New Brighton State Beach is one of the most popular beachfront campgrounds in California, offering over 100 developed campsites, including 11 RV hookup sites. With bluff top views of the the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary, a visitor center museum, shade ramada for group picnics and special events, and campfire center with free summer programs, it’s no wonder New Brighton State Beach is such a favorite destination!

New Brighton State Beach

This beautiful campground is right on the beach and very close to the touristy areas of Capitola and Aptos.  We walked along the beach to Aptos and Sea Cliff for dinner one night, and rode our bikes to Capitola for the day.  The weather was beautiful and sunny when we were here in late February, but it did get windy in the night.

  

Most sites are dry camping only, but there are a few with hookups. There is a dump station with 4 dumps and potable water to fill your tanks on the way out (beware that it gets backed up with RVs using the dump right around the noon checkout time).  Potable water spigot is up past the dump area.

  

This campground will not let you check in before 2pm, and will give you a free pass and direct you to the day use parking lot at Sea Cliff to wait, as the New Brighton day use parking lot is under construction to repair a sinkhole. 

  

There are coin operated showers here, but the showers ate our $0.75 when we tried to use them, so be aware.

  

Garbage and recycling bins available here.

  

There are hike-in and bike-in sites, but be sure to look up what is open before you come as things seem to be changing frequently as covid guidance changes.  I saw a sign for enroute camping for bikers as well.

  

Bear box, metal fire pit, and picnic tables provided at each site.  Firewood available for sale.

  

Good cell reception.

  

$35 for dry camping

$50 for premium / hookups

$8 reservation fee

no extra fee for dogs

Beautiful beach camping 

For coastal camping on Monterey bay, this is our favorite. On a bluff over a long sweeping beach with mild surf, cypress and pine trees with native grasses. Prices for ocean view sites are high, so we like #103 with no hook-up and partial ocean view with a short walk to beach access. This site is large enough for our pop up camper and 2 10x10 tents. We use our kayaks at Elkhorn slough, 15 mi. south. Just up the road is Santa Cruz. The facilities are good with flush toilets, pay showers, fish cleaning sinks and bikes only camp. Mild weather and great views, but the sound of Highway 1 is inescapable.

Location

We stayed at this site after a 3 day backpacking trip, so its closeness to civilization was quite welcome. If you are looking for a more remote beach camping spot, you might be better suited elsewhere. This campground is situated on a cliff side above the beach, with ocean view sites costing more than other sites (look for "premium" sites, if you'd like an ocean view). The bathrooms and showers are nice and well maintained. There is a short little trail leading down to the beach and a day use lot as well. My only complaint is that there didn't appear to be enough water spigots spread out throughout the campground, but we weren't there long enough to make a huge difference to us.

Easily accessible beach camping 

This campsite is at a great location. You are right near the beach as well as close to grocery stores and restaurants. It can get pretty cold at night with the ocean right there.

Pros:

*   location
*   closeness to the beach, direct beach path when it's open
*   Has some nice shaded campsites that offer some privacy (see cons)
*   a 10 minute drive will get you to a grocery store, touristy area (Boardwalk or downtown Capitola), target, etc.

cons:

*   Some sites are full sun or can get very hot
*   the average site size is very small and a number of them are 'shared' sites, meaning there is no separation between your site and the one next to you (no tree, bushes, etc)
*   lots of tall grass (concern is ticks)
*   the beach access from the campsite was closed as of June 2017\. We either had to walk a poison oak lined 1/4 mile path or drive a few minutes to the day use area for the beach.

This site books up very fast due to its location.

Great location 

We stayed here in our TT in March 2018 for spring break. It’s a nice relatively quiet campground on a bluff, above a fairly calm ocean beach. We had one of the electric sites in the interior of the campground. The sites on the bluff overlooking the Pacific looked spectacular!

Great Oceanside state park close to Santa Cruz and Monterrey

All sites reservable and often difficult to get into unless you book way in advance, this campground is in Capitola. The sites are spacious and the best nes are on the cliff edge.

High on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean!

