Cayucos State Beach
San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo County · California
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Updated 6:00 AM PT todayDawn is the clearest window — onshore wind picks up by late morning and surface chop stirs the bottom through the afternoon.
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35.438° N · 120.895° W
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Cayucos State Beach
Cayucos State Beach is a sandy beach in the town of Cayucos, with the Cayucos Pier at its center and roughly half a mile of shore in each direction. Captain James Cass built the pier in 1875 for Pacific Steamship vessels, making it the oldest pier in San Luis Obispo County. A major restoration completed in 2015 stabilized the structure for continued public use. At the north end of the beach, Cayucos Point breaks the shoreline into a rocky headland, and a chain of bull kelp beds runs north along the coast from there.
The wide sand of the central beach, with waves breaking across the open shore, is a surf zone biome. North toward Cayucos Point the substrate changes, and giant and bull kelp anchor on rocky bottom in roughly 30 to 50 feet of water and grow up through the water column to the surface, making that section a kelp forest biome. The cobble and exposed rock around Cayucos Point itself, where bare structure sits between the kelp patches, is a rocky reef biome.
Surfing is common up and down the beach on most swells, and pier fishing draws crowds year-round, with surf fishing and summer swimming common as well. The draw for divers and spearfishers is the north end near Cayucos Point, where the kelp is reachable by kayak from the beach and holds consistent fish. Spearfishing there is regular, and snorkeling at those rocks on calm days is occasional. Shore scuba is uncommon, since most local divers paddle out instead.
Free street parking is available along Pacific Avenue and Ocean Front Avenue, with a public lot near the pier. Hook-and-line fishing is legal under standard California regulations. Spearfishing is prohibited within 1,000 feet of any public pier under California Code of Regulations Title 14 § 1.88. Because the Cayucos Pier sits at the center of the beach, roughly the central one-third of the shore is closed to spearfishing. Spearfishing is legal at the far north end toward Cayucos Point and the kelp beds, and at the far south end, where divers are clear of the 1,000-foot pier zone.
Surf Zone
The surf zone biome consists of sandy beaches and breaking waves. The action of surf disturbing the sand and kicking it up exposes marine invertebrates, buried in their shallow dens. This natural exposure of invertebrates attracts all kinds of fish, looking for an easy meal. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Kelp Forest
The kelp forest biome is giant kelp anchored to rocky bottom and growing up through the water column. The canopy and stipes form a three-dimensional habitat that shelters fish, invertebrates, and the predators that hunt them. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Rocky Reef
The rocky reef biome is bare rock, boulder, and cobble structure without a kelp canopy above it. The hard relief and its crevices shelter invertebrates and reef fish, and the structure concentrates life that the surrounding sand cannot hold. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryTarget Fish Species
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