Monastery Beach, Beach in Monterey County, United States

Monastery Beach is a sandy beach in Monterey County, California, on the Pacific coast about 3,900 km west of Washington, D.C. The climate is mild, averaging 14 °C, with September the warmest month at about 20 °C and December the coolest at about 8 °C. Annual rainfall averages about 492 mm, with December the wettest month and May the driest.

Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno charted this coastline in 1602 with three priests in his expedition, events that later inspired the construction of the Carmelite Monastery on the clifftops. The religious community that followed became a defining landmark of the area.

The beach takes its name from the Carmelite Monastery perched on the cliffs above, where nuns have maintained a contemplative community for centuries. This spiritual presence has shaped how people view and relate to the coastal landscape.

The waters here are rough and dangerous due to strong currents and unpredictable underwater conditions, so viewing from the sand is safest and swimming is not advised. Sturdy shoes are helpful since the path down is steep and the shore becomes rocky.

Monterey Canyon, the submarine canyon off this coast, begins close to the shoreline at Moss Landing and reaches depths of over 3,600 metres where it meets the Monterey Fan. Its head lies within a few kilometres of the beach, which is why the water deepens so abruptly just offshore.