Estero Bluffs State Park
Cayucos, CA

Estero Bluffs State Park is a genuinely undeveloped stretch of property north of Cayucos, several unmarked roadside parking areas each leading their own trail seaward to a mix of rocky shore and pocket beaches. There's no single main entrance here, just a string of pullouts along Highway 1.
A genuinely large stretch of undeveloped coast right next to a busy tourist town, though the lack of a single clear entrance means some trial and error finding the right pullout.
How we score beachesTry a few different pullouts if the first one you stop at doesn't have the access you're looking for, each leads to a slightly different stretch of the same undeveloped coast.
Free parking is available at roadside pullouts along Highway 1.
Trails lead seaward from each roadside parking area; conditions vary by access point.
Leashed dogs are allowed only in the southern section of the park, from the North Ocean parking lot to San Geronimo Creek, and are prohibited between San Geronimo Creek and the park's north boundary near Villa Creek.
Fog is common most mornings year round, typical of the Cayucos coast.
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