Sunset at Carmel Beach.
Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA. Carmel Beach is a personal favorite of mine and I have photographed there many times. Unlike Shark Fin Cove, it is a very long, sandy beach with many points of access. If you walk as far as you can on the north end you’ll find yourself underneath the world famous Pebble Beach golf course. Walking to the south end gives you a good view of the northern most reaches of Point Lobos State Park.
Also, because of the bend in the beach, at some point during the year the sun sets over the ocean, and other times behind the cypress trees of Pebble Beach. You may or may not consider this when planning your proposal.
The Frank Lloyd Wright house and Point Lobos State Park from Carmel Beach.
The sun sets behind Pebble Beach as seen from Carmel Beach. This was a sunset in May.
The north end of the beach provides the easiest access. There’s a big parking lot at the bottom of Ocean Avenue where there are public restrooms. From there you can easily walk down the sandy slope to the beach itself. As you travel south the access becomes more difficult although there are staircases every block or so all the way to the south end. These staircases are often quite steep and are sometimes closed due to high tide.
If the Ocean Avenue parking lot is full you can drive south down the narrow one way Scenic Road. Scenic Road, as the name suggests, offers incredible views of the beach and will actually take you all the way past the south end of Carmel Beach towards Carmel River State Beach and Point Lobos beyond (make sure to not confuse Carmel Beach with Carmel River State Beach!).
There is parking all along Scenic Road and there is also a really nice trail that runs along the top of the cliff between the cypress trees. It’s super pretty in the late evening when the sun’s rays stream through the branches and catch the ocean mist.
The beautiful trail above Carmel Beach. This was taken closer to the southern end of the beach in February.
Unlike Shark Fin Cove there isn’t one or two best spots to propose, although looking across the bay towards Point Lobos is pretty wild. Also, where 13th Avenue meets Scenic Road there is a small point that juts out where there is a nice bench that overlooks the entire beach and ocean. This is where I took the below photo.
Wedding photography above Carmel Beach. January 3, 2022.
The down side to Carmel Beach is the parking. On busy days it can seem almost impossible and slow moving because Scenic Road is a one way, one lane road. Because of this it can be very hard to park where you want and it is easy to lose track of where you wanted to be on the beach. I often use the 13th Avenue and Scenic Road intersection as a good landmark because of the easy beach access and the southern end is often less crowded. There is a bathroom on the southern end of the beach too.
Right now if you asked me where the best place is to take photos of your family I would say Carmel Beach.
John Ruddock is a professional photographer based in Salinas, CA. John grew up on the coast in Half Moon Bay and has spent over 30 years on the beautiful California Central Coast. He photographs weddings, engagements, families, sports, and landscapes from Half Moon Bay to Big Sur. Contact him today to book your session!
