California's 6 Most Unusual Beaches

Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur

The sand on this beach is purple. Honest. At first, it looks like someone spilled a package of grape Jell-o on the sand, but the hue actually comes from tiny garnets that wash down from the hillside above.

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg

This unique beach in Fort Bragg is possibly the prettiest thing that ever happened to a city dump. Decades later, all the broken glass has been tumbled and softened in the surf, leaving the beach covered with colorful, polished glass shards.

Bowling Ball Beach, Mendocino

OK, they're not real bowling balls, but the rocks on Mendocino's most photogenic beach do resemble the real thing. Go at low tide to get the best look.

Oceano Beach, Pismo Beach

Unusual for the human activity on and around it, Oceano is the only California beach you can drive a vehicle onto. In the nearby dunes, you'll find a cadre of plucky drivers kicking up sand as they take their Off-Highway vehicles over the contours.

Piedras Blancas, San Simeon

It's not the only place in California you can see Northern Elephant Seals haul out of the ocean to give birth and mate, but it's certainly the most accessible, just a stones throw from the highway.

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

In our books, Venice Beach takes top honors for its funky, anything-goes ambiance, scantily-clad skaters and general quirkiness. We've seen everything here from chanting Hare Krishnas to dogs wearing sunglasses.