Monarch Bay

Monarch Bay Beach is a public beach below a private beach club in the gated community of Monarch Beach in Dana Point, CA. The Monarch Bay Beach Club has a parking lot and a nice facility on the beach for its members and guests. For the rest of us who want to walk on the beach, there is a public parking lot at Salt Creek Beach Park next to the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. This is a popular park with a wide sandy beach at the bottom of the hill. As you walk north on the sand toward the Monarch Beach the people thin out and it becomes a peaceful stroll. Salt Creek flows through the sand near the Beach Club sometimes, but most of the time it pools up behind the beach. Birds are a common sight at Monarch Beach. North of the Beach Club the beach becomes a narrow boulder field, but there is a small sandy beach beyond the boulders that is worth exploring. There are caves in the rock walls in this area to discover. The wet part of Monarch Bay Beach is public (the area below the mean high tide level) so anyone can walk here from Salt Creek Beach Park if they want to explore toward the point