Shark Fin Cove aka Shark Tooth Beach

September 18, 2016

One day, as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed as usual, I noticed a picture of a beach taken by a friend of mine from the East Coast who was visiting California at that time. The beach had a huge rock shaped like a shark fin, standing out boldly in the cove. I have been to many beaches along the Pacific coast in the Bay Area, but I have not seen that one before. Curious, I asked my friend about it. The name of the beach? Shark Tooth Beach. After some Googling, the beach also went by the name Shark Fin Cove. Since even folks from the East Coast knew about this beach, I decided to check it out.

I took the coastal route down to Davenport via Highway 1. Along the way, I passed by fields of mustard bloom which I blogged about in my previous post. I usually only drive as far south along Highway 1 as Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Shark Fin Cove was way past that. Maybe that was the reason I have not seen this beach before.

I parked my car at the dirt pull out and made my way down to the cove. From the entrance, I could already clearly see how the beach got its name.

Dirt path leading down to the beach.

The weather was perfect for beach photography: clear skies with streaks of cirrus clouds. The wind was not too strong, so I did not have to deal with annoying blowing sand or dust. I went around exploring the beach and snapping away with my SLR.

Beautiful day for beach photography.

The wind was alright. Not much dust or sand getting kicked up.

Staring down at the shark fin rock, framed by the surrounding cliffs.

Apart from the iconic shark fin rock, there was also a sea tunnel at the beach, which made for a very interesting photograph subject.

The sea tunnel makes for a very interesting photograph subject.

View coming out from the tunnel.

Small stream emerging from the rocks.

Stream leading out to the ocean.

After I was satisfied with the beach, I went back up to the entrance and went over to both sides of the cliffs flanking the cove. From the top of the cliff, you can get an outstanding view of the cove and the Shark Fin Rock. Looking north, the coastal cliffs come into view, a typical feature in Northern California. I spent a while there taking pictures, watching the birds fly around the rock, with the thunderous waves crashing below it.