I think I’ve been to a lot of Pacific Coast beaches: beaches in California, Oregon, Washington and on Big Island, Hawaii. In all those trips to the seaside, the prettiest water I’ve seen has to be on Monastery Beach in California.
I’ve seen the water of the Pacific in different shades of blue and grey but this is where I saw it in a gorgeous turquoise! And it was almost luminescent.
Monastery Beach is on California’s Central Coast — south of the Carmel-by-the-Sea and north of Pt. Lobos. It’s almost always the first stop on a trip down Big Sur if you’re driving south.
I first visited this lovely beach in March of 2013. It was a beautiful spring day and the gorgeousness of the color was what first caught my eye. Then I noticed something else about the cresentoid beach. When the water ebbed it exposed a distinctive slope on the beach. That was the first time I was seeing a steep beach and I realized that’s not water I’d let a little one play in. A beach so beautiful, yet so forboding; that makes it oddly captivating.
Later as I was leaving the beach, I saw an information board that warned against the fierce backwash of the water, a sign I’d missed because I was so drawn to the color of the water.
Then in 2019, I was back there, on another trip to Big Sur, this time when my bestie was here in CA spending some time with us. It was a stop we were not going to miss. It was a cloudy day and the water was lighter but it still showed a hint of its unique tinge. The color was a delicate turquoise, almost a pale aquamarine color.
Monastery Beach
Monastery Beach in Carmel gets its name from Carmelite Monastery Mission, which was set up near here in the early 1930s.
You can visit this beach on your trip to Carmel, CA or on your drive through the Big Sur area. There’s some roadside parking you could use. It can’t accommodate too many cars but then, it’s not a very busy beach, either. Visitors just stop, spend a few minutes here and leave. Due to the slope, you’ll barely see anybody playing in the water.
Owing to the undertow here, it is forbidden to swim at this beach, too.
It was only recently that I learnt that this beach also has a nickname: Mortuary Beach. (deaths have occurred here.)
Don’t let that prevent you from visiting, though. It’s a lovely sight, especially if you are there on a beautiful sunny day and the water is bright turquoise. (Just don’t let the color of the water distract you from the warning signboards like I was when I visited here first. 😬)
Remember these facts & tips for your trip to this beach:
- There’s a slope on this beach
- The steepness of it might be concealed by the water.
- At the end of the slope is a trough so it could be dangerous if you get pulled into the water.
- Swimming here is not a good idea.
- Keep an eye on kids at all times.
- Don’t ignore the signs put up on the beach.
- The sign also says not to attempt rescue (in case of an event) but to call for help instead. Dial 911.
Did you know:
Monastery Beach is also nicknamed Mortuary Beach for the number of deaths recorded at this beach, which is also one of the most dangerous ones on California’s coast?
Stay safe while visiting this beach on the central coast!
See also:
Sights from ‘el sur grande’
Wildflowers in Big Sur
Linking to —
My Corner of the World
Travel Photos
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Yes, we have many beaches like this too…pays to know the ocean. #MCOW
It was the first time I was seeing this kind of a slope that the water kind-of conceals. The way it’s exposed when the water retreats is quite a sight! Ah! But the water is so beautiful!
Thank you for coming this way, Lydia. Have a good week. 🙂
Beautiful beach.
It is! the danger factor adds to the beauty, too. 😁
The beach looks lovely. I just spent a little bit of time traveling along the California coast. I am now completely enamored of the area – Big Sur and north. None of the beaches I’ve seen look overly inviting for swimming but I love gazing out at them.
Hi Duwan,
I visited your post on Big Sur. You guys seem to have spent your time there, very well! (y) Big Sur doesn’t really have many beaches. The area is defined by the craggy coast and steep drops in some places. Beautiful, right? 🙂 <3
This beach -- Monastery Beach -- is just north of the Big Sur area (It's between Big Sur and Carmel, to be precise.) It's often the first stop on the drive down 'el sur grande.'
Happy Travels to you two!
Lovely photos of the ocean. I give the ocean a lot of respect as there is an awful lot of power in those waves!
Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!
Thank you, Betty.
Oh yes! A lot of power! 🙂
Thank you so much for hosting, too. 🙂
That is an amazing colour and you captured it so well in your photos. I also have not seen a slope like that before. Fascinating!!
-Soma
Isn’t it?
Thank you so much, Soma.
You must stop here the next time you’re in Carmel or driving down Big Sur.
I hope you are doing well. Have a good weekend. 🙂
that trough you described – breathtaking – only quite literally here .
the video is deceptive then….so serene it looks
Oh yes — the water almost deceives us. But if you look closely it’s kinda scary to see how the water is pulled in and the depth is revealed. 🙂
Thank you so much for coming this way, Sujatha. I hope you are doing well. 🙂
nice
🙂
Don’t worry about the messages. I got them. And it won’t happen again. 🙂
So sorry. When you come here for the first time it goes into moderation.
Thanks again for the comments, and nice to see you back in action! 🙂
The very name, Monastery beach, has a mystique about it.
I wondered why it was called that and later learned that it gets its name from a monastery across the road. 🙂
Thank you for your visit. 🙂