Castor Bay Beach Reserve

Castor Bay is the bay after Milford and before Campbells Bay along the East Coast. It has the nearby Salt restaurant as a good landmark if you’re trying to locate it.
It’s a small bay with an equally small car park– especially with the boat ramp in the corner. However, it’s gorgeous with it’s glass-​clear water and shelter by the cliffs on either side with ground-​level rocks. You don’t have to walk very far before it gets deep and it’s lovely to swim in. A great view straight onto Rangitoto as well as a neat playground and grass area. Shade is available by the trees planted about.
Popular when I last came here with lots of people of all ages dotted around everywhere. So circle around, find a park and enjoy

Castor Bay Beach is aiiight. It’s not huge but it’s quite sheltered, more so than neighbouring beaches, Milford & Campbell. There’s a small children’s playground at one end and basic shower/​toilet facilities. Parking is limited.
Easily my favourite time to go to Castor Bay is low tide. Then you can climb around the rocks at the north end to this small secluded beach below Kennedy Park. I’m pretty sure that dogs are allowed off leash here too, even in the peak of Summer.
If you’re feeling energetic, climb the steep stairs and check out the WWII gun emplacements and tunnels. They’re not as good as the ones at North Head but still, pretty impressive!

Castor Bay is the quintessential North Shore beach in that it’s perfect for families with kids. It’s shallow and really well sheltered by the surrounding cliffs, so it’s about as safe as a swimming beaches can come. In addition, there’s a nice bit of park behind the beach and a decent sort of playground. I’ve spent many a day here with the little bro, he’s 9 years my junior, so plenty of learning about the water took place here back in the day. Also, for the geologically inclined the cliffs are some of the best examples of layered sedimentary sandstone at the end of the beach — it’s literally a snapshot of time pushed out of the earth looking at it — incredible.
So something for everyone then, and as ever with all beaches, there’s always the option of coming down on a hot day, swimming and sunbathing with a good book.

This reserve /​beach is a lovely beach to come to, its located in between Campbells Bay and Milford Beach. Its a lovely beach for kids as the water is quite shallow and very small waves so they can run around it in without you being too anxious. Some people might not like the fact that its lined with rocks, however for smaller children its actually quite nice as it gives them something to explore and learn about. My toddler had great fun running around in the water today and picking up and throwing the rocks and it was lovely and warm due to it being shallow.
There is also a walk you can do along the coast via JF Kennedy Memorial walkway, you can then continue walking onto Campbells Bay via Beach road if you wish, you will get some beautiful views from here.
This reserve has a small but nice playground for the kids, and a great big tree for the older ones to climb. The reserve also has some shaded areas if you don’t want to be right under the sun.

Of all the Bays beaches I think Castor Bay would be the best for a day out with the kids. It’s not a very large beach but it’s bigger than Campbells and Mairangi. There’s a huge grassy area and an amazing big tree that I remember climbing for hours at a time. When it comes to swimming, this beach is awesome for children and a little draining for adults. The beach only slopes very gradually so once you hit the water it is shallow for quite a while before dropping off. So really, for kids it’s a dream beach. And because the water is quite shallow I always think it’s a bit warmer here and an awesome spot to wallow.
Parking can be a bit of a nightmare. It seems like there are lots of spots to park but in reality there aren’t that many and they get snapped up quickly when the weather is good. Sometimes you might have to park up Beach Road a bit and take a walk down. It’s good to get a bit of a sweat up — it makes the swim that much better!