With each passing swell and high tide that pushes saltwater onto the dirt road leading to San Onofre State Beach’s iconic Surf Beach, the ocean’s waves take bites out of what’s left of the eroding beach.
Sand space for families is down to nearly nothing at the entranceway of the popular surf break known as The Point.
Vehicles park just inches from a steep drop down to rocks. Yellow caution tape warns visitors to steer clear of about a dozen parking spots too close to the edge.
A long-term, 25-year lease for San Onofre State Beach finalized just a few months ago gave the beloved area that is owned by the military but used by the State Parks system a reprieve for users of this slice of coastline wedged between San Clemente and San Diego, a popular destination for not just surfers, but mountain bikers, hikers and campers looking for a getaway from urban sprawl.
But the popular Surf Beach remains under threat with each passing winter. Last year, strong wave action that battered from offshore and a surge of storms that soaked the cliff above blew the entry road out, shutting down car access for more than a month.
Even with little rain or few big swells so far this season, that same area is once again starting to look weak and bleak.
Discussions are underway between stakeholders to figure out a long-term vision for Surf Beach, a crown jewel for its rich surfing history and its iconic, rolling waves often likened to Hawaii’s Waikiki. It is one of the few places left on the coast where surfers, families and beachgoers can drive right up to the sand.
The Surfrider Foundation was awarded a $1 million grant this month by the state’s Coastal Conservancy to assess if a “living shoreline” model could work here, like was done years ago with success up in Ventura at Surfers Point.
Alex Ferron, living shoreline coordinator for Surfrider, was out surveying the area a few days ago, a site visit to prep for stewardship events in coordination with State Parks in coming months.
“There’s so many entities that have a lot at stake in this game. What Surfrider is working on is how coastal adaptation can happen, with the community in the driver seat,” she said.
The area looks “rough,” she added. “Unless something is done, the state of San O as we know it is at risk.”
Last summer, Surfrider held summer “pop ups” at Surf Beach, gathering public input on how visitors use the beach and concerns to share.
Any major discussions on how to address erosion were on hold in recent years as State Parks and the Department of Navy were deep in negotiations about the land’s future after 50 years as a state park. The deal reached allows the state to manage the area for another 25 years.
State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall said the long-term ability to park right on the sand is unlikely.
“That’s what we as State Parks are looking at, a solution that is logical to how the environment is changing,” he said. “We can fight all we want to keep land there for vehicles. I don’t think that’s a long-term, reasonable solution.”
Seeing the land chomped away at once again this year ahead of the winter season shows that the area is going to be a consistent problem, Pearsall said.
“Our environmental scientists, our planners, architects and park management are looking at solutions so that we’re not constantly closing down because of erosion,” he said.
What he doesn’t want to do each winter season is patch up a road that is washed away.
“We need to find a different path. The fact of the matter is, if we don’t look at a different path, that area is going to be closed off and we don’t want that to ever happen,” he said. “You may have to e-bike or ride a bike, just like everywhere else, to surf.”
There could be an area above that could be used as a parking lot, with walking paths to reach the beach as is found nearby toward the south, he said.
“Mother Nature is forcing us to find a solution, before it’s too late,” Pearsall said.
Ferron hopes there are nature-based solutions that can restore and maintain access to the beach. The grant funding will pay for engineers to do surveying and assess what the options are, however, it will cost much more to actually implement any plans, she noted.
There are plans for small restoration events where people can come and tend to the area, plant native seeds and take out invasive species, she said.
“It’s such a cool spot because it’s undeveloped and natural and wild still, and that’s what people really love about it,” Ferron said. “We can foster that unique experience to be on dirt, and see birds and be removed from the developed coastline we are so accustomed to.”
San Onofre Parks Foundation founding president Bob Mignogna said discussions about the park’s landscape started back in 2019, when the rock revetment was installed as the road started to crumble.
“We all recognized that there was a problem there,” he said.
It’s an issue not just isolated to Surf Beach, he said, but along the entire 6.5 miles of San Onofre State Beach and into neighboring San Clemente, he added. “How do we shore up that beach – and what happens beyond that for the rest of the State Park coastline, even years after that, if the living shoreline doesn’t hold because storms become too intense?”
On a recent day, surfer Michael Okko was found hanging out by his old-school surf bus, assessing the crumbling cliffside.
“It would be a bummer if it got shut down,” he said of his favorite beach, though he worried about letting his dog hang out near his vehicle because the pup could slip onto rocks below.
Surfer Brian Bent finished his surf session on a recent day, sitting on his 1956 Ford and looking out toward a concrete block that reads “The Point,” the waves exposing it as they receded, covering the block as the ocean rolled toward shore.
“That was the old flagpole. That’s how much has eroded here. I don’t know what it will be without human intervention,” he said. “If it was left to its own, it’s hard to say. I know that it’s eroding and it’s taking the dirt.”
Like others, he’s unsure about what the right solution is for the iconic beach’s future.
“I wish I knew,” he said.
San Onofre Parks Foundation’s Steve Long said there are ongoing talks involving all stakeholders, including the public and the Acjachemen community.
“There is movement. The community needs to keep their eye on the future of the park, provide suggestions and input,” he said. “Right now, the immediate is getting through this winter.
“We have no way of knowing what’s coming.”