Opal Cliffs is east of Capitola's downtown region but is visible from the the wharf and most other beach locations. Located on the south end of  Santa Cruz, it is one of those gems or hidden treasures known best to locals. And what keeps the area especially guarded is a beach called Privates, named for the key you must purchase to gain access to the beach.  For years surfers, nude sunbathers and beach lovers have found ways to break down the gate and not pay $20/annual fee to purchase the key. Gates are now better constructed and surfers report that this is OK. It keeps their surfing spot the way they like it, private. 

The name, Opal Cliffs, was derived from a train stop and lumber yard named Opal, operated by the Loma Prieta Lumber Company approximately 100 years ago. Above Capitola Village at the end of what is today Prospect Street, the Loma Prieta logging camps in the mountains above Aptos and Soquel brought their lumber to Opal for shipment on the Southern Pacific Railroad to San Francisco.

Capitola developer and land owner, Frederick Hihn, deeded the property surrounding Opal to grandson Eulice Hihn. When Eulice died in an accident, his widow Kathryn inherited the land. She married J.T. McGeoghegan and subdivided her property during the real estate boom after World War I. In the summer of 1923, the land became Opal Subdivision 1 of the Fairview Tract, taking the name of the train stop.

Many of the streets of the subdivision were identified by numbers for years. After Capitola incorporated in 1949, a demand for new homes grew. During the 1950's maps showed Opal Street joined by Garnet, Diamond, Jade, Topaz, Crystal and the other "gems" of the Jewel Box.

Opal Cliffs in Capitola features steep hillsides with sparse vegetation consisting of relatively weak sandstone and siltstone. There is little protection provided by the narrow beach. Erosion rates here have increased following the construction of a jetty at Seabright Beach, as littoral drift has been reduced. The cliffs have been developed with private housing which is now highly vulnerable to marine erosion.

The cliffs at Capitola also consist of weak material but have been heavily urbanized. Development of the cliff tops is likely to increase the ground water content promoting the likelihood of landslides. The protective beach in front of the sea cliffs has also reduced in size as a result of a reduction in sand supply from littoral drift caused by the construction of a jetty at Seabright Beach.

While access to the beach areas can be obtained via other beaches, more than a wanderer or two has become stranded in the near regions of this secluded beach and its coves. Santa Cruz harbor patrol officers rescued four beachgoers near Capitola not long ago after the group found itself trapped on a small beach by the rising tide.

One man and two women from Santa Cruz, along with a Camarillo woman, had gone to Capitola beach in the middle of the day, and walked west to a remote area beneath Opal Cliffs Drive. After spending several hours at the beach, they discovered the tide had risen above the rocks on either side of their beach, leaving them trapped below sheer cliffs about 100 feet high. A passerby atop the cliffs noticed the group and called 911.

Harbor officials responded in a patrol boat and rescue swimmers helped pull the four through the surf to the waiting craft. They were treated for minor hypothermia by fire officials at the Capitola Wharf; one woman had minor cuts on her knee.