Pescadero State Beach, State beach in San Mateo County, California.

Pescadero State Beach is a California state beach on the Pacific coast of San Mateo County, made up of sandy coves, rocky cliffs, tide pools, and a lagoon where Pescadero and Butano Creeks meet. The beach runs along roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of shoreline and is divided into two distinct sections with noticeably different terrain.

Pescadero State Beach lies along State Route 1, 14.5 miles (23.3 km) south of Half Moon Bay and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the town of Pescadero in San Mateo County. Its Spanish name, meaning "fisherman beach", comes from the Spanish-speaking communities tied to this coast. The site is now a California state beach, and across the highway sits Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve.

The name Pescadero comes from the Spanish word for fisherman, a reminder of the fishing traditions that have shaped this stretch of coast for generations. Visitors today can still watch people fishing and gathering shellfish along the shore, a practice that continues under state licensing rules.

Two separate parking areas serve the two sections of the beach, so it helps to check a map before arriving to know which part you want to reach. Low tide is the best time to explore the rocky southern section and the tide pools, as the terrain becomes much easier to walk.

The shoreline at the center and southern parking areas is shielded from ocean waves by offshore rocks, creating tide pools and open water where Steller sea lions and harbor seals haul out to sun themselves, then slide back in to hunt. The black oystercatcher, common on northern California's rocky shoreline, is also seen there.