Need a recommendation for a good beach to take the kids around the San Francisco area. We will be spending 4 days in San Francisco, then have 3 more days to spend somewhere fairly close with a nice beach and some fun things to do with the boys, ages 10 & 15. Carmel, Monterey too far for a couple of days? Mendocino, Half Moon Bay, just not sure! Any help would be great. Thanks

If you want to take the kids to the beach, your ownly choice is Santa Cruz (or possibly Stinson Beach). The kids will love Santa Cruz; with it's old fashioned Beach Boardwalk. The others; Mendocino, Half Moon Bay, Carmel and Monterey, are all really pretty and really cold.

If you'll be there on a Friday, there are fun free concerts at the Beach bandstand. Check www.beachboardwalk.com for a schedule of performers.

Stinson. Your kids can belly board or paddle. FYI-the Pacifc Ocean is cold!
You might also consider Point Reyes and specifically Limantour Beach. There is a great deal to explore including the great beaches.

Thanks for the recommendation. I should have clarified myself better. My kids like to walk along the beach looking for shells and exploring, and building sand castles more than actually going in the water. Anymore input would be great! Thanks!

In that case, Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz (on your way down, stop and see the Elephant Seals). Natural Bridges has fantastic tide pools and a good beach for sand castleing.

I'd choose Santa Cruz with kids. The Boardwalk is terrific (I was just there yesterday and had a terrific time). The wharf is great too. There are some good beaches for building sandcastles, although there aren't so many shells on the beaches in Santa Cruz. Capitola Village is a good place to go too - it's only a few miles from Santa Cruz so you can see both fairly easily.

If you're in San Francisco, you might want to try Fort Funston - especially on a weekend. It's dog heaven because it's an off-leash area where dogs are allowed to roam as they will.

There are trails up above the beach cliffs and usually some hang-gliders when there's a good wind.

You'll see dogs of every breed hanging out and fetching things.

Fort Funston is at the southern end of Ocean Beach - the same long beach across from Golden Gate Park where you'll find the Cliff House and Beach Chalet. It's also pretty close to the Zoo.

http://www.bahiker.com/sfhikes/funston.html

Oh, and best of all - free parking and lots of it!

You can also check out Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Moss Beach. There are great tidepools here. In Carmel, Point Lobos should not be missed. You will see all varieties of shore life and the tidepools are wonderful as well. In Stinson, your kids will be able to build sandcastles and find sand dollars(lots). Shell collecting just doesn't seem to be much here in No. California like it is in the East to my memory. You might check out SeaDrift Rentals for a house in Stinson if you are so inclined.