Los Genoveses Beach and Its Trail

Los Genoveses is an open cove south of San José, between the Cerro del Ave María to the north and the Morrón de los Genoveses to the south: nearly a kilometre of sand with no buildings, with dunes, a fossil dune and a restored windmill behind. There are no beach bars and no shade on the sand. The water stays shallow for many metres, which is why it is the most comfortable beach in the park for going with small children.

Why they are called the Genoveses

The name comes from the 12th century. In 1147, during the Christian siege of Almería led by Alfonso VII, with Aragonese, Pisans and Genoese, a Genoese fleet hid in this cove. The besiegers pretended to withdraw, the defenders left the city unprotected and the Genoese attacked it. The Junta explains that their memory remained in the place names, in the cross on the Almería coat of arms and even in some surnames.

The trail, from the windmill to the Morrón

The official Los Genoveses trail measures 2.3 km, is estimated at an hour and a half and is of low difficulty, along track and path, with 41 metres of height difference. It starts on the Mónsul road: from the San José ring road, about three hundred metres after the tarmac ends, a track leaves on the right beside the Los Genoveses windmill. There is a car park of about twenty spaces 150 metres from the start panel, where an interpretive table explains the view if you don't want to climb the 133-metre Cerro del Ave María.

The path goes down to the beach among dwarf fan palms, eucalyptus and the prickly pears planted on the old terraces of the El Romeral farmhouse. About seven hundred metres along there is a junction with rows of pines, and then the ruins of a bunker at the edge of the sand, with fixed and moving dunes. The path continues along the beach itself; after about five hundred metres of sand a stony area in white and yellow tones appears, the fossil dune. The trail ends at the end of the beach, next to the Morrón anchorage. The Junta advises climbing the Morrón de los Genoveses, a 74-metre volcanic headland, to see the whole cove and the waters of the marine reserve.

Access by car: it depends on the month

Outside summer you can reach it by car along the dirt track. Each summer the Junta closes the way to motor vehicles without authorisation to the beaches between Genoveses and Cala Carbón; in 2025 it was from 21 June to 28 September. During those weeks a bus runs from San José and you can go on foot or by bike along the track. The dates for each year are published in the BOJA (Andalusian official gazette) in spring; the details are on the sheet for summer access to Genoveses and Mónsul.

What to bring and when to go

Shade is scarce on the trail and non-existent on the beach: bring a parasol, water and food. In high summer, arrive early. For swimming among rocks with a mask, the neighbouring Mónsul beach is along the track. The two top the Sunday with Genoveses, Mónsul and the lighthouse.