Rodeo Beach is a a beautiful beach located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Part of the beach is sandy and open, with a large sand bar enclosing a lagoon to the east of the beach. The beach gets many visitors from the Bay Area for surfing, and sunbathing, but the rocky shoreline and cliff faces south of the main entrance to the beach are perfect for landscape photographers.

Photos and location summary by Rick Berk

Trail Difficulty - EASY

The trail is easy, simply a walk along a coarse, sandy beach. From the parking area on Mitchell Road, cross to the beach and walk south along the shoreline to where the cliffs begin. You'll see a large rock formation in the water that will indicate my favorite spot on the beach to photograph.

GPS Coordinates & Elevation

37°49'40.0"N 122°32'05.3"W

Elevation - Sea Level

Download KMZ Trail File

Photography Tips

Plan to get wet photographing this spot if the tide is coming in. This beach is known for its dangerous currents and large waves, so you'll want to always keep one eye on the ocean to avoid any disasters. The rocky area of the beach offers a lot of great compositional elements and possibilities.

Directions

View In Google earth

EXIF Data

Focal Length – 16mm
Exposure – th sec @ f 8.0
ISO – 100
Date – Feb 25
Time – xxx

Best Time of Day to Shoot

This spot is unequivocally a sunset location, facing west into the Pacific Ocean. The warm light sets the cliff faces aglow, and you'll get those classic California skies at sunset.

Best Time of Year

This location is good year round. In late February the sunset can be captured directly between the two sea stacks set out in the water.

The above image was taken on Feb 25th

Lens(es) Needed

Wide angle and standard lenses are my choice here.

The above image was taken at 16mm

Birds-Eye View

Permits

There are no permits required in the area.

Direction of the Shot

Equipment Needed

Number of Other Photographers to Expect

When I was there, there were no other photographers. I would expect maybe one or two at times, but the beach gets a lot of use from tourists and locals so expect to have a few people around.

Rodeo Beach