San Onofre State Park

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San Onofre State Park, is located in San Diego County, California, USA.

Gov. Ronald Reagan established San Onofre State Beach in 1971. It has become one of the five most-visited state parks in California, hosting swimmers, campers, kayakers, birders, fishermen, off-duty Marines, bicyclists, sunbathers, nudists, and surfers. This southern California state park contains seven archaeological sites, including a Juaneño Indian village. Seven threatened or endangered species live within the park, and it protects significant portions of San Mateo Creek, one of the last relatively unspoiled watersheds in Southern California.

In establishing the state park at San Onofre, Reagan said, one of "the greatest legacies we can leave to future generations is the heritage of our land… But unless we can preserve and protect the unspoiled areas which God has given us, we will have nothing to leave them."

Contents 1 Camping 2 Nuclear power plant 3 Wildlife 4 Surfing 4.1 History 4.2 Trestles – Uppers, Middles, Lowers 4.3 Church 4.4 The Main Park – Old Man’s 4.5 Trails 5 Nude Beach 6 Location 7 References

[edit] Camping

San Onofre State Beach features 3.5 miles (6 km) of sandy beaches with six access trails cut into the bluff above. The campground is along the old U.S. Route 101 adjacent to the sandstone bluffs. The beach is popular with swimmers and surfers. San Onofre includes San Onofre Surf Beach, a day use facility; San Mateo campground and day use facility; and a nature trail that starts at San Mateo Canyon and leads to San Mateo State Preserve/Trestles Beach. The San Mateo campground is under threat by the construction of the 241 Tollroad Extension. There is an effort under way to prevent its destruction [1]. (State of California)

[edit] Nuclear power plant

Located between San Onofre SB and San Onfore Surf Beach is San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) provides nearly 20-percent of the power to more than 15 million people in Southern California. (State of California)

[edit] Wildlife

The park includes a marshy area where San Mateo Creek meets the shoreline and Trestles Beach, a well-known California surfing site. Whales, dolphins and sea lions can be seen offshore from time to time. The park’s coastal terrace is chaparral-covered. (State of California)

[edit] Surfing

San Onofre has several surf breaks on its 3½ miles (5½ km) of coast, ranging from the beginner’s gentle breaking waves, long sandy beaches and little social stigma, to one of the premiere surf breaks in the United States and attitude.

[edit] History

Surfers began surfing at San Onofre before the 1940s using balsa/redwood surfboards, including notables Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison, Don Okey, Al Dowden, Tom Wilson, and Bob Simmons. A surfing and fishing camp had been there since the 1920s, before the land was taken by the U.S. government to establish Camp Pendleton, a U.S. Marine training camp during World War II.

The beach exemplifies the surfing lifestyle in California because of its culture and pace. Summer days and many weekend surfers and non-surfers riddle the beach playing volleyball, road bocce ball, telling stories, bar-b-qing, drinking beer, bathing in the sun, resting under the iconistic grass huts, or simply surfing their long boards, short boards, or body boards in patient wait of the next slow lazy roller to arrive for the masses.

[edit] Trestles – Uppers, Middles, Lowers

Trestles Beach is located in an inaccessible-by-vehicle area, a long walk from either the north or south end is necessary for entrance. The water and surf is under threat of degradation or destruction by the construction of the 241 toll road extension. [2] [State of California]

[edit] Church

Located off Camp Pendleton’s beach resort, Church provides sunbathing, kayaking in the creek, and duckwatching. The name refers to the long-gone chapel which was located at the site.

[edit] The Main Park – Old Man’s

The main park has parking right up to the beach and has 'flush' pit toilets and cold showers, but no camping. It is divided by the locality into three breaks spots, though through seasons, rain, and storms, the peaks move, they are generally known as The Point, Four Doors (an extension of The Point), Old Man’s, and Dogpatch (named from north to south). All perform best on a south swell, though the beach takes any surf and slows it down to a very slow pace suitable for elderly men.

Though shortboarders are not often successful at the above breaks, there have been occasions of mild short board success at The Point. On a head-high southwest swell, there are some relatively fast lefts (fast in San Onofre terms) and even a section or two to hit if you get lucky. Rights are far more predominant and can be milked with a funboard or longboard. During winter, the Point often shuts down.

"With a 15 minute paddle to the south of Point, you'll find yourself in the surfing world's equivalent to the movie Cocoon. Here at Old Man's, geezers rule and grommets learn. The wave rolls off a padded reef some 200 to 400 yards (200 to 400 m) offshore and is mushier than a bowl of cream of wheat. A longboard that'd float Shaquille O'Neal is the weapon of choice and surfing etiquette does not apply. In fact, it's not uncommon to see 10 people on a wave during the summer, nor is it rare to see lawn chairs and dogs brought on board.

Just south of Old Man's is Dogpatch. It's ideal for beginners if the swell is up and they cannot make the paddle out to Old Man's. On a high tide, Dogpatch breaks in slow motion and is second to Doheny State Beach as Orange County's easiest wave to learn on.

San Onofre waves are indecisive about breaking. If you understand this point, you'll be well ahead of the game. Waves here like to crest, back off, crest, back off, crest, back off and then finally break. Trying to find your "one last wave" of the day can be a good trial in anger management. But if you find yourself ready to spout, you've missed the point. San O' is there to remind us that in this crowded world, there's still a spot where we can all ride together with smiles on our faces."

[edit] Trails

Trails is the last of the surf spots at San Onofre and is the most southern. Trails are also the last point to camp at San Onofre. Camping is on the bluffs with cold showers and 'flush' pit toilets near by. A new policy closes the sites during the winter, but during the summer, surf is only a small trail hike down a cliff away, leading you to open beaches and uncrowded line ups. Shark warnings were high during 2004 and dolphin sightings are not uncommon. The break is sometimes walled up, however often bigger than Old Man’s.

[edit] Nude Beach

Nudity is tolerated on the stretch of beach between lifeguard tower six and the edge of Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

[edit] Location

The beach is three miles (5 km) south of San Clemente on I-5 (Basilone Road.) 3036 acres (12 km²); 100 ft (30 m) elevation. (State of California)

[edit] References

• Official site
• Surfline.com guide
• Sanonofre.com
• Lower Trestles Surf Photo Galleries (LocalSurf.net)