California Beaches: The Complete Guide to More Than 400 Beaches and 1,200 Miles of Coastline [Paperback]

Parke Puterbaugh (Author), Alan Bisbort (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996 | Series: Foghorn Outdoors: California Beaches

The authors exhaustively list and describe each California beach--from the classic sunny Southern California model to the ruggedly beautiful Mendocino Coast variety. And they convey the ambiance of each place by chronicling every activity, restaurant, lodging, nightclub, arcade and hangout within walking distance of the beach. 25 maps.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the tip of Mexico to the Oregon border, the beaches of California have a persona that's larger even than the state's 1,200 miles of coast. But not all sandy strips are equal, and Parke Puterbaugh and Alan Bisbort ("America's beach bums," as Larry King calls them) review and rate more than 400 beaches for access, privacy, beauty, ruggedness, swimability, and recreational activities. They have the skinny on extras, too, like the best fish taco stands and campgrounds. Witty as well as practical, the authors poke fun at beach culture and sun worship while honoring the miles of glorious golden sand.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Foghorn Pr (April 1996)
• ISBN-10: 0935701001
• ISBN-13: 978-0935701005
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,817,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KOWABUNGA! Buy CALIFORNIA BEACHES, now!, May 21, 1998

By 

Robert Jacobson (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California Beaches: The Complete Guide to More Than 400 Beaches and 1,200 Miles of Coastline (Paperback)

Boy, did this book ever surprise me!

Last month, I purchased CALIFORNIA BEACHES from Amazon.Com, hoping to learn about my home state's more obscure beaches prior to prowling them. Having grown up on an L.A. beach (Playa del Rey, near LAX, to be exact), I wanted also to test my knowledge of the coast.

CALIFORNIA BEACHES didn't disappoint. All the knowledge relevant to beach fans was there: quality of beaches, swimming and surf conditions, general description, size of crowds, access information, accommodations, night life, etc.

What I didn't expect, and what has kept me reading this thick paperback night after night, is the richness of its cultural sociology. Parke and Allen have California pegged! CALIFORNIA BEACHES is primarily a guidebook, but it is also the most insightful analysis of life on California's Pacific Rim in the late 20th Century I've come across -- and I've read them all.

Representative topics discussed in extensive sidebars, frequently running two or three pages, include the ocean as icon, the immigration question, land-preservation controversies, freeway congestion, pollution and clean-up of the seas, access rights for beachgoers vs. property rights of beach homeowners, the evolving music scene, North vs. South as a defining characteristic of California life, and so on. Parke and Allen do an excellent job of describing the local cities that front on the beaches, too, in terms of geography, culture, and even political issues.

Moreover, Parke and Allen's descriptions of the state's beaches and beach towns are right-on, based on my personal experience...and they have been to all of them! (I'm envious of their lifestyle, frankly. They get to do this for a living.)

CALIFORNIA BEACHES is witty, trenchant, and just plain GOOD. As I read the book it was as if grown-up members of my high-school bodysurfing club were reporting their adventures, still wondering at the California coast's wonders and mysteries.

One more thing: CALIFORNIA BEACHES, the publisher notes, i! s printed with soy ink on recycled paper; and a contribution is made to the coastal-protection advocacy organization, the Surfrider Foundation, for each copy purchased.

All you surf dudes and dudettes: buy this book! And then get ready to "hit the beach," well-informed.

Bob Jacobson Founding Member, Manhattan Beach Bodysurfing Association, 1966-1970

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK snapshot overviews, but not always consistent, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: California Beaches (Paperback)

I feel that the title is a misnomer. In my opinion, you go to the beach when you are south of Point Conception and you go to the coast when you are north of Point Conception.

The authors' approach of listing state, local and private facilites is helpful. I would have liked geologic information - for example descriptions of bottom conditions (ie sandy, rocky etc.). However, I realize that a consistent description is geologically impossible. So, I suggest that you get the California Coastal Access Guide as a companion volume and use both to "guesstimate".

Some of this book is available at the publisher's website for free. If at all possible, I suggest that you check out the commentary on the website for a beach and town that you know before purchasing this book. That will give you an idea of the the size of the grain of salt that you will need to take with the commentary. For the beaches and beach towns I know well, I come close to concurring with their opinions. However, I find many of their recommendations for food/lodging/nightlife rather rich for my taste and budget, so I'm looking elsewhere for this information.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Beach Experience, August 11, 2005

By 

S. Turnbull - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foghorn Outdoors: California Beaches: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat, and Stay on the Coast (Paperback)

We used the Foghorn California Camping, Hiking and Beaches books during a trip to California. The beach book didn't let us down with places to eat and beaches to visit. When there are so many beaches to visit and places to eat, it can be hard to narrow down one's choices. The book steered us in the right direction. We had a great time and left with some colorful memories and pictures. Being from Colorado, our trip to California was all about satisfying a need to be near water and this book helped make it a fantastic experience.

I have never before written a review about a book on Amazon, but my positive experience with the Foghorn series has compelled me to do so.