Traveling With Your Dog
By Alex V. · Owner, Beach RV Pleasure Point · Updated August 2026
The short answer
Santa Cruz is dog-friendly beach by beach. Leashed dogs are welcome on the East Side county beaches near Pleasure Point, sunrise to sunset on a six-foot leash: Corcoran Lagoon, Sunny Cove, Moran Lake, and 26th Avenue. Mitchell's Cove on West Cliff Drive has the county's only legal off-leash hours, before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. daily. Main Beach, Cowell Beach, the Santa Cruz Wharf, and Capitola's beach ban dogs outright, with fines up to about $300.
The dog rules in Santa Cruz change beach to beach. Most of the East Side county beaches near Pleasure Point take leashed dogs, one beach in town has legal off-leash hours, and a few famous beaches ban dogs entirely, with fines that can run up to about $300.
We run a pet-friendly RV park and a lot of our guests travel with a dog, so we field these questions weekly: where to go, what the leash rules are, and the traps that get visitors ticketed.
The East Side beaches by the park (leash on)
Corcoran Lagoon Beach at 21st (the one locals call Santa Mo's), Sunny Cove, Moran Lake, and 26th Avenue all welcome leashed dogs, sunrise to sunset. These are the county beaches along East Cliff. The standard is a six-foot leash, and it applies on the sand, not just the stairs.
You'll see off-leash dogs at Corcoran most mornings, but it's not legal, and animal control does come through, so we don't recommend chancing it.
The blufftop East Cliff path between 32nd and 41st is the best leashed walk in the neighborhood, with benches, surf views, and stairways down to the sand.
The one off-leash beach: Mitchell's Cove
Mitchell's Cove, on West Cliff Drive near Almar Avenue, is the only beach in Santa Cruz County with legal off-leash hours: before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m., daily. Early mornings, the sand is full of wet dogs chasing tennis balls.
Its Beach by the lighthouse still shows up as 'Dog Beach' on Google Maps, but its off-leash window is long gone. Dogs are welcome there on a six-foot leash, any hour.
Where dogs are banned in Santa Cruz
- Main Beach and Cowell Beach by the Boardwalk: no dogs at all, even on a leash. Same goes for the Santa Cruz Wharf.
- Capitola: no dogs on the sand or the wharf. The Esplanade walkway and the village patios are the workaround.
- Natural Bridges: dogs are limited to the parking lot and picnic areas, not the beach or trails.
- Wilder Ranch and the wild north-coast beaches: no dogs anywhere in the park.
- Sunset State Beach: no dogs on the sand (the campground allows them, leashed).
State beaches that allow dogs (leashed)
Seabright, Twin Lakes, New Brighton, Seacliff, and Manresa all allow dogs on the sand on a six-foot leash, attended at all times. Twin Lakes is the closest of those to the park, and New Brighton pairs a dog-friendly beach with a bluff-top campground if you're comparing stays.
Trails together
Closest to the park are the East Cliff bluff path and the meadow loops at Arana Gulch by the harbor, where leashed dogs can walk every trail except Marsh Vista.
Most of the county's state-park redwood trails ban dogs, but Henry Cowell allows leashed dogs on Pipeline Road, Meadow Trail, and Graham Hill Trail (not the famous grove loop). In the Forest of Nisene Marks in Aptos, leashed dogs can go up the lower Aptos Creek Fire Road as far as the Porter picnic area, about ten minutes from the park.
DeLaveaga Park allows leashed dogs on its trails with a legal off-leash stretch on the lower Enchanted Trail, and West Cliff Drive's paved path is leashed-dog friendly end to end. Wilder Ranch and the UCSC campus trails allow no dogs at all. For distances, fees, and what's still closed, see our best hikes in Santa Cruz guide.
Eating out with your dog
Most patios in Santa Cruz are easygoing about a leashed dog at the outdoor tables, and a lot of them set out water bowls. The 41st Avenue and Pleasure Point corner is the most casual of all, and it's walkable from the park. In Capitola, dog owners settle in at the Esplanade patios facing the sand. The rest of the village, and the parking, is in our Capitola Beach guide. Downtown, look for the garden patios a block off Pacific Avenue.
Dogs at outdoor tables are each restaurant's call under California's food code, so keep yours leashed and well-behaved.
Back at the park
Beach RV Pleasure Point is pet-friendly with a posted pet policy: leashes in the park, clean up after your dog, and don't leave pets unattended at your site. Rodeo Creek runs along one side of the park, with Corcoran Lagoon across the street and the start of the East Cliff walk nine minutes away.
Common questions about Santa Cruz with a dog
Which Santa Cruz beaches allow dogs?
Leashed dogs are welcome on most East Side county beaches near Pleasure Point, sunrise to sunset on a six-foot leash. That's Corcoran Lagoon (Santa Mo's), Sunny Cove, Moran Lake, and 26th Avenue. Seabright, Twin Lakes, New Brighton, Seacliff, and Manresa also allow leashed dogs on the sand.
Is there an off-leash dog beach in Santa Cruz?
One: Mitchell's Cove on West Cliff Drive has legal off-leash hours before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m., daily. Its Beach by the lighthouse is leashed-only now, despite its old dog-beach reputation.
Where are dogs banned in Santa Cruz?
Main Beach and Cowell Beach by the Boardwalk, the Wharf, Capitola's beach and wharf, Natural Bridges (beach and trails), Wilder Ranch, and the wild north-coast beaches. Fines can run up to about $300.
Can I hike with my dog in the Santa Cruz redwoods?
Mostly no. Most state-park trails ban dogs. Henry Cowell allows leashed dogs on Pipeline Road, Meadow Trail, and Graham Hill Trail (not the grove loop), and the Forest of Nisene Marks allows them on the lower Aptos Creek Fire Road.
About the author
Alex V. — Alex owns and runs Beach RV Pleasure Point, a sixteen-site RV park a nine-minute walk to the surf on the Santa Cruz East Side. These guides are the same advice we give guests at the office.