look carefully for the Western Snowy Plovers
McGrath State Beach is a large beach and camping facility in the California State Park system. The entrance is just north of the intersection with West Gonzales Road on North Harbor Blvd. This beach features camping facilities, showers, and bathrooms. The beach is broad and a nice place for recreation on the sand.
This site has many wonderful natural features that make it an excellent place to bird watch and look for native plants. The north end of the site, you'll find the delta of the Santa Clara River; in the middle is McGrath Lake, a dune swale lake; on the south end is a fairly natural dune field with limited human activity (probably because no one wants to walk that far on the sand). Look for Western Snowy Plovers, among other coastal birds, and native California beach and wetland vegetation which often has beautiful flowers.
