Thornton State Beach is a 58-acre protected stretch of Pacific shoreline in Daly City on the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. Established in 1955 as part of California’s state park system, it is known for its exposed ocean setting and cool Mediterranean climate marked by frequent wind and summer fog. The beach takes its name from Robert S. Thornton, a Rhode Island blacksmith who arrived in the San Francisco area in 1851 and became the first white settler in the immediate area. Closed in 2009 because of landslide damage and slope-failure danger, it fully reopened by late 2021.