grades have been much better. TOWER 26 runs a coached swim on Wednesday mornings, May through October, off Ocean Park Boulevard.
West End Beach, Donner Lake
West End Beach, at the western end of Donner Lake, is a Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District day-use park with a lifeguarded swim area; the district calls it the safest beach on the lake. Each August the 2.7-mile Donner Lake Swim crosses from Donner Memorial State Park and finishes here. At about 5,900 feet the water stays cool, so build up your time in it gradually.
Laguna Beach Main Beach
Laguna's central beach, where Broadway and Ocean Avenue meet Coast Highway, has a mostly sandy bottom, a steep shorebreak and rocks at the north end near Bird Rock. The Oak Streeters hold their weekend ocean workouts off this beach. Surf here can get large, with rip currents and heavy shorebreak, so check with the lifeguards at the north-end headquarters before a long swim.
Kings Beach State Recreation Area
Kings Beach is the largest public sandy beach on Lake Tahoe's North Shore, set right in town beside shops and restaurants. Its south-facing shore and gradually deepening lake floor make it one of the warmer swimming areas on the lake, a comfortable place for laps parallel to the sand. Lots are pay-to-park year-round, and dogs are not allowed on the beach.
Huntington City Beach
Surf City's main beach runs along PCH on both sides of the pier, and lifeguards patrol it dawn to dusk every day of the year. The Huntington Beach Pier Swim, a half mile around the pier each June, has run more than 70 times. On big days rip currents can pull swimmers hundreds of yards offshore, so stay near a staffed tower and shuffle your feet for stingrays.
Coronado Central Beach
Central Beach is the wide sand in front of the Hotel del Coronado, part of a 1.75-mile city beach watched year-round from the main lifeguard tower. Seasonal towers add coverage from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Rain runoff and cross-border sewage can affect the water here, so check the county's beach status first and stay out for three days after heavy rain.
East Beach
East Beach runs east from Stearns Wharf in front of the Cabrillo Pavilion Bathhouse, and it is home water for Santa Barbara's ocean swimmers: Semana Nautica's summer distance races and the Thursday-evening Reef & Run start here. Lifeguards staff three towers in summer. Swim away from the Mission Creek mouth, which has graded poorly in winter dry weather.
Stinson Beach
Stinson is the only designated swimming beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a long stretch of sand with seasonal NPS lifeguards. The ocean is cold, averaging about 58°F in summer, and rip currents occur year-round, so swim in front of a staffed tower. On hot days the parking lot often fills before noon and there is no overflow, so come early or take the weekend bus.
Mother's Beach, Alamitos Bay
Marine Park, known locally as Mother's Beach, sits inside Alamitos Bay on Naples Island, sheltered from ocean swell and consistently calm in its designated swim areas. The bay is a training ground for Long Beach swimmers, triathletes, rowers and outrigger crews. Heal the Bay's 2020 grades were an A in summer dry weather but an F after rain, so give it a few days after a storm.
Commons Beach, Tahoe City
Commons Beach is Tahoe City's downtown lakefront park, about four acres of lawn and sand right on Lake Tahoe. It works well for a relaxed dip or an easy swim along the beach, and there are heated restrooms and kayak rentals on site. Free concerts fill the lawn on summer Sunday afternoons, so plan an early swim if you want it quiet.
Oceanside Pier
Oceanside's long wooden pier splits the Strand into two swims: the busier south side, shared with surfers and bodyboarders, and the sandier north side with more room. Both sides are favorites of hardcore local swimmers. Swimming is limited to designated areas in summer, so read the signs, and plan on free street parking back toward the tracks rather than the tightly regulated spots by the pier.
South Yuba River at Highway 49
Where Highway 49 crosses the South Yuba, granite slabs frame green pools that draw big crowds on hot days. The river is snowmelt-fed and runs cold and fast in spring, and people have been swept away near this crossing, so wait for late-summer flows and swim only in slack water. State Parks keeps loaner life jackets here, and there is an emergency call box.
Zuma Beach
Zuma is 1.8 miles of wide Malibu sand with 14 lifeguard towers, some of the cleanest water in LA County, and real surf with rip currents to match. The water runs a little colder than at other LA County beaches. Swim in front of a staffed tower, avoid the rip-prone stretch by headquarters between Towers 8 and 9, and go before the near-daily afternoon wind.
Lovers Point
Lovers Point's small beach sits in a cove on the Pacific Grove shore, sheltered from the wind by the point and by thick kelp beds, and the water is often clear. The Kelp Krawlers have held a weekly Sunday swim here for years. The cove is a marine reserve, and white sharks have been reported nearby, so swim with a group, stay near shore and check the county's beach postings.
