Moss Landing State Beach, State beach in Monterey County, US

Moss Landing State Beach is a public beach on the Pacific coast of Monterey County, California, made up of sandy shores, dunes, and rock jetties that frame the entrance to the harbor. The shoreline curves around a bay where the open ocean meets the mouth of a large tidal marsh.

Moss Landing grew as a working harbor for fishing and coastal shipping on Monterey Bay. The state beach lies about 16 miles north of Monterey via Highway 1 and 5 miles south of Watsonville. Its dunes and jetties now form part of California's protected shoreline.

The beach sits right next to Moss Landing Harbor, where fishing boats go out and return daily, and the routines of working fishermen are easy to observe from the shore. Local anglers also line the jetties, casting lines into the same waters that have fed this community for generations.

Parking is available along Jetty Road, with short walking paths leading to the sand and the jetties. Currents and tides here can shift quickly, so checking tide conditions before heading to the water's edge is a good habit.

The beach sits at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough, one of the largest tidal saltwater marshes on the West Coast of North America. On calm days, sea otters can be spotted floating in the slough's channels just a short distance from the sand.