New Brighton Beach Activities
Visitor Center
New Brighton Beach's Pacific Migrations Visitor Center is located near the campgrounds on the bluff above the beach. Displays tell the story of Pacific wildlife and human migrations. It also includes a park store.
Open seasonally, closed in winter.
(831) 464-5620 or (831) 685-6444
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks
New Brighton to Seacliff Beach Trail
The 3-mile-long round trip trail is actually a stroll along the beach in a southeasterly direction to Seacliff State Beach. Along the bluffs between New Brighton and Seacliff are fossils from the Pliocene era when New Brighton and Seacliff were under 60 feet of water. Just a mere two and half to five million years ago. The fossils are protected by law and should not be disturbed. At Seacliff Beach you will find restrooms, picnic areas, and a snack shop.
Looking South Toward Seacliff Beach
Interpretive Programs
Docent-led fossil, history and beach walks are offered in the summer. Also there are children's arts and crafts activities that highlight the New Brighton story. School field trip activities are provided free of charge year-round (831-685-6444). Sing-alongs and magic shows are sometimes held in the evenings at the campfire circle.
Keep up with events at New Brighton Beach with Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.
Junior Ranger Program, Ages 7-12
Play games, hike trails, create your own animal, discover tracks, observe wildlife, all while making friends your own age in some of the best places in California!
Junior Ranger Program for children ages 7 - 12 covers topics such as geology, ecology, history, safety, plants, and wildlife. The Program can take place over several days, or you can start at one park, and then at another time go to a different park. Children should plan to spend about an hour at each activity.
The Junior Ranger Program is offered free of charge to visitors who have already paid park entrance or camping fees.
California State Parks Junior Ranger Program
The Porter - Sesnon Property
The Porter - Sesnon property is an undeveloped parcel of state-owned property east of New Brighton State Park. It was rescued from efforts to build a conference center there in the early 1990s. To reach this area take McGregor Road and turn onto New Brighton Road. Find parking before you cross the railroad tracks and then follow the tracks to the east for several hundred yards. Watch for a trail that makes a circuit through the Porter-Sesnon parcel and out onto the bluff overlooking the ocean. Birders enjoy the area where many birds have been spotted, including acorn woodpeckers, Cooper's Hawks, Northern Flickers, and Red-tailed hawks.
You can also reach the property by following roads out the east side of New Brighton State Park campground.
Birding
Monterey pines and Monterey cypress in the campground attract a number of birds which nest and forage there. Among the birds you are apt to see are band-tailed pigeons, Stellers jays, and chestnut backed chickadees. Santa Cruz Bird Club's Birding Guides