New Brighton State Beach
California State Park
Write a Review 1500 Park Ave. Capitola, CA 95010 831-464-6330 831-464-6329 Reservations: 800-444-7275 Official WebsiteGPS: 36.9834, -121.936
Overview of New Brighton State Beach
Last Price Paid: $35
Reported by camper-922114 on 5/8/2024
Longest RV Reported: 35 feet (Toy Hauler Fifth Wheel)
Reported by Xploringlife.com on 2/6/2019
Number of Sites 111
Pad Type asphalt
Reservations yes
Elevation 65 ft / 19 m
Max Stay 14
Max Length 36 ft
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about New Brighton State Beach
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 831-464-6330
DAVE asked on 1/7/2021
Does anyone know the bridge height going under Hwy 1 to access the New Brighton State Beach campground?
camper-667789 asked on 4/11/2022
Does New Brighton Beach charge dog (pet) fees? Is there a limit to number of pets permitted per camper?
Theswtldy asked on 6/14/2021
I was also wondering about the bridge height to access the New Brighton State Beach campground? Does anyone know?
Reviews of New Brighton State Beach 25 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 11 Users
Last reported 9/26/2023
Confirmed by 11 Users
Last reported 5/8/2024
Confirmed by 4 Users
Last reported 3/25/2023
“Great Campsite”
Reviewed 5/8/2024
| Nightly rate: | $35 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 21 |
Overall Rating
Lovely stay. Less than 5 min walk to beach. Flushing toilets, coin operated hot showers. Quick drive into Santa Cruz and Capitola. If ever in the area I will be staying again! Also, we had great cell service (3 bars of 5g on ATT at campsite 21)
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AT&T 5G
camper-922114 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“ V Good”
Reviewed 5/8/2024
| Nightly rate: | $35 |
|---|
Overall Rating
Not Sure Why Has Such Bad Reviews. Site Is Clean Hot Showers Well Tended To. Amazing Location 5 Min Walk Down To Beach. Few uneven sites is only downside
AT&T 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Ride A Bike Or Walk Into Capitola”
Reviewed 3/9/2024
| Nightly rate: | $37 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 63 |
Overall Rating
The best part of this stay was being able to ride our bikes into the cute town of Capitola, where we had a delicious lunch. On our second night, a large group (3+ cars, 4 tents) set up camp in the site adjacent to ours. They did not respect the posted quiet hours and no one seemed to be monitoring. The only reason that we would return ... more
The best part of this stay was being able to ride our bikes into the cute town of Capitola, where we had a delicious lunch. On our second night, a large group (3+ cars, 4 tents) set up camp in the site adjacent to ours. They did not respect the posted quiet hours and no one seemed to be monitoring. The only reason that we would return to this park would be if we could procure one of the premium sites with a view overlooking the bay.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Lovely”
Reviewed 9/26/2023
| Nightly rate: | $35 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 7 |
| Site Number: | 97 |
| RV Length: | 34' (Class A) |
Overall Rating
First the max number of days you can stay is seven. There are some electrical and water hook up sites that you must pay $50/night. There are also some premium sites for $50 which supposedly look over the cliff onto the water. Site number 90 is a very short site and you cannot see the water but it is considered a premium site!!!! 81 wh... more
First the max number of days you can stay is seven. There are some electrical and water hook up sites that you must pay $50/night. There are also some premium sites for $50 which supposedly look over the cliff onto the water. Site number 90 is a very short site and you cannot see the water but it is considered a premium site!!!! 81 which is not a premium site is across the street and does have a view of the water. Unfortunately site 81 is in full sun. We enjoyed our site because we got enough solar, so we didn’t need to use the generator, but still had some shade. Quiet hours are 10 PM to 8 AM and generator hours are 10 AM to 8 PM. I’ve never seen these kind of hours before but maybe it occurs at all California state parks.
There’s a lot of poison oak, but it is cut way back around the area.
Dogs are allowed on the beach but must be on a leash. It’s a very short beach and once you hit potbelly beach you can take your dog off leash. We saw a lot of people with their dogs off leash even on the state beach, it doesn’t really seem to be enforced .
We were surprised at so many empty sites. We made a reservation six months in advance. The only time we saw a sign put out at the campground said it was full was on Friday and even then we saw many unused sites???
As California State Parks go at least they allowed the dogs on the path and on the beach.
The bathrooms were so so we didn’t use the showers. There were many water spigots throughout the campground that had a little stool so you could wash off your feet. Getting water at the dump station was funky as you had to pull in the opposite way the vehicles were going into the dump station to dump. Having a very long water hose would work also . The dump station was $10 and took credit cards.
They do not let you in the park until 2 PM. You can go and park in the day use area. The day use area is large and has plenty of parking. There is also overflow parking on the right hand side catty corner to the dump station, where you can park a large RV until you’re allowed into your spot.
We had no trouble putting our star link on the top of our RV as cell service was lousy. Cell service in the Day use area was excellent.
Sign say pay it forward and clean up your own site. We never saw anyone come around to clean up sites. People before us had left a lot of paper plates and trash in our fire ring. Firewood was $15 a bundle.
Recycling and trash were available throughout the park. There was a nice day use area for campers only that overlooked the water.
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Verizon 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Disappointing ”
Reviewed 8/3/2023
| Days stayed: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Site Number: | 65 |
| RV Length: | 21' (Class B) |
Overall Rating
We were excited to get 4 nights in New Brighton State Park. On the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Near Capitola, Aptos, and Santa Cruz. However, this poor park is beaten. Rules regulating the number of campers and people are overlooked. Several tents per campsite with fire pits smoldering and extra bbq’s around the tables. The fire pit ... more
We were excited to get 4 nights in New Brighton State Park. On the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Near Capitola, Aptos, and Santa Cruz. However, this poor park is beaten. Rules regulating the number of campers and people are overlooked. Several tents per campsite with fire pits smoldering and extra bbq’s around the tables. The fire pit at our site was left with trash in it.