Venice Beach
Venice's broad beach runs almost three miles below Ocean Front Walk, and the water off it is open Santa Monica Bay surf watched by county lifeguard towers. Pick a spot away from the breakwater, a busy surf break, and from the storm-drain outlets at Rose and Windward avenues, which grade worst after rain. The sampling site near the fishing pier has posted top marks.
Capitola Beach
Capitola Village opens straight onto this beach at the mouth of Soquel Creek, and the water around the wharf is generally flat. In summer a short string of buoys marks laps of about 300 yards, with lifeguards on duty, and a loop of the small cove west of the wharf is about a quarter mile. Don't swim toward New Brighton alone; there is no place to land at higher tides.
Pope Beach, South Lake Tahoe
Pope Beach is a three-quarter-mile stretch of sand on Lake Tahoe's South Shore, run as a national forest day-use area with shade, picnic tables and a food concession. The long, straight shoreline suits swimmers who want to log distance parallel to the beach. The gate is open from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October with a parking fee, or you can bike in on the Pope-Baldwin path.
Lake Temescal
Temescal is a small reservoir in the Oakland hills, set next to the Highway 24 and 13 junction, with a sandy swim beach and a Beach House that has changing rooms and showers. Lifeguards cover the swim area on summer weekends, and swimming is only allowed April through October. The park tests the water weekly and posts algae advisories, so read the sign at the beach before you get in.
Tenaya Lake, Yosemite
Tenaya Lake sits at 8,150 feet along Tioga Road, a glacier-carved basin ringed by light granite domes, with a sandy beach at its east end. Motorboats are not allowed, so the water is quiet for a long swim, but mountain water here is extremely cold even on hot days. Tioga Road usually opens between late May and June and closes in November, so plan your swim for midsummer.
Redondo Beach
From the horseshoe-shaped pier, Redondo's beach runs a mile and a half south toward Torrance under the Esplanade, with county lifeguard towers along the way. A statue of George Freeth, credited as Southern California's first lifeguard, stands at the pier. The stretch toward Topaz Street has posted better water grades than the pier itself, and windsurfers share the water on breezy days.
Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry's)
Hendry's is a county beach at the mouth of Arroyo Burro Creek, backed by the bluffs of the Douglas Family Preserve, with a restaurant and outdoor showers at the park. Water graded A in Heal the Bay's latest report card, but the creek mouth collects urban runoff, so enter a little away from it. Parking is free; the park opens at 8 a.m. and closes at sunset.
Carpinteria State Beach
Carpinteria's gently sloping sea floor is why the city calls this one of the safest swimming beaches on the California coast, and the state beach runs into a lifeguarded city beach at the foot of Ash Avenue. Expect natural tar on the sand, which the Chumash used to seal their canoes, so bring something to clean your feet. Day use is $10 per car.
San Clemente Pier
The sand on either side of San Clemente's pier hosts the San Clemente Ocean Festival each July, including a one-mile swim along the pier and shoreline and lifeguard-style surf races off the north side. Surfers work the break by the pier, so give them room. Parking near the pier is very limited, and the San Clemente Pier train station makes Metrolink or Amtrak an easy alternative.
Shaw's Cove
Shaw's Cove is a small North Laguna cove reached by a stairway between houses at Fairview Street and Cliff Drive, with tide pools at both ends and much of the sand covered at high tide. Scuba divers and snorkelers share the water, which lies inside a state marine reserve. There are no restrooms or showers, so drop your gear at the top of the stairs and keep quiet early for the neighbors.
Moonlight State Beach
Moonlight is downtown Encinitas's main beach, at the foot of B Street, with a lifeguard stand staffed year-round and a large lot right behind the sand. Swimming and bodysurfing are allowed only in designated areas, so check in with the guards before you head out. After significant rain, give it three days, since bacteria levels rise near creek and storm drain outlets.
Oak Shores, Lake Berryessa
Oak Shores is a Bureau of Reclamation day-use area on Lake Berryessa with many coves, long stretches of shoreline and boat exclusion areas where you can swim away from motorized traffic. Reclamation says summer water can top 80°F. There are no lifeguards, so borrow one of the free loaner life jackets and do not try to swim across to the islands, which are farther than they look.
Nimbus Flat, Lake Natoma
Nimbus Flat is a small beach on Lake Natoma, the four-mile reservoir on the American River just above Nimbus Dam and home to the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. A 5 mph limit keeps wakes down, but you share the water with rowing crews and paddlers, so stay near shore and wear a bright cap. Summer E. coli results are posted weekly; check them first.
Granite Bay, Folsom Lake
Granite Bay is one of Folsom Lake's two main western-shore day-use areas, with a designated swim area, landscaped picnic areas, beach-equipment rentals and plenty of parking. Boats and water skiers use the lake too, so keep your swim inside the designated area. The reservoir is highest in early summer and drops through fall, so the shoreline moves farther from the lot as the season goes on.