Very nice, clean, showers &amp; relaxing trails.

Gorgeous

Campground Review: New Brighton State Park is a great beach campground, even though its on a bluff above the beach. It's just south of Santa Cruz, with lots of places to get supplies, beer, etc within a couple miles. It is a very well used campground, so reservations are a must for weekends, especially during the summer. The campsites are pricey, $35 a night for sites away from the bluffs, and $50 for sites right on the bluffs with ocean views. Each site has at least one storage locker, a picnic table, and firepit/grill combo. Some sites have two storage lockers. Firewood is available from the camp hosts, and the bathrooms and showers are very clean. Showers are $1 for 3 minutes, quarters only. The camp host and the ranger both warned us about theft, if you leave your campsite alone during the day, which is too bad, but Santa Cruz has a big meth problem, so be sure to lock your cars and keep your valuables locked up or bring them with you if you go to the beach during the day. Not a lot of hiking here, but there are some trails down to a beautiful beach for swimming or lounging. The weather and ocean in Santa Cruz is much warmer than the surrounding areas, so swimming is not a problem. If you do leave the park to get supplies or food, I would highly recommend Sno-White for burgers and Seacliff Plaza Store for booze, firewood, and beach gear. 4 out of 5 stars for the campground

Product Review: Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. At New Brighton, I tested the Tredagain Hawthorne shoes https://tredagain.com/collections/mens/products/mens-hawthorne-olive

These shoes are super comfortable and durable, but I don't know how they would hold up if they got wet, or for moderate hiking trips, for sure they aren't for long hikes or backpacking. They have found a spot with my camping gear as a shoe I wear if it is too cold to wear sandals, or if the campground is rocky or has long walks to the bathrooms. For the old school folks, they are a lot like Vans Half Cab shoes, flat soles and no arch support. They get a 4 our of 5 review for their purpose, just don't expect to hike in these.

Ranger Review: Tredagain Hawthorne Shoes at New Brighton Beach

Great campsite with hot showers for a price and some electric hook ups available. Great views and deer throughout campground. Can stand up paddle board in the bay!

Santa Cruz, Forest and Ocean!

Campground does not allow hike and bike campers to stay more than one night, and you cannot check in until 4pm and must check out by 9am.  I am guessing this is because of its proximity to Santa Cruz. In May the campground was very busy with people coming from the nearby city.  The hike and bike area is near a couple of large picnic areas where you can charge your electronic devices. The view high above the ocean is very nice, but it is a bit of a hike to the beach.

Restricted Hike and Bike Camping Times

Amazing views and setting in this campground. Stand up paddle board in the cove or go for a surf a little bit down the road. Electrical hook ups and showers are available. One of california's better state park!

Santa Cruz camp spectacular!

great campground located right outside of town. I was pleasantly surprised in the campsites and the beach is lovely!

Great Location

90 degrees in October. Beach is not crowded! I’m in heaven 

Hands down the best

Sweet lil spot right outside Capitola came in on a Monday night and all the premium sites were booked. Direct access to the beach. Showers kinda meh but the rest made up for it! 

Capitola Cliffside Sunsets in January!

Great campground and location. Walk the beach or hike a trail, lots of options. Short walk or bike ride to the beautiful Capitola Village. Observe the local wildlife including birds, whales, otters, seals, the list goes on. Amazing tide pools. Many activities to do here... bicycling, kayaking, skatepark, pump track, hiking, running, the list goes on again. 

Great campground and location. You can easily walk to the beach. Close to Capitola Village, Santa Cruz, and Kayaking at Moss Landing. There are some wonderful large campsites facing the beach but hard to reserve unless you are quick to get in when window opens up. The other sites are OK and there are a lot of them. Some are close together but walk to the beach and there is lots of room.

Beautiful Beach Campground

Very quiet area and pretty well spaced out sites (for a coastal campground).  Once the sun went down there were very few people outside. Good beach access (down a ramped pathway and then staircase).  Bathrooms are clean and single occupant. Pay showers (so bring quarters-25 cents a minute). There is a little noise from route 1, but our campsite was closer to the ocean so didn’t bother us at all. Will definitely stay here again. 

