| Although access is not perfect, there are good reasons to visit this beach: to watch the whales or surfers, to sit high above the ocean, or to relax on a beach-level lawn. The road from the parking lot down to the beach is too long and steep for wheelchair riding. Fortunately, the park allows cars with disabled parking placards or plates to drive down to a drop-off zone near beach level. There is no parking at beach level, so someone is supposed to take the car up to the parking lot and hike back down.
As you drive down to the beach, check out the park beside the road. Its terraces are blanketed in plush green lawn overlooking the ocean. With binoculars the park makes a great whale-watching spot.
From the drop-off zone, you’ll find asphalt access roads that are easy to roll over despite a thin covering of sand. The north road ends at a restroom building behind which is a pleasant, hedge-lined lawn with a picnic table and a barbecue. The lawn is just above beach level, so it’s a wonderful place to view the beach without contending with sand. The rabbits that fed on the grass at twilight delighted us. The south road also ends at a restroom building (inaccessible) with a smaller lawn behind it.
Sea Terrace Community Park, on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway, is accessible through a pedestrian tunnel from the Salt Creek Beach parking lot. It’s a hilly park with beautiful lawns and nice concrete paths. You have to cross about six feet of gently sloping lawn to reach the nearest picnic table. This would be a nice place to fly a kite or play with children.
Restrooms
The only wheelchair-accessible restroom at Salt Creek is at beach level near the north lawn. The restroom has wide stalls and grab bars. The restrooms at the main parking lot have two-foot-wide doors and no wide stalls.
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