Bridgeport, South Yuba River State Park
Bridgeport is the headquarters of South Yuba River State Park, where the river passes under the 1862 covered bridge, the longest surviving single-span wooden covered bridge in the world. Kneebone Beach and deeper swimming holes among the rocks lie a short walk upriver. Spring runoff is cold and swift, so save your swims for late summer and borrow a loaner life jacket at the station.
Johnson's Beach
Johnson's Beach is a pebble beach on the Russian River at the edge of downtown Guerneville, run as a summer beach since 1918 with canoe, kayak and tube rentals and a snack shack. Expect to share the water with paddlers and floaters from the rental stand. The beach operates daily from early June to early September, and the county posts weekly bacteria results and algae alerts, so check them first.
Cabrillo Beach (Inner Harbor)
Cabrillo's inner beach sits inside the Los Angeles Harbor breakwater, so there is no ocean surf and a roped-off swim area watched by city lifeguards. The breakwater blocks swell but not the strong westerly winds that windsurfers come for, and the harbor side has posted weaker bacteria grades than the ocean side. Stay inside the ropes and watch for boats near the launch ramp.
Lake Del Valle East Beach
Del Valle is a five-mile reservoir in the oak hills south of Livermore, with two swim beaches that have lifeguards on summer weekends. Swimming is also allowed year-round without lifeguards north of the boat ramp. Sailboats, windsurfers and other boats share the lake, so stay inside the beach areas, and check the park's water-level and algae notices before you drive out.
Castaic Lagoon Swim Beach
The lagoon below Castaic Dam is the only place in the recreation area where swimming is allowed: designated beaches on the west side, open in summer Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with lifeguards on duty. Gas engines are banned on the lagoon, so you share it with kayaks and float tubes. Budget $15 for vehicle entry; state park passes are not accepted.
Mother's Beach (Marina Beach)
Mother's Beach is a half-mile of sheltered, human-made beach inside Marina del Rey harbor, with no surf in the swim area and a county lifeguard on duty in daylight. The flat water suits beginners and stroke work, but circulation is poor and Heal the Bay grades here have mostly been D and F. Check the latest county bacteria results before getting in, and skip it after rain.
Big Bear Lake Swim Beach (Meadow Park)
Big Bear Lake sits at 6,743 feet and stays below 70°F most of the year, so even summer swims start cold. The park district's Swim Beach at Meadow Park, on the south shore, is the lake's only lifeguarded area; confirm it is open before you go, since elsewhere lake rules allow swimming only within 50 feet of shore. Lightning storms can build quickly over the lake.
Brandy Creek Beach, Whiskeytown Lake
Brandy Creek Beach is the most popular of Whiskeytown Lake's four official swim beaches, with a long sandy shoreline, plenty of shade and summer kayak and paddleboard rentals. Personal watercraft are banned on the lake, and locals value its clear water. Sediment that washed in after the 2018 Carr Fire left the beach much shallower than it once was, and an entrance pass is required.
Dorabelle Picnic Area, Shaver Lake
Dorabelle is the Forest Service picnic and swim area inside Dorabelle Campground, in the town of Shaver Lake at about 5,500 feet in the Sierra National Forest. Fir, cedar and pine shade much of the campground, and Dorabelle Cove opens up just to the east. Day use is $10 per vehicle from May through September, and there is no drinking water at the picnic site, so bring your own.
Crown Memorial State Beach
Crown Beach runs about two and a half miles along Alameda's bay shore, and the park describes its water as warm and shallow. There are no lifeguards, but swimming is allowed year-round during park hours, and the bathhouse at the west end has changing rooms. The park tests the water weekly in season and posts stop-light signs; skip swimming for three days after rain.
Avila Beach
Avila faces south into San Luis Bay, and Point San Luis breaks the prevailing northwest wind, so it is usually warmer than other Central Coast beaches. The main beach is under half a mile long, right below the Front Street shops and restaurants. Keep your swim away from the San Luis Obispo Creek lagoon just west of town, which is not recommended for swimming or wading because of runoff.
Local guides
Swimming at La Jolla Cove: A Local Guide
How to swim La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores: reserve rules, sea lion closures, lifeguards, water temperatures by season and what to do in a rip current.
Lake Tahoe Swimming: Water Temperature and Beaches
How cold Lake Tahoe gets, when it's warmest, cold-shock and altitude safety, afternoon wind, and access notes for Sand Harbor, Commons Beach and Pope Beach.
Swimming at Aquatic Park, San Francisco
A local guide to swimming Aquatic Park Cove: NPS rules, the Dolphin Club and South End day passes, water temperatures, currents, boats and closures after rain.
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