Short answer: Dawlish station sits right on the seafront, so parking there puts you on the sea wall immediately. The town beach is down steep steps and mostly disappears at high tide — walk half a mile south to Coryton Cove instead.
Dawlish is the town where the railway runs along the beach, and the station is more or less on the seafront. Parking at the station and on-street through the town puts you straight onto the sea wall, which is the main attraction and costs nothing.
There are pay-and-display car parks through the town as well. None of it is expensive by Devon coastal standards.
Dawlish Town Beach is reached down steep steps, is mostly pebbles, and largely disappears at high tide. It is fine for a look at the trains and poor for a beach day.
Half a mile south along the sea wall and by some distance the best beach in Dawlish — sandy rather than shingle, sheltered by cliffs, gently shelving, with rock pools at low tide and no nearby outflow. Locals rate it well above the town beach. Kiosk and toilets nearby.
It is a walk, not a drive, which is exactly why it stays quieter.
Two miles north with its own parking, a long sandy spit towards the Exe estuary, fairground rides and amusements, and a nature reserve at the far end. If the beach is the whole plan rather than the trains, park there instead.
Dawlish is one of the few places you can step off a train onto the sand — see Devon beaches you can reach by train.
See the full Dawlish guide, filtered by who's with you.
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