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 is frequented by beachcombing visitors, but usually not in high numbers, except in mid-summer; there is some wading and surfing activity, although these uses are moderated by the rip current generated by a steep gradient into the water that leads to an underwater trench parallel to the waterline. The beach is also a regular resting ground for a variety of gulls (including Western Gull, California Gull, and Ring Billed Gull), river otters, elephant seals, harbor seals, and sea lions, with the latter three species often hauling out of the Pacific Ocean. The state of California recommends that a distance be preserved between human visitors and the seasonal marine mammals, especially in the pupping season. Vicinity features The Russian River, with its mouth at the north end of Goat Rock Beach, is Sonoma County's largest watercourse, both in flow rate and lineal extent. Immediately beyond the Russian River discharge to the Pacific Ocean is the coastal town of Jenner. North of the mouth of the Russian River is Jenner Beach. Goat Rock protrudes into the Pacific at the south end of Goat Rock Beach. Visitors can access the base of Goat Rock via a low lying isthmus of land which has been appropriated by the State as a parking area. The almost sheer cliffs of Goat Rock are virtually impossible to scale or to circumnavigate; in fact, signage is posted prohibiting either activity. There is considerable sloughing of broken rock from these vertical surfaces of Goat Rock. Blind Beach is situated immediately south of Goat Rock Beach, the two beaches being separated by Goat Rock itself. Along Goat Rock Beach and the adjoining beaches, massive rock outcroppings are found both on the shore and protruding from the Pacific Ocean as small skerries. Among these rugged structures are natural arches formed by powerful wave action selectively eroding weaker strata of the rock formations. Approximately to the south is another major