West Beach

I came at 7 am in the morning and it was empty.
Pretty clean public beach.
Not dog friendly but it was empty so I let my pup run around a bit.

Nice sunny weather can make any beach beautiful. But this beach has a couple other things going for it. Stearn’s Wharf on one side and a harbor view on the other. Beaches on the walkway for people watching. Mellow currents great for kayaking and standup paddle surfing.

We stayed at a hotel across the street from West Beach. This side of the beach is a little more calm and not as crowded as the beach areas by the pier. There is street parking and neighborhood parking, but to avoid the hassle (since the street signs are confusing), I would try to just walk it or take public transportation.
Unless you’re staying nearby at a hotel or B&B, the beach is only within a block or 2 distance away. West Beach is walkable to the marina (5 – 10 min walk) or the opposite direction to the pier (5 – 10 min walk).

This is a beautiful beach that is easy to get too. Street parking is free. Long stretch of sand that is good for a stroll or jog. Also a great beach for playing volleyball — plenty of nets available.
The downside is that the beach is extremely windy. So windy that in 85 degree weather you want to put on a sweater to sit on the beach. There are better beaches in the area that are protected from the wind.

When I went on a cruise last October, we had to get tendered via lifeboats to and from an area that was right by the West Beach. We had to walk through here to get to downtown and back. It was obvious that the beach was «off-​season», and kind of small, but everything looked nice, especially when looking out into the water.

Great little section of beach — look at the wharf in one direction, the marina in another, volleyball courts, and if you’re lucky, watch the outriggers go in and out.

West Beach is located to the right of Sterns Wharf, if facing the ocean.
It’s a decent stretch of sand… space to lay out although the seaweed and associated flies are undesirable. So is the fact that the water looks filthy, what can you expect though with the wharf being so close. I wouldn’t go into the water but there is kayak rentals here, which as long as you don’t fall in, would be fun. There is also a few volleyball nets perfect to play a few games in the sunshine.
My favorite thing about this beach is the boardwalk. Perfect for taking a stroll and people watching the locals and tourists. Or look out into the ocean at the boats sailing away…

The beach had oil all over it. We were walking along the water and could see the black particles washing in an out. When we decided to walk back to the sidewalk we found that the entire beach had large globules of oil all over it and it got stuck onto our feet for days. There also seems to be a river that flows on to the beach and creates a little fresh water habitat, it’s looks sick and neglected. There was virtually no one out there too, all of the people were more interested in driving their cars out on the warf to shop or eat. This was really sad.