It didn’t matter that the waves were tiny and the water was toe-numbingly frigid – surfers were stoked early Monday, April 8, to get back to their beloved surf spot at San Onofre State Beach.
“Better than nothing,” one surfer said after gliding on a small wave that rolled in at the beach now accessible again after the dirt access road leading into the unique surfing sanctuary just south of San Clemente reopened Monday following a two-month closure for repairs.
“It’s what makes San O special, to be able to drive down and park right on the sand where you surf,” said Dan Brady, of Irvine, a regular who surfs there almost daily and showed up early morning to chat with other regulars ready to get back on board. “It’s the entire surf culture – it’s a social spot, it’s the quality of surf and waves. There’s no place like it in the vicinity, without traveling great distances, which is why it was so sad it was gone for so long.”
As word spread of the beach’s reopening, cars and vans filled into the dirt lot, which now has a few fewer spots because of erosion that continues to chip away at the amount of sand and dirt road remaining.
Winter storms battered the area, the damage worsened by a piping system installed by the military to try and preserve a fairy shrimp vernal pool on the cliff above, storm water gushing down pipes and onto the road. A series of strong winter swells battered the soggy road, until it completely collapsed, cutting off access.
The dirt roadway at San Onofre State Beach is destroyed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Thursday, February 8, 2024. A drain broke and runoff water was instead flowing down at the toe of the slope, eating away at the roadway. With the latest storm sending high velocity streams of water from the hillside, the dirt road washed away. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
In the last two months, Brady and some other surfers have been able to sneak in riding e-bikes, or score a parking spot at a small upper lot that holds just 30 cars and requires a longer trek down to the beach. Some people had been waiting hours to nab one of the spots.
It’s not just a place that locals cherish, Brady noted, but a bit of surf culture people come from around the world to enjoy.
Andre Rufener and daughter Sophie, of Switzerland, are among those who travel from far to enjoy the rolling waves at San Onofre, a surfing pilgrimage they have made twice a year since 2017.
“I think the special thing here is, it’s really a place of community,” said Sophie Rufener, 17. “You get down here and surf and come back and talk to people – just hang out. That’s more special than just going somewhere to surf.”
The father-daughter duo borrowed e-bikes at first to enjoy the surf spot, with just a few people out during the road closure. While it was a good time because there were no crowds, something was still missing, they said.
“This is about the community. This is why it’s so wonderful it is reopened – everybody who doesn’t have an e-bike can come back and enjoy this,” Andre Rufener said. “People get to enjoy this; and what amazes me the most when I come here is the social thing.”
Kirk Temple, who grew up surfing Huntington Beach since age 10, said it was “pure elation” seeing the surf spot easily accessible once again.
“We are happy, but you can tell it’s a bandage,” said Temple, 57, of the fixed road. “We’ll roll with the punches and see what happens.”
What’s still uncertain is the looming lease deal between State Parks and the Department of Navy, which sunsets on Aug. 31 after a three-year extension. The lease for the use of the San Onofre State Beach doesn’t just affect this stretch of popular beach, but also nearby Lower Trestles, where the surfing world championships are held each year, and other popular spots such as Uppers, Middles and Church.
“It’s a blessing of a place, there’s an aura here, there’s a spirit,” Temple said. “If you’re a surfer, you consider it the Sedona of surfing. You can’t explain it, but there’s a feeling … we all love this place, it has a really good vibe to it.”
State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall met recently with Wade Crowfoot, California secretary for natural resources, who said negotiations were “moving forward.”
“The history, culture that is embedded in that park – it is a very nostalgic surfing community park and it has been part of the State Parks system for over 50 years now,” Pearsall said. “For the best interest of the park system and the people of California, I would like to see it continue as a State Park. But time will tell.”
The 50-year lease between the military and California State Parks was a gift to the public by President Richard Nixon in 1971 – a steal of a deal at $1 for the lease’s five-decade term.
It would become the first in Nixon’s “Legacy of Parks” program, which sought to give the public a place to escape urban sprawl, a way to make use of surplus federal land that wasn’t being used.
The area also includes campgrounds and trails popular among hikers and bikers; some 2 million people visit each year.
Related Articles
Jack’s Surfboards Pro winners score key points, bragging rights
Officers, community saddle up in Huntington Beach to remember fallen officer
Borings to start Monday on Back Bay landslide to determine soil stability
3 homes over Newport Back Bay are yellow-tagged after sudden landslide
Newport Harbor boaters may see rent rise by 400% and they’re asking why
Laws have changed since 1971, including requirements that the Department of Navy seek fair-market value for properties it is leasing or selling, or receive in-kind services that match that value.
“It really comes down to the overall value of what the state is willing to pay and can pay to continue it as a park,” said Pearsall, noting that it could cost the state millions and the area only breaks even in revenue and also needs constant maintenance to operate. “After this is all said and done, it’s still a park that needs some love and a lot of infrastructure updates and advancement.”
Brady, like many surfers who cherish the area, said he hopes the agencies discussing the future of the beach understand the importance of what it means to wave riders.
“You would like to think the parties involved would appreciate the historical and current significance of what San Onofre means for so many people,” he said. “Not just the locals, but people come from around the world to surf here.”