Valdearenas Beach

The longest and widest beach in Piélagos: 2,800 metres of fine sand with shell fragments, inside the Dunas de Liencres Natural Park, ending at El Puntal, at the mouth of the Pas, opposite Mogro. It is the easternmost of the municipality's beaches and faces north, to the open sea. It has access, showers and parking.

What it is

A great tongue of Holocene sand, mostly fine siliceous sands with shell remains, which together with the pine forest and the dunes forms the heart of the protected area. The park was created in 1986 with 194.55 hectares and in 2021 the Cantabrian Parliament extended it as the Dunas de Liencres y Costa Quebrada Natural Park, of 1,753 hectares between Piélagos, Miengo and Santa Cruz de Bezana. The law expressly mentions the dune system on the right bank of the Pas, with the beaches of Valdearenas and Canallave and the neighbouring pine forest. According to Costa Quebrada, the Liencres dune field is the largest on the Cantabrian coast.

Swimming

Swim with caution: the town council warns that it is open sea, has strong currents and eddies form. Do so only with a green flag, within the supervised area, and keep away from the mouth of the Pas. With children, stay at the water's edge.

For walking

Outside summer it is a good walk: almost three kilometres of sand to El Puntal, and as many back. From the car parks you reach the sand along the tracks that cross the pine forest; always follow the marked paths and do not climb the dunes, which are fragile and move with the wind. In the dunes live plants adapted to salt and lack of water, such as sea holly, sea daffodil or soldanella, and birds such as the little ringed plover and the common tern.

Bear in mind

The town council does not publish on the beach's listing the rule for dogs or the lifeguard calendar: ask at the Liencres tourist office, in the La Iglesia neighbourhood.

Getting there

Liencres is reached from exit 7 of the A-67 motorway, in the direction of Santander, along the CA-203, about 4 km, or from exit 9, towards Boo, along the CA-231. From the village, follow the natural park signs to the pine forest car parks.

How to combine it

On the other side of the Peñuescas rocks is Canallave, the surfers' beach. The walk through the Liencres dunes crosses the pine forest to this same sand. For lunch afterwards, Burdo Restobar, in the centre of Liencres, serves Cantabrian market cooking.