I lived in the Bay Area of California from 1971 to 1976, and went to the
beach every other weekend during much of that time. The coast is basically
rocky, with beaches along long stretches beneath the cliffs. Some beaches
are restricted to tiny coves. The main exception is Monterey Bay, where
beach parallels dunes for several miles.
 
During my five years in California, I visited almost all of the publicly
accessible beaches from Marin to San Mateo Counties, and shells are pretty
sparse. Dead sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) are sometimes common on
beaches along Monterey Bay. I didn't try collecting in bays. Collecting is
better on rocky shores, where dead shells of many colorful species can be
found in gravel between boulders. I remember how thrilled I was to find a
brachiopod. But my information is 20 years out of date, and many beaches
are off-limits to all forms of collecting. At marine reserves, no
collecting is allowed, even of rocks.
 
If you're collecting memories and photos rather than shells, I recommend
stopping at Seal Rock in San Francisco (seals barking), Moss Landing, any
one of the public beaches from San Gregorio to Bean Hollow, any beach along
the Monterey Bay dunes, the Monterey Peninsula itself, Point Lobos, Ano
Nuevo Point (elephant seals), Big Sur. Collecting is not allowed at several
of these places, but it would be silly not to see some of the best views in
California (especially Point Lobos) just because you can't collect there.
 
And let me know if they still make a fine cream of artichoke soup in
Pescadero.
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama