Iconic San Onofre Beach Parking Lot Destroyed by Historic Storms

Dashel Pierson
·2 min read
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The dirt parking lot facing San Onofre is a mecca of surfing lore.

From early 1930s California surfing with Tom Blake, to the 1960s Beach Blanket Bingo golden era, to modern day hipsters riding mid-lengths and noseriders, evoking the days of old – countless surfers have walked the earthy beach bordering the iconic wave.

But now, this storied stretch of shoreline has been destroyed.

Storm after storm, culminating in the historic rainfall and swell of the current El Niño season, have battered the dirt road and lot leading to San-O in recent years. And finally, the road and parking lot gave way. It has been washed out, closed indefinitely.

“It’s devastating,” State Parks Superintendent Scott Kibbey told the Orange County Register. “We’re trying to wrap our heads around a solution to find a way to fix this as soon as possible. It’s impassible. You can not drive a vehicle around that right now.”

The iconic dirt lot below, with its fabled grounds, is and will remain closed; while the upper concrete lot with around 25 spots will remain open for surfers.

Looking back on a slice of that rich surf history, historian Matt Warshaw wrote in the Encyclopedia of Surfing:

“By the early '60s, San Onofre was enshrined as a warm, nostalgic, easygoing family-style surf break. Club members were singularly devoted to their beach. ‘This is our life,’ as one put it in 1961. ‘All the days in-between are bare existence.’ A palm-frond shack in front of the main surf break became a surf-world icon, as did the yearly San Onofre Surf Club car window sticker.”

For now, it looks like the future of the hallowed parking lot remains uncertain. But one thing’s for sure: it won’t ever look like it did in all its glory.

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