Town guide

St Ives, Cornwall: beaches, parking and getting there

St Ives Harbour Photo: ArildV, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

St Ives is described by Wikidata as a “seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England”. Its Cornish name is Porth Ia. Here are the beaches, council car parks and railway stations nearby.

Cornish name: Porth Ia
Beaches in our guide within 10 km: 12
Council car parks within 3 km: 12
Nearest railway station: St Ives station (200 m (0.1 miles))

Beaches near St Ives

Beaches in our guide within 10 km of the centre of St Ives, nearest first.

Beach	Distance (straight line)	Council dog rule	Water quality 2025
Porthminster	300 m (0.2 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 15 May – 30 September	Excellent
Porthmeor	640 m (0.4 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 15 May – 30 September	Excellent
Porthgwidden	830 m (0.5 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August	Excellent
Carbis Bay	1.6 km (1.0 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 15 May – 30 September	Excellent
Porthkidney Sands	3.4 km (2.1 miles)	Check the council map: a nearby listed area has dog rules	Excellent
Mexico Towans	4.1 km (2.6 miles)	Check the council map: a nearby listed area has dog rules	Excellent
Hayle Towans	4.5 km (2.8 miles)	Check the council map: a nearby listed area has dog rules	Excellent
Upton Towans	5.5 km (3.4 miles)	Check the council map: a nearby listed area has dog rules	Excellent
Gwithian Towans	6.6 km (4.1 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August (council-listed stretch)	Excellent
Godrevy	6.7 km (4.2 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August (council-listed stretch)	Excellent
Marazion	9.3 km (5.8 miles)	No dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August (council-listed stretch)	Excellent
Long Rock	9.3 km (5.8 miles)	Check the council map: a nearby listed area has dog rules	Excellent

Council dog restrictions listed under St Ives

Porthgwidden Beach, St Ives: no dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August (map PDF)
Porthmeor Beach, St Ives: no dogs 10am–6pm, 15 May – 30 September (map PDF)
Porthminster Beach, St Ives: no dogs 10am–6pm, 15 May – 30 September (map PDF)
St Ives Harbour Beach, St Ives: no dogs 10am–6pm, 1 July – 31 August (map PDF)

From Cornwall Council’s dogs-on-beaches list, last updated 23 October 2026.

Council car parks in and near St Ives

Cornwall Council car parks within 3 km of the centre, nearest first. We do not quote charges, which change; each council page has current tariffs.

Council car park	Postcode	Distance (straight line)	Spaces	Open	Council page updated
Station, St Ives	TR26 2BH	170 m (0.1 miles)	106	24 hours	4 August 2026
Westcotts Quay, St Ives	TR26 2EA	180 m (0.1 miles)	7	24 hours	27 May 2026
Park Avenue, St Ives	TR26 1QE	290 m (0.2 miles)	77	24 hours	4 August 2026
Trenwith, St Ives	TR26 1DD	350 m (0.2 miles)	311 (winter) 759 (summer)	24 hours	27 May 2026
Barnoon Long Stay, St Ives	TR26 1JF	480 m (0.3 miles)	124	24 hours	4 August 2026
Barnoon Reserved, St Ives	TR26 1JD	510 m (0.3 miles)	52	24 hours	27 May 2026
Smeatons Pier, St Ives	TR26 1PS	590 m (0.4 miles)	31	24 hours	6 August 2026
Porthmeor, St Ives	TR26 1JU	610 m (0.4 miles)	30	24 hours	6 August 2026
Wheal Dream, St Ives	TR26 1PR	750 m (0.5 miles)	22	24 hours	27 May 2026
Porthgwidden, St Ives	TR26 1PP	780 m (0.5 miles)	107	24 hours	27 May 2026
Island, St Ives	TR26 1SY	800 m (0.5 miles)	129	24 hours	4 August 2026
Porthrepta, Carbis Bay	TR26 2NZ	2.1 km (1.3 miles)	180	24 hours	27 May 2026

Getting to St Ives by train

The nearest National Rail stations to the centre of St Ives:

St Ives station: 200 m (0.1 miles)
Carbis Bay station: 1.8 km (1.1 miles)
Lelant station: 4.2 km (2.6 miles)

Straight-line distance, our own calculation from OpenStreetMap station locations (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). It is not a walking or road route. See also beaches you can reach by train.