Pet Friendly? Yes Camping? No Info: parks.ca.gov

Location: South end of Carmel off Highway 1. Turn right on Rio Road toward the Carmel Mission, then turn left onto Carmelo Street, to the parking lot.

Carmel River State Beach is a scenic, mile-long, wind-swept beach where the Carmel River makes its 36-mile journey from coastal Santa Lucia mountains through Carmel Valley to the beach. The beach includes pale, soft sand, a small parking area, and popular launch for kayakers. It also includes a warning sign about stating that swimming, wading or walking near the ocean can be extremely dangerous at this beach. The lagoon at the mouth of the Carmel River which came about as the result of opposing forces of the river and Pacific Ocean meeting head on at the shoreline, can, indeed a treacherous place for children and adults lacking strength or knowledge to handle strong currents.

A bird sanctuary at the lagoon makes for entertaining birding for those who come to walk along the beach and admire the scenery along Carmel River Trail. You'll likely observe pickle-weed, saltgrass and tule reeds, all resources for a variety of animals ranging in size from tiny aquatic organisms to large waterfowl. Monastery Beach (San Jose Creek Beach) is where you'll often see scuba divers.

Carmel River State Beach holds the distinction of providing entry point for steelhead trout. They swim in the ocean most of their adult life, but will enter Carmel River Creek to spawn. This river is the southernmost major steelhead trout run in North America. With the closure of San Clemente Dam upstream, volunteers from Carmel River Steelhead Association (CSRA) are hopeful that their efforts to save these fish will improve. They have spent the last 30 years rescuing fingerlings in the lower river and tributaries when water dries up in the summer. Members have volunteered an average of 500 hours per year to rescue approx. 10,000 young steelhead per year. These tiny fish are put in the lagoon or areas of the river where there is a chance for survival.

Carmel River State Beach, one of several beaches in Carmel by the Sea, is the more remote of the Carmel beaches. The main beach where most tourists go is Carmel City Beach.

This lagoon and marsh is an ecosystem rarely seen in California. Between the southern end of the San Francisco Bay and Morro Bay, a distance of 160 miles, the coastal salt marsh habitat is found only at Elkhorn Slough and here, at the mouth of the Carmel River.