A coworker of mine who used to live in the area (hey Kevin J!) told me that this is the beach where pretty much everyone goes... and it’s incredibly easy to see why.
We are now in the part of California where the beach is not an easy stroll from where you live; to reach the beach, if there is a beach at the bottom of the cliff you happen to be in, you’d have to hike down.
College Beach in Trinidad is a secluded crescent-shaped cove with flat sands that stretch out to the ocean... lots of room for many guests. Just find a spot, stake it out with your blanket and enjoy the ocean.
The pillars of rocks in the middle of the water are not just picturesque, they also attract marine life. I also suspect they’re the reason the waves are mild and relaxing, not wild and pounding.
If you keep walking south, you can see that if the water level was just a bit lower, you could keep going and reach another cove! We tried, but unfortunately we couldn't cross over to the next cove.
In some stretches of the Pacific Coast, gale-strength winds would blow up a sandstorm into your face. Here at College Beach, the breeze is gentle.
College Beach is also a great beach for other reasons:
- There’s a free parking lot for visitors on top.
- Access to the beach is also free.
- It’s a relatively short and easy hike down to the beach from the parking lot.
Every single person we came across the trail going down to the beach were in high spirits and encouraged us to keep going because "it's worth it". Every person also vowed to come back.
If ever I'm in the area again, I would too. And next time, I would like to make it to Elk Head where there's a blowhole where you can witness the ocean shoot straight up a hole in the rocks... ala Moana.
Also, I keep seeing a creek and a waterfall on the maps... I didn't run across either while we were making our way down to or while walking along the beach, but I also didn't have time to explore and actually look for them.
Next time, Trinidad. Next time.
College Cove
For Your GPS: 585 Stagecoach Rd, Trinidad, CA 95570
Directions: While driving south on Stagecoach Rd from the Seawood Drive exit off of the 101, we pretty much just found a sign announcing the turn-out for the beach.