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Surfers, rejoice: one of California’s most iconic surf spots will remain open to the public.
At least for now.
With a now decommissioned nuclear power plant as a backdrop, San Onofre is not only one of the state’s most recognizable beaches, it’s also one of the most popular.
A surfer at Lower Trestles during a 2005 surf championship.
(Donald Miralle
/
Getty Images)
But visitors who brave the long lines to the parking lot are constantly reminded that they are on borrowed land. Technically speaking, San Onofre and the nearby stretch known as Trestles are part of Camp Pendleton, the largest training base for Marines on the West Coast.
And for decades, everything was off-limits to the public – though that didn’t stop avid surfers from sneaking in from time to time.
That all changed in 1971, when the area was turned into a state park. It was then that California Governor Ronald Reagan, President Richard Nixon (who had a neighboring house that could be yours for $ 65 million), and the Marine Corps accepted a 50-year lease.
It was due to expire this week, August 31. Fortunately for the public, the Marines and the state parks agency agreed to extend it for three years.
This is not a permanent solution, but it could lead to a later one.
Both sides say they will need more time to work out some details before they can strike a longer-term deal.
In a typical year (which admittedly we haven’t had in quite some time), around 2.5 million people visit San Onofre State Beach, which state park officials say makes it one of the five most popular state parks in California.
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