Nice coastal campground

Lot of space with amazing view to the ocean and trail to the beach. Free restroom and showers work with quarters. Firewood pit and lot of grass. Free    Sewage and fresh water on the entrance. 

Amazing dry campground. 

Great campground with beach access. Nice paved camp spots with picnic tables, storage boxes and food storage lockers. Pay showers were nice.

Yay.... they are open

We tent camped here but most people had a trailer. Translation: the bathroom was empty. Quiet with quick access to the beach via a steep paved path. The premium spots seem super worth it with panoramic views of the Pacific. 
Warning: the line for the dump station wound through nearly the entire park. 

There is a BMX park a short drive away. 


Local Favorite

This campground is in Santa Cruz.  Surfed pleasure point a 10 minute drive away every morning and night.  Sites are ok, nothing special and neighbors are very visible.  Coin showers with awful pressure.  Wood available from host.  

Great city campground

Absolutely wonderful spot to camp! Just a quick walk down the hill to the beach (there are stairs, so can’t pull a wagon as a heads up). Beach wasn’t busy and the waves aren’t too big. 

Epic sunset views. Most campsites are quite big. Some trees and shade too. Super clean bathrooms. 

Near a freeway but we didn’t hear any traffic noise from our site. 

Nice flat paved roads inside the campground for biking or scootering kids. 

Dog friendly beach. 

This campground is usually booked up but we were able to get a last minute reservation a few weeks before. Lots of free sites even though it looked full online, so worth calling the day or two before the weekend too. 

Delightful beach camping

Camped with electricity and water, situated on a bluff near the ocean. Easy walking distance to the water, nice roomy campsites with fire rings and tables. Not too close to other campers. 

Nice campsites, good location!

We just got back from New Brighton, stayed in site 108. Love this State Beach! Our site was large enough for our big truck and 26 ft trailer, plus a 2nd small SUV. There was plenty of flat area for my sons tent as well. Not a ton of trees, so this particular spot didnt get a lot of natural shade, bring pop ups! The site next door, 110, had many more trees and shade. The sites are far enough apart to feel secluded. At night you can still hear the ocean even though we werent in a premium spot. You can walk a short ways to see the ocean and there are several trails down, but the one with real stairs is closed so you better be sure-footed if you're taking the other trail. We opted for the short drive to the beach lot. There are bathrooms with flush toilets and showers close by and a dump station on the way out. Plus New Brighton is just a few mins from downtown Capitola, and not much further from Santa Cruz so there are SO many things to explore when you're there. Definitely a new favorite place! 

Beautiful campground close to the beach

It's fine, but I don't really understand why it's so popular. Lots of annoying group sites, yelling kids, and giant RVs. Quiet hours aren't respected or enforced. High metal fire pits so you can't see your fire if you sit. Itchy, scrubby grass everywhere. The beach is really close, but this is California, and there are plenty of much nicer beaches. It's okay, but I wouldn't go again, and I definitely wouldn't say it's worth reserving months in advance. 

It's okay

Not sure why the reserve california site says every SP or SB on the coast has 0 sites for the foreseeable future, but we decided to take our chances. 
Yes! arrived at like 3 pm and they still had 10 open sites. 
We got site 72.

Like other reviews said, this campground is super "non-private" but it reminded me of... any other state beach/state park, so not a big deal for us. It was nice and quiet, mostly RVS or vanlifers. Bathrooms were fine, no lines ever. Lots of cute dogs.

"Premium" sites (bluff, beautiful beach views) are 50$ a night, regular sites are 35$, and full hook-up is 50$ too I believe.

Overall, really nice campground, with a trail right to the beach. Enjoyed it!

Open sites without reservation

This was our third visit in a bigger travel trailer this time. Spot 64 was humongous and extremely private. Very close to trail down to the beach as well and like the last time they now charge you $10 to use the dump station. Excellent stay recommend going to Gayles deli in Capitola for sandwiches.