Carmel River State Beach in Carmel by the Sea, California is popular for hikes, kayaking and sunbathing during the summer months.

Carmel River State Beach is one of several beaches in Carmel by the Sea, California. The neighboring beach operated by the city is Carmel City Beach. Carmel River State Beach is known for its lagoon. The lagoon at the mouth of the Carmel River was formed as the result of the opposing forces of the rive and Pacific Ocean meeting head on at the shoreline. The longshore currents of the ocean are continuously depositing sand on the beach at the river's mouth. Periodically the sand gets built up into a sandbar and the river no longer flows freely out into the ocean. Instead, the water flowing down the river fills up the lagoon and backs up into the marshy area behind the lagoon.

After a rainstorm when enough water is flowing down the river to break through the sandbar, the lagoon finally begins to empty and the river flows out into the ocean once again.

The brackish water in the lagoon and marsh is a combination of fresh water and salty seawater. It serves as the lifeblood for the very productive plant community of the marsh. The pickle-wee, saltgrass and tule reeds provide food and shelter for a variety of animals ranging in size from tiny aquatic organisms to large waterfowl.

The Carmel Rive also hosts the southernmost major steelhead trout run in North America, with approx. 2000 adult fish swimming up the river from the ocean to spawn each year.

Between the southern end of the San Francisco Bay and Morro Bay, a distance of 160 miles, the coastal salt marsh habitat is found only at Elkhorn Slough and here, at the mouth of the Carmel River. The lagoon and marsh offer a rare glimpse into a type of ecosystem that can be seen in only a very few places along the coast of California.

On Carmel Bay, the mile-long beach features a bird sanctuary in a lagoon (just before the Carmel River empties into the sea) featuring a wide variety of waterfowl and song birds. Monastery Beach, or San Jose Creek Beach, is popular with scuba divers. Ocean and swimming and wading are extremely dangerous.

Location: One mile south of Ocean Avenue. Turn right on Rio Road toward the Carmel Mission, then turn left onto Carmelo Street, to the parking lot. For more information, check out parks.ca.gov

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