Spanish Bay

Pacific Grove, California

Swim Guide connects millions of people to water. Donate to help us keep this free service going.

Spanish Bay sits on the 17 Mile Drive, one of the most scenic drives in the United States. The Lone Cypress has sat on the tip of eroding rocks for over 250 years close to this beach. Beautiful golden sand extends for miles along the coast and with picnic locations along the way.

Photo by: Tom Chow

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 10th, 2022. Swim Guide - Main updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on May 16th, 2022 at 12:24 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

12°C

Clear and sunny

Report Pollution

Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Monterey County Health Department collects samples at this beach every week from April 1st - October 31st and from monthly November 1st - March 31st. Samples are tested for levels of total coliform, fecal coliform and enterococcus. Swim Guide checks daily for updates during the monitoring season.

The standards for indicator bacteria are as follows:

Single sample maximum
Total Coliform > 10,000 MPN (Most Probable Number) / 100 ml of water
Fecal Coliform > 400 MPN / 100 ml
Enterococcus > 104 MPN / 100 ml

Geometric Mean (5 samples collected over a 30 day period)
Total Coliform > 1,000 MPN / 100 ml of water
Fecal Coliform > 200 MPN / 100 ml
Enterococcus > 33 MPN / 100 ml

A coastal beach is marked Green when bacteria levels for a single day and geometric mean are below the standards mentioned.

A coastal beach is marked Red when bacteria levels for a single day or the geometric mean are above the standards mentioned.

A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.

Water Quality Graph