Gray Whale Cove State Beach
San Mateo County, California, United States
Today at a glance
Calmest: 9 am to 12 pm, sunset 6:21 pm5.8
2 km/h1 mph wind, Good
5.7
3 km/h2 mph wind, Good
5.9
9 km/h5 mph wind, Good
5.8
13 km/h8 mph wind, Good
5.6
15 km/h9 mph wind, Good
5.5
17 km/h11 mph wind, Good
5.6
19 km/h12 mph wind, Good
5.3
23 km/h14 mph wind, Fair
5.3
21 km/h13 mph wind, Fair
5.5
19 km/h12 mph wind, Good
5.9
15 km/h9 mph wind, Good
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Gray Whale Cove State Beach.
Staying a few days? Conditions improve from Sun, so a beachfront room still pays off.
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Forecast, hour by hour
Beach score for daylight hours, today and tomorrow. Wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 14°C57°F
- Water
- 17°C62°F
- Wind
- 138 km/hmph NW
- Gusts
- 149 km/hmph
- Waves
- 2.1 m7 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- falling
- Rain
- 2%
- Sunset
- 6:21 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- Low 2 am, -0.4 m1 ft
- High 9 am, 0.9 m3 ft
- Low 3 pm, -0.4 m1 ft
- High 9 pm, 0.7 m2 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Sun7.2 GreatBest 1 pm to 2 pmWind up to 10 km/h6 mph, rain 0%
- Mon7.4 GreatBest 12 pm to 7 pmWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 1%
- Tue7.0 GreatBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 18 km/h11 mph, rain 1%
- Wed6.9 GoodBest 1 pm to 7 pmWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 3%
Beach info
Facilities and the beaches next door.
About Gray Whale Cove State Beach
Gray Whale Cove State Beach is a state park in California, United States. It is 850 feet long and located 270 feet from the nearest toilets. The beach is 1.5 miles from the village of Montara.
Gray Whale Cove State Beach is a California State Park between Pacifica, California, and Montara, California, by Highway 1 and approximately 18 miles south of San Francisco. It features a sheltered cove surrounded by abrupt cliffs, with trails connecting to nearby Montara Mountain and McNee Ranch State Park. It is located just south of Devil's Slide. The 3.1-acre (1.3 ha) park was established in 1966.
Montara State Marine Reserve & Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area extend offshore from Montara, just south of Gray Whale Cove. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Source: Gray Whale Cove State Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- Restrooms80 m270 ft away
- Parking2 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 180 m570 ft. Fee not listed
Getting there
- Nearest town
- 2.5 km1.5 miMontara (village)
- Nearest airport
- 6 km4 miHalf Moon Bay Airport (HAF)
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Devils Slide Beach0.3 km0.2 mi north away5.7 Good later
- Montara Beach1.9 km1.2 mi south away5.7 Good later
- Montara State Beach2.3 km1.4 mi south away5.7 Good later
- Shelter Cove, Pacifica, California3.6 km2.2 mi north away5.7 Good later
- San Pedro Beach3.9 km2.4 mi north away5.7 Good later