Free, public sand beach with a landmark shark fin–shaped rock, tall bluffs & private homes.
Hours not specified
What clients say about Martin's Beach in Azusa (CA)
Average beach. Don’t give the wanna-be security guard the pleasure and park off the highway for free. Trailer park acting like it’s a gated community and private beach.
Mr. Vinod Khosla, you made a fortune from this beautiful place in the world but you didn't make the ocean, the sand, the grasses, the sky or the creatures that make it beautiful. Your wealth doesn't give you more rights to enjoy the beauty of this place than anyone else.
Visited Martin’s Beach while in Half Moon Bay and really liked it. Parking right by the beach is $10, but there’s also free parking up the street by the main road if you don’t mind a short walk. It’s actually a nice walk with some nice views.
The beach itself is quiet, even on a weekend, and Pelican Rock is definitely worth seeing. The sand is soft, the weather was perfect when we went, and the ocean breeze made it really relaxing. A great spot if you want a peaceful beach to walk, hang out, or enjoy the scenery.
People blame Vinod Khosla for cutting off a public beach, here are another bunch of residents doing the same. They charge $10 to park and access the beach, the place has no restrooms, nothing much. There are many desolate and equally beautiful beaches a few miles up and down the road.
Very serene and secluded beach for a walk and there are some spots to explore around as well. There is a lot of sea weed plants around and the beach has rocks and plants in the water. The rocks which are the center of attraction really look amazing in real. I had to test my new lens and was worth it to go there in the evening for the same
Quite a walk down to the beach, but you can park closer to the beach if you pay 10 bucks. Only a 5 minute walk but coming back it is uphill. Really nice place to have friends and a picnic.
Power to the people! I’m grateful this beach is open to the public. Don’t let the locked gate discourage you, just park in the lot and walk down about 5 minutes if you’re able to.
Martins Beach is located just south of Half Moon Bay, California. It is a public beach in front of a private gated community. The property is surrounded by high cliffs and farm lands.
Martins Beach made statewide news in 2008 when Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, bought the 89-acre property south of Half Moon Bay for $32.5 million. He then declared the area private and denied public access to the beach location. California officials sued the Silicon Valley billionaire who fought for more than a decade to keep the popular beach to himself.
These murals, located at the end of Martins Beach Road leading from Cabrillo Highway (California Highway 1) to the ocean
were painted in 2004 by a hitherto unknown artist, Christopher White
Park in the pull out outside highway one to avoid that the $10 cash only charge for parking and then hike in. I came during high tide so I can’t say much about the caves or tide pools but I will say it was very cool to see the pelicans on top of the big rock and it was a surprise to find a sort of marshy area behind the beach there was loads of pelican feathers everywhere. Be aware there’s no dogs allowed on the beach but I have seen one there. Also if you’re tired the parking lot off of Highway one allows overnight parking it also has a really cute little free library. There are no restrooms
Martin's is a lovely place! it does get crowded on Sundays and holidays; it used to be empty most of the time but since the pandemic started I see a lot more people there. There are no bathrooms and you can park right on the highway edge or drive down a little closer to the beach but you must pay $10 bills only (no coins or card) so if you park inside keep in mind that they close at 6pm and you must move your vehicle. Dogs are not allow but I have seen dogs. It is better if you go when the tide is low because you can go to the caves and get closer to the fin rock. Lots of people surfing and you also see a lot of boats. You can see peacocks, horses, etc...
A perfect day out. The beach is beautiful as are the rock formations and cliffs. From the parking lot on the side of highway one it's a 10 minute walk down the hill to the beach. It was fairly quiet but I have no doubt can get busy in season.
Beautiful and somewhat secluded beach with iconic sea stacks. There are limited parking along Hwy 1, also 20 or so spaces 3/4 way to the beach at $10/day. Need to walk on private road to get to the beach.
You need to pay $10 to park at the community parking area, but this place is worth it. It’s a three minute walk from the parking lot to the beach. I went on a Friday morning in late August, and had the place pretty much to myself. I headed north to where the caves are. On the way, walked across a rocky tide pool area that was fascinating for anyone remotely interested in urchins, anemones and mussels. The rocky outcrops offshore also play host to lots of pelicans, cormorants and seagulls.
I could not reach the caves without jumping in the water, so I recommend looking at the tide tables to find out when low tide occurs. That’s what I’ll do for my next trip there, which I hope is soon.
This place is simply WOWWWW...
Wonderful, awesome...
It's really worth you park your car close the road, cause the parking lot there is 10$.
The view is very beautiful
Pretty beach- nice sand, beautiful cliffs. Good waves, we saw a bunch of surfers. It wasn’t too crowded when we went on a Saturday afternoon, making it easy to social distance. Also, there are horses on the walk from the parking lot to the beach. (And some cute houses too).
Word of warning for South Bay-ers: oof it’s cold! Even in August, this wasn’t a sunbathing beach at all. Bring jackets.
good place away from any light pollution or noise. This is away from main road, and entrance to this beach is restricted(need to pay $10 for the parking if you want to park near the beach). Else you need to walk almost a mile to this beach from main road.
Everybody should visit this public beach after Vinod Khosla lost his historic suit! Lovely wide bay, beautiful sand... watch the surfers in the winter!
This beach in uniquely gorgeous, and a lot less crowded than any other beaches nearby. There were two other families here when I visited. And so many sea lions!
I have no idea why people are calling the 3-5 min walk between the parking lot and the beach a hike.
The views are just great! There's no public toilet. There's an option to park for free (but there's space only for a few cars) or you can pay $10 and park closer to do beach.
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