Here care needs to be taken with a daunting shore break that dumps progressively more viciously as high tide draws near. There are a few rocks directly in front of the car park to watch out for and it is reccomended to chat to either the locals or the lifeguards if they are on duty in the summer before venturing out. Within 100 meters you will encounter a double roundabout and on the second one take a right turn up the hill for just over a mile on the B3301. Driving past a couple of Holiday parks on your left you come to a fairly sharp right hand bend with an entrance to the car park on the left. Follow the track over the speed bumps until you reach the large car park overlooking the beach.
Parking is plentiful and there are pay and display machines in summer currently.
NE winds can also provide some wave sailing or, if the swell is not up to much, simply great blasting across the whole of St Ives Bay. Watch out for the warnings mentioned earlier. As you have move west around the bay the swell size reduces in stature. At Upton Towans you will see in front of you an expanse of sand in both directions with a moderately less severe wave than Gwithian but a relatively safe spot for the accomplished wave sailor. The only hazards to watch out for are one or two obvious rocks dotted about the sandy beach.