# Best California beaches that aren't packed with tourists

**URL:** <https://community.tourradar.com/t/best-california-beaches-that-arent-packed-with-tourists/45521>\
**Category:** USA\
**Created:** [May 14, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/best-california-beaches-that-arent-packed-with-tourists/45521 "2026-05-14T04:54:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![shannon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@shannon](https://community.tourradar.com/u/shannon)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/best-california-beaches-that-arent-packed-with-tourists/45521/1 "2026-05-14T04:54:24Z")

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Every time I go to a California beach it feels like half of LA is already there. I’m road tripping down from San Francisco to San Diego in August and I want to find some actual peaceful stretches of sand where I can hear the ocean instead of someone’s bluetooth speaker.

I’ve heard Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur is gorgeous but hard to access. Any others? Fine with a short hike to get there. Don’t need lifeguards or food stands, just want to sit and read a book in relative quiet. Is that even possible in August or am I dreaming?

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**Author:** ![FatosPur](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.tourradar.com/fatospur/32/4224_2.png) [@FatosPur](https://community.tourradar.com/u/FatosPur)\
**Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 9:54am UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/best-california-beaches-that-arent-packed-with-tourists/45521/2 "2026-05-15T09:54:22Z")

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I did this same road trip with my husband about 8 years ago and it was absolutely amazing 🙂 California’s coastline is still one of my favorite road trip memories.