Goat Rock Beach is a sand beach in northwestern Sonoma County, California, United States.
This landform is a sub-unit of Sonoma Coast State Beach, owned and managed by the State of California. At the northern terminus of Goat Rock Beach is the mouth of the Russian River, and the southern end of this crescent shaped expanse is the massive Goat Rock, an iconic outcrop of the Sonoma Coast, which is barely attached to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
Goat Rock Beach
Mouth of Salmon Creek, looking south with Bodega Dunes to the South.
Arched Rock, as seen from Goat Rock Beach.
Rock formation on Goat Rock Beach
Sonoma Coast State Park is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of beach runs from a coastal point about 4 miles (6 km) north of Jenner and continues for approximately 17 miles (27 km) to the south to terminate at Bodega Head. The property lies along State Route 1 and consists of a number of named beaches including Arched Rock Beach, Gleason Beach and Goat Rock Beach. The ecosystem consists of alternating sandy beaches and rocky shoreline, with a marine terrace extending above the entire extent with an upland California coastal prairie habitat.
Sonoma Coast State Park
View southward from Peaked Hill near the north end of the Kortum Trail. Sunset Boulders are visible on the lower left edge of the photo.
Sunset Boulders (also known as Mammoth Rocks) are a popular bouldering site with evidence of use by ancient mammoth. A climber atop the rightmost boulder illustrates scale.
Coastal prairie in the Sonoma Coast State Park north of Jenner