Contact Information
250 Executive Park Blvd., Suite 4900
San Francisco, CA 94134
415-330-6300
This state beach was named in memory of State Assemblyman Robert W. Crown, who campaigned for the site's preservation as public parkland.
The Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary is located at the east end of the park and is home for aquatic birds and other salt marsh creatures. At the north end of the beach, Crab Cove is a marine reserve.
The Crab Cove Visitor Center features exhibits of the area's colorful past when it was known as the "Coney Island of the West" with bathing spas competing for business with concerts, hot-air balloons, carnivals, baseball games, prize fights and other attention-getting events. The visitor center also contains exhibits about San Francisco Bay.The park features 2.5 miles of beach, bordered by lawns and picnic grounds, with a bicycle trail. The water at the beach is usually warm and swimming is permitted year round, although there are no lifeguards on duty. A bathhouse is available with changing rooms. Nearby are picnic tables, barbecue pits, and a lawn area, popular for baseball games. The beach attracts windsurfers. Sailboats for rent and lessons are available during the summer on weekends. Each June the park features a sand castle and sand sculpture contest.
Climate in the San Francisco-Bay varies greatly with elevation and the amount of coastal influence. Areas with more coastal influence experience moderate temperatures year round with fog likely from June through mid-August. Plan your coastal visit in the late summer or fall to ensure the best conditions for viewing the scenery. Also, occasional clear days between winter and spring storms are incomparable. Areas further inland experience greater temperature extremes, with relatively cooler winters and hot summers. Inland areas often receive frost on winter nights. As throughout most of California most of the precipitation comes in the winter months, with April through October normally very dry.
