Right Beaches › California › Daly City
Thornton State Beach
4.7★ · 770 Google ratings · Daly City, California
✓ Parking✓ Free
At a glance
Parking
Street parking · 20 ft away · free
Walk
400 yd · 5 min
Restrooms
None reported
Cost
Free
Water
60°F · modelled, no buoy nearby
Tide
3 ft range today
Sand
125 yd from the water to the back
Crowds
Quietest Tue 8am
Map of Thornton State Beach
1
1Parking
Guide
Good to know
Free parking reported
Visitors report no charge to park here.Mentioned by 12 visitors · 2017–2026
Visit for cliff-top views and trails
The main appeal is bluff-top hiking and panoramic ocean vistas, not beach swimming or access.
Arrive before 9am for solitude
Dog walkers and crowds increase significantly later in the day, especially on weekends.
Plan for steep, difficult descent
Getting to the actual beach requires scrambling down sandy cliffs or finding makeshift routes, not a casual walk.
Bring a windproof jacket
The cliffside location creates persistent, aggressive wind that can blow sand in your face.
Conditions
How it is right now
Air
61°F · overcast
Water
60°F · modelled, no buoy nearby
Waves
3.1 ft · 10 s apart
Wind
3 mph from the WSW
Shelter
Onshore · wind blowing straight in off the water
UV index
7 peak today
| Time | Tide | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 06:28 | High tide | ↑ |
| 10:22 | Low tide | ↓ |
| 16:38 | High tide | ↑ |
Last updated Sep 4, 5:31 AM.
Crowds
When it gets busy
| 8a | 9a | 10a | 11a | 12p | 1p | 2p | 3p | 4p | 5p | 6p | 7p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mo | ||||||||||||
| Tu | ||||||||||||
| We | ||||||||||||
| Th | ||||||||||||
| Fr | ||||||||||||
| Sa | ||||||||||||
| Su |
QuietBusy
Practical
Plan your visit
📍 Thornton Beach Rd, Daly City, CA 94015
🅿 Parking 20 ft from the listing
🌊 Water 400 yd away, about 5 min walk
Nearby
Other beaches close by
0.7 miles away · shorter walk
1.6 miles away · shorter walk
3.0 miles away · shorter walk
4.3 miles away · shorter walk
4.5 miles away · shorter walk
6.1 miles away · shorter walk
Find another
Not the right one?
Find another beach that works for today.
Where are you starting from?
More options
What matters today?
Contribute
Been here recently?
Help other visitors with fresh information about Thornton State Beach. Everything below is optional except the last box.
Questions
Common questions
Where do you park at Thornton State Beach?
The nearest mapped parking area is 20 ft from the listed location. Positions come from OpenStreetMap, not from review text.
How far is the walk to the water at Thornton State Beach?
400 yd in a straight line from the listing to the mapped shoreline, about 5 min. Soft sand and dune make the real walk longer than the straight line.
Does Thornton State Beach have restrooms?
No restrooms are mapped within 600 m on OpenStreetMap. That means nobody has mapped any, which is not the same as there being none.
When is Thornton State Beach least busy?
Google visit patterns put the quietest hour at Tue 8am and the busiest at Sat 3pm.
Measured from OpenStreetMap, public aerial imagery and live conditions data, and counted from visitor reviews. Every source, in full.
