The region’s beaches vary from long, white-sand strands to cobblestone pocket coves. The water temperature is in the high 40s to low 50s year-round; it’s often rough, so swimmers and surfers should be prepared for adverse conditions.

Crescent Beach is a long sandy beach 2 miles south of Crescent City that’s popular with beachcombers, surf fishermen, and surfers. Just south of Crescent Beach is Endert’s Beach, a protected spot with a hike-in campground and tide pools at the southern end of the beach.

High coastal overlooks (such as Klamath and Crescent Beach overlooks) make great whale-watching outposts during the southern migration in December and January and the return migration in March and April.

The northern sea cliffs also provide valuable nesting sites for such marine birds as auklets, puffins, murres, and cormorants. Birders will thrill at the park’s freshwater lagoons as well. These coastal lagoons are some of the most pristine shorebird and waterfowl habitats left, and they’re chock-full of hundreds of different species.