Lighthouse Field State Beach
Santa Cruz County, California, United States
- Free parking
Today at a glance
Best: 1 pm to sunset, sunset 6:20 pm6.5
8 km/h5 mph wind, Good
6.4
6 km/h4 mph wind, Good
6.2
4 km/h2 mph wind, Good
6.1
5 km/h3 mph wind, Good
6.5
7 km/h5 mph wind, Good
6.8
11 km/h7 mph wind, Good
6.7
13 km/h8 mph wind, Good
7.3
8 km/h5 mph wind, Great
7.7
6 km/h4 mph wind, Great
7.7
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
7.4
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 1 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 13°C56°F
- Water
- 18°C65°F
- Wind
- 96 km/hmph NW
- Gusts
- 1610 km/hmph
- Waves
- 1.6 m5 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- falling
- Rain
- 2%
- Sunset
- 6:20 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- Low 2 am, -0.3 m1 ft
- High 9 am, 0.9 m3 ft
- Low 3 pm, -0.3 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.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Lighthouse Field State Beach
Lighthouse Field State Beach is a state beach in Santa Cruz, California. OpenStreetMap lists a nearby beach named Its Beach, approximately 630 feet away. OpenStreetMap lists a nearest bus stop 0.44 miles from the beach.
Lighthouse Field State Beach (also called Its Beach) is a protected beach in the state park system of California, United States. It is located in the city of Santa Cruz at the north end of Monterey Bay. The beach overlooks the Steamer Lane surfing hotspot. It also contains the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, housed in a 1967 lighthouse. The 38-acre (15 ha) site was established in 1978.
Source: Lighthouse Field State Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- Restrooms380 m0.2 mi away
- Showers380 m0.2 mi away
- Parking9 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 80 m250 ft. Listed as free
- Food and drink2 within 1 km0.6 miNearest 370 m0.2 mi
- Picnic tables360 m0.2 mi away
- Rentals1 within 500 m0.3 miSanta Cruz - West Cliff Lighthouse
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 700 m0.4 miDelaware Avenue & Liberty Street
- Nearest town
- 2.5 km1.6 miSanta Cruz (city)
- Nearest airport
- 21 km13 miWatsonville Municipal Airport (WVI)
Nearby places
- Santa Cruz - West Cliff LighthouseRental250 m830 ft
- Steamer Lane SupplyFood and drink370 m0.2 mi
- Shrine CoffeeCoffee shop530 m0.3 mi
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Its Beach0.2 km0.1 mi east away7.3 Great later
- Mitchell's Cove Beach0.9 km0.6 mi west away7.3 Great later
- Cowell Beach1.1 km0.7 mi north-east away7.3 Great later
- Swift Beach1.6 km1.0 mi west away7.3 Great later
- Santa Cruz Beach1.6 km1.0 mi north-east away7.3 Great later
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Lighthouse Field State Beach.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.
Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Sat8.1 GreatBest 10 am to 7 pmWind up to 15 km/h9 mph, rain 0%
- Sun8.0 GreatBest 1 pm to 2 pmWind up to 12 km/h8 mph, rain 0%
- Mon8.0 GreatBest 2 pm to 7 pmWind up to 14 km/h9 mph, rain 1%
- Tue8.1 GreatBest 9 am to 7 pmWind up to 10 km/h6 mph, rain 0%
- Wed7.4 GreatBest 4 pm to 7 pmWind up to 15 km/h9 mph, rain 1%