OCEAN BEACH

Description

Essentials about Ocean Beach in brief

Ocean Beach is the largest beach in the San Francisco metropolitan area. It stretches for about seven kilometers from Lands End in the north along Golden Gate Park and several residential neighborhoods to Lake Merced Park in the south. Because of the high waves, Ocean Beach is a hotspot for the surfing scene. However, swimming is life-threatening due to the swell. This makes a walk on the beach, a dune picnic or a meal at the famous Cliff House all the more appealing.

Surfing and swimming at Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach is especially popular with surfers because of its waves. Swimming, on the other hand, is life-threatening here. It is not even recommended to go into the water, even with your legs, because in the past the dangerous rip currents and the high waves have already cost some people their lives. Besides, the water temperature is not exactly inviting for swimming anyway.

Other activities at Ocean Beach

That makes it all the nicer to stroll along the sandy beach, ride a bike along the boardwalk, picnic in the dunes, or dine at the legendary Cliff House. For a city beach, Ocean Beach is usually surprisingly quiet. This is primarily due to the frequently inclement weather. On many days of the year, in fact, the beach is shrouded in San Francisco’s notorious fog.

In some places, by the way, the sand of Ocean Beach is black. This is no cause for alarm. After all, it has nothing to do with an oil spill or other pollution. Rather, the background of the black coloration is magnetite particles that are washed onto the shore during storms.