Beach

Today is the first truly wintery day in San Francisco, although to be fair it’s not even winter yet. Still, a strong storm blew in last night; this morning I woke up to blustery winds and a downpour. And so I sit here wearing a parka as I type, cup of tea at my side, ready to write about beaches. Oh, not the bright hot skin of tropical paradise, but the cozy warm bundle of the 3 best winter beaches.

1. Petroglyph Beach: In Southeast Alaska in a town called Wrangell there is a beach littered with stones that have been carved with ancient artwork. Scattered among the rocks at Petroglyph Beach are three dozen or more large stones bearing designs and pictures chiseled by unknown artists, although most attribute the carvings to the Native American Tsimshian or the Tlingit. You can access the beach via a boardwalk where you’ll find plaques describing the site along with carved replicas of the petroglyphs for visitors to make rubbings.

Estimates place the petrogyphs at roughly 10,000 years old.

2. North Beach, Point Reyes: Okay, I am biased as this is a definite favorite beach of mine. But honestly, if you’re somehow lucky enough to catch North Beach on a sunny day you should buy a Lotto ticket. If not, well, you’re pretty darned lucky even when it’s foggy and cold. There is something incredibly massive about North Beach, stately, dramatic. This is not a beach that needs palm trees or even sun to be spectacular.

Surfers in the fog.

3. Nobska Beach, Cape Cod: The quintessential wintery beach with a New England lighthouse to boot. Something about this photo makes me yearn for a long walk (and then a hot cup of tea), so it’s a good thing that the grounds of this historical place is open to the public every day.

Nobska Lighthouse with snow.

My lights are flickering: once, then twice. Outside the storm is blowing and I am pretty sure my electricity is about to go out. So I will end with this: beaches are not just for the bikini-ed of heart. They are for sweaters and mittens, wind-chapped faces and brrrr, as beautiful in winter as any time of the year.

Photo credits in order of appearance: Nothip via Flickr, author’s own, Muffinman71xx via Flickr.

North Beach: the Grand-Daddy of all beaches, the Godfather of the Point Reyes National Seashore. With over 10 miles of undeveloped sand, North Beach (and its sister beach to the south, aptly titled “South Beach”) boasts impressive dunes and the drama of heavy surf. Often shrouded in fog and open to the Gulf of Alaska’s every temper tantrum, high winds and all, this beach is not for the suntanned of heart.

Beach? What beach? Here there is fog. http://www.flickr.com/photos/yathin/2507059462/

What makes this beach so exceptional, perhaps, is the very thing that makes it relatively uninhabited. North Beach is wild. It is vast. It is exposed and salty, the water rough and unruly. Unpredictable. The sun may be shining in town and so you make the drive, crest the hill and then–bam! Met by a thick bank of fog. Or, better yet, in town it may be cold, windy and yet you bundle up to go to the beach anyway and then–wow! North Beach is bright, clear, the sweet warm scent of beach grasses lilt in the still air. Who knew? Who knows? This is North Beach, and here North Beach is boss.

On second thought... http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael_stark/347289761/

Then there is the water itself: Cold, thick, fast and burly. Just past the waters edge the beach drops off abruptly, creating severe rip currents and a strong undertow. Swimming is strongly not recommended, but there is a handful of local surfers who brave the cold and the sharks and the everything else scary for the thrill of the very large waves. Hopefully you won’t spot any Great White Sharks, but if you visit between January and May you just might spot a Gray Whale during their migration from Mexico to Alaska. They often swim close to the coast, popping up every now and then to spout off a quick spray of salt water right off the beach in front of you.

Sometimes simply referred to as The Great Beach, North Beach is nothing if not impressive. Cold? Yes, most days. Foggy, dangerous, windy, gray, and yet? Still: Beautiful, stunning, breathtaking, peaceful, quiet, noble, grand–The Great Beach, North Beach.

I’m not going to lie: Ocean Beach is not the prettiest beach in the world. Perhaps that’s not really a fair assessment. Because it is pretty, beautiful even. It’s just that Ocean Beach is not the beachiest beach. It is rarely warm. The wind fairly howls across the dunes. The sky often lies low and heavy with fog, the water is cold, the waves large, the riptide treacherous. And yet there is something about Ocean Beach that keeps people coming back, both San Francisco locals and visitors alike.

Running adjacent to Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach is rich in early San Francisco history. Due to its sometimes inhospitable weather, the area was largely undeveloped until the late-19th century. The beach and surrounding miles of sand dunes were known then as the “Outside Lands.” Development came in the form of a steam railroad, and later as the city’s first amusement park aptly named Playland. The fun lasted until 1972 at which time the sand dunes had long been developed into urban sprawl and the roller coaster shut down to make way for cafes, surf shops, apartment buildings and restaurants.

Arcade, Playland at the Beach, 1970. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lvsutton/2536429426/

From spring until late summer Ocean Beach is almost always shrouded in fog. Average temperatures hover around 50°F, scaring away many tourists and beach goers but welcoming joggers, kite-aficionados, beach-combers, bonfire parties, kite-surfers and regular surfers alike. The water is famous for its strong currents and fierce, thick waves. Swimming is not recommended; even wading in the cold water can be dangerous.

Surfers at Ocean Beach. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonstarbuck/2132418816/

In late summer and early fall, the fog miraculously dissipates, and on the few warm–even hot–days at Ocean Beach it seems as if the entire city flocks west to the coast. Here the people-watching is perfection as the denizens of San Francisco bare their fog-kissed skin to soak up the sun. No matter the weather, do bring layers, however, as the fog comes in fast and it comes in cold.

And so it would seem that despite the blanket of thick fog, despite the roiling gray waves, despite the wind and the salt-mist air, the draw of those 4 miles of Ocean Beach brings people back, time and again. Playland may be gone, but Ocean Beach remains a place to go for fun, for wild beauty, and for a little slice of peace in the concrete jungle of San Francisco.