Praia Vermelha — "Red Beach" — is the small, sheltered cove tucked beneath the Sugarloaf cable-car station in Urca, named for the reddish tint of its coarse sand. Hemmed in by the Morro da Urca and the Morro Cara de Cão, it faces away from the open ocean, so the water is unusually calm and the setting feels almost enclosed, with green peaks rising on three sides.
It is far quieter than the Zona Sul beaches and popular with local families for exactly that reason. The trailhead for the Pista Cláudio Coutinho runs from one end, and the whole spot makes a calm, scenic prelude or follow-up to riding the cable car up Sugarloaf.