All of this is so unfortunate. Amazing location. Just sad.
Verizon 5G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Cute State Park”
Reviewed 3/25/2023
| Nightly rate: | $35 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 30' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Verizon speed was fast enough to hit my plan cap of 50Mbps download and 12 Mbps upload. That required cellular band locking during peak times - high congestion. T-Mobile did 70/10. Both speeds were using a roof mounted Pepwave antenna. ATT had 5G but didn't speed test. We stayed for two nights. It's a cute little state park. The site... more
Verizon speed was fast enough to hit my plan cap of 50Mbps download and 12 Mbps upload. That required cellular band locking during peak times - high congestion. T-Mobile did 70/10. Both speeds were using a roof mounted Pepwave antenna. ATT had 5G but didn't speed test.
We stayed for two nights. It's a cute little state park. The site was somewhat level. The interior road is very narrow and winding. There was a warning about theft on our reservation window sticker but we didn't see anything sketchy.
The trail down to the beach was a fun experience - easy access down the side of a cliff. We didn't note the maintenance issues others did.
There were lots of resident quail and other birds.
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AT&T 5G
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Tin Tumbleweed would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“At The Beach, Great Area”
Reviewed 2/10/2023
| Days stayed: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Site Number: | 103 |
Overall Rating
There’s so much to do. Quaint little village of Capitola is nearby as are Aptos and Santa Cruz. Campground is mostly dry camping in spacious sites, some with electricity and water. Some sites have great ocean views. We were there in February after significant rains and out site (#103) had mud around it so we couldn’t really use the... more
There’s so much to do. Quaint little village of Capitola is nearby as are Aptos and Santa Cruz. Campground is mostly dry camping in spacious sites, some with electricity and water. Some sites have great ocean views. We were there in February after significant rains and out site (#103) had mud around it so we couldn’t really use the picnic table. Clean bathrooms and showers.
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AT&T 5G
Papa Lark would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Meh… yes, ocean & location but that is it”
Reviewed 6/4/2022
| Nightly rate: | $42 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 6 |
| Site Number: | 52 |
| RV Length: | 30' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Cons: -Site 52 is on a path that is not shown on the map. We would never in a million years chosen this site when we had the option of others, if we knew there was a path on it. -you have to pay each time you dump $10- we can see this for folks not staying here. Why is this not included in the stay fee for those that are? -loud at... more
Cons:
-Site 52 is on a path that is not shown on the map. We would never in a million years chosen this site when we had the option of others, if we knew there was a path on it.
-you have to pay each time you dump $10- we can see this for folks not staying here. Why is this not included in the stay fee for those that are?
-loud at night on weekends way after quiet hours
-people have had coolers and generators stolen so lock your vehicles
Pros:
-location
-ocean path in the campsite
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Grass and Stuff”
Reviewed 4/4/2022
| Nightly rate: | $33 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 3 |
| Site Number: | 62 |
Overall Rating
Sites have not been cleaned, raked or cared for since last season.
Lots of 'camper stuff' on the ground - bottle caps, candy wrapper pieces, etc. Picnic table was sticky and dirty. Needs to be power washed.
Grass was knee high.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Ocean views and bike to town”
Reviewed 3/20/2022
| Nightly rate: | $48 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 4 |
| Site Number: | 88 |
| RV Length: | 24' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
(Feb 27-March 2, 2022) This is a very nice state campground. We had a very large site with beautiful trees, grass (could use a cut but it was late winter), and ocean views. Easy walk down to ocean. Clean restroom and shower facilities. Quiet at night. Lots of families with kids bike riding around and people walking their dogs - like c... more
(Feb 27-March 2, 2022)
This is a very nice state campground. We had a very large site with beautiful trees, grass (could use a cut but it was late winter), and ocean views. Easy walk down to ocean. Clean restroom and shower facilities. Quiet at night. Lots of families with kids bike riding around and people walking their dogs - like camping is supposed to be. Part of the campground was not yet open, probably because it was winter. Nice ocean breezes in the afternoon and the sound of crashing waves to put you to sleep at night.
The campground is really close to Capitola and Santa Cruz, Sunset Beach, Aptos and Soquel. It is a great gateway to the seaside towns with restaurants, wine tasting, and pubs a short, easy bike away. Also, about 30 minute drive to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
I hesitate to give 5 stars since there is some neglected maintenance, like most CA state park campgrounds. Even reluctant to give 4 stars because I want to keep this more of a secret!
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AT&T 4G
zrokids would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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3 reviews
Scott's Thoughts
It’s been a rough winter in California. Val, Ainsley and I spent a weekend recently at New Brighton State Beach in Aptos, near Santa Cruz. It’s close to home and originally intended to shake out the tr...
283 reviews
New Brighton State Beach - Aluminarium
New Brighton State Beach in Capitola, CA (near Santa Cruz) is normally a reservation-only park, but “due to a hazardous tree removal project, campsites are off reservation and available on a f...
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Amenities
Hookups
- 50 Amp
- 30 Amp
- 20 Amp
- water
- dry camping
- Partial Hookups
Recreation
- picnic area
- recreation trail
- swimming beach
- water access
Site Amenities
- fire ring
- picnic table
Facilities
- dump station
- ADA Accessible
- recycle
- restrooms: flush
- showers
- trash
- water available
Pets
- pets
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