We stumbled upon Shark Fin Cove by chance during our road trip along the California coastline. It was meant to be a quick stop for us to stretch our legs. However, we couldn’t get enough of this beautiful place. Shark Fin Cove is a gorgeous secluded beach that is named after a massive rock that resembles a shark fin out of the water. It’s easily one of the most beautiful beaches that we have come across in Northern California. Shark Fin Cove also goes by other names such as Shark’s Tooth Cove, Davenport Cove, and Jah Beach. This place is easy to get to but you have to know where to look. If you’re doing a road trip along this beautiful California coastline, don’t forget to check out the shipwreck at Cayucos.
Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surrounding areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no taking artifacts or fossilized items, and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!
Stats
Where
Shark Fin Cove
37°00’20.4″N 122°11’07.8″W
Parking
Decent size dirt lot right before the trailhead.
Restroom
There is no restroom
Fee
Free
Important Things
This spot opens from 8am to sunset. No glass, fires, alcohol, camping, horses or vehicles allowed. (Although, we don’t see how you can get a car down here…)
Distance
0.3 mile to the beach
Elevation Gain
75 feet
Level
Easy, however, the way down to the cove is steep and slippery
Time:
30 mins – couple of hours
Pet-friendly
Pets are not allowed on the beach.
Ideal Time
Weekdays will be less busy. If you want to check out the sea cave, go when it’s low tide.
Weather
Video
Getting to Shark Fin Cove
Shark Fin Cove is located along Highway 1, about 10 miles north of Santa Cruz, in the small town of Davenport. If you’re coming from Santa Cruz, the dirt pull-out parking lot is on your left, about 0.5 miles from Bonny Doon Beach. If you’re coming from San Francisco, it is about 1 mile south of the city of Davenport. The turnout will be on your right. There are a lot of spaces for parking, but no signs. This turnout can be easily missed, however, if you pay attention, you can actually see the shark fin protruding from the coastline. We also included the GPS coordinates above so you map your way there.
The Adventure
Getting Down to Shark Fin Cove
It is quite easy to find your way down to the cove below. From the parking lot, follow the trail toward the abandoned railroad tracks. Once you cross over the tracks, you should see a metal trash bin next to a couple of warning signs. This is where the trail to go down to Shark Fin Cove starts. From the top, you can see the beach and shark fin rock below. There are a few other trails around. If you have time, we recommend taking a short hike on these. These trails give you different views of the area below. If you come at the right time, you can even spot some beautiful naked ladies on the hills. Don’t get too excited, they are flowers.
Even though the trail down to the beach is quite short, it is steep, slippery, and not maintained. We recommended wearing shoes with good treads to go down. Also, make sure to look out for poison oaks. They sometimes form a tunnel of foliage on the trail. We love this short trail going down to the beach. It is quite beautiful with the shark fin rock playing peek-a-boo behind the tall vegetation as the trail curves around.
Old Mining Tunnel
Once getting down to this small secluded beach, there are a few things you can explore. As soon as you get to the bottom, you can see what looks like a deep dark cave with water trickling out from it on your right. This was an old mining tunnel. Supposedly, you can go in and explore. However, we didn’t have any flashlights with us and that water didn’t look very sanitary so we didn’t go in.
Iconic Shark Fin Rock
Next on the list is of course the iconic shark tooth rock that this cove is named after. It looks less like a shark fin the closer you get to it. However, it was still impressive to stand near it. It’s easy to imagine a prehistoric megalodon that used to guard this water. Even after millions of years, it’s still lurking underneath this dark surface, guarding the place.
The Sea Cave
If you’re here during low tide, don’t forget to check out the sea cave. This is my favorite spot at Shark Fin Cove. The cave opening looks small on approach. However, once you go through it, it opens up to the beautiful view of the ocean. You can only go through the sea cave during low tide. During high tide, it is impassible. The view from the cave is stunning. The opening frames the crashing waves and the sea stacks perfectly. If you’re exploring the oceanside of the sea cave, please make sure to keep a close eye on the tides. These sea stacks create unsafe currents as the waves crash around them. So if you stand too close to the edge, you can get swept out and won’t be able to get back.
We visited Shark Fin Cove a few times now. Sadly, on our recent visit, there was graffiti all over the cave and trash all over the place. It was sad to see how disgusting people can be. We ended up doing a beach clean-up and got all the trash out. If you’re visiting, please make sure to Leave No Trace. This means to pack out what you pack in. And if you see trash, give us a hand to pick it up. We love to keep this place as clean as possible so everyone can enjoy it for generations to come.
These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
adventure gear
This is our favourite hiking shoes. We use them for canyoneering as well. Lots of traction. Vy’s version.
Dustin’s version for La Sportiva shoes
Make sure to use lots of sunscreens! We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30.
Face sunscreen is also important. We love these tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.
You should always bring plenty of water. Vy loves the Camelback L.U.X.E.
For shorter hikes, the Patagonia Women’s Nine Trails Pack 18L is perfect to hold water and your essentials.
If you want something lighter, we love the packable Patagonia Women’s Houdini® Jacket and Patagonia Men’s Houdini® Jacket
other things to bring
- Light jacket. It can be breezy here.
- Beach accessories, if you’re planning to spend sometimes here.
- Always good to bring some snacks with you. For healthy and easy snacks, check out some of our recipes.
camera gear
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