Entry No. 25 — the Santa Cruz file — filed under: forgotten history

New Brighton State Beach (site of China Beach village)

Long before it was a campground, this cove was called China Beach — a Chinese fishing village that supplied labor and seafood to the whole county from the 1850s on, until the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and displacement by other fishermen erased it so completely that by 1900 almost nothing remained, a vanishing most beachgoers never learn happened right under their tents.

The move: Camp or picnic at the bluff-top sites above the cove, then walk down to the sand at low tide and try to find any trace of the fishing camp that supported the whole county's table for fifty years before it was wiped off the map.

• 📍 Capitola/Aptos border
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 1500 Park Ave, Capitola, CA 95010

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · parks.ca.gov

last checked: 2026-07-20