Point Sal State Beach is a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, located near the city of Guadalupe, in the northwestern part of

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

. There are approximately of property with of ocean frontage. The rocks around the headland constitute part of the

Coast Range Ophiolite The Coast Range Ophiolite is an ophiolite of Middle to Late Jurassic age located in the California Coast Ranges. They form the basement of the extreme western margin of central and northern California. Exposures straddle the coast from Santa Barba ...

, one of the largest ophiolite terranes in the world. This beach is at risk of landslides as there are rocky shorelines and extremely steep slopes. Among the most popular activities are fishing, beach combing, hiking, nature study, photography, picnicking and sunbathing. Swimming is not recommended due to dangerous rip currents, absence of lifeguard service, and occasional shark sightings. There are also no recreational facilities (toilets, picnic tables, etc.) Camping is prohibited due to security concerns involving

Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...

. Camping can be subject to citation, arrest, and eviction by the Park Rangers and/or the 30th Security Forces Squadron.

History

In 1792, British explorer

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

discovered Point Sal and decided to name it after Hermenegildo Sal, then the commandant of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In the 1800s, Joel Clayton acquired 1,000 acres of land surrounding Point Sal. When Clayton's daughter married, he presented the land to the new couple as a wedding gift. The newly married couple arrived in the region in 1868 with the goal of developing the land surrounding the point. In 1871, a wharf was built and, from 1872 to 1873, Point Sal was briefly the largest shipping destination that lay south of San Francisco. In 1877 however, the wharf was destroyed by rough seas and, due to development at other nearby ports, was never rebuilt. In 1940, the state of California acquired the land and converted the area into a state park. In 1941,

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...

was founded nearby and, as the base has grown, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

has periodically restricted or imposed conditions on access to the beach.

Wildlife

Point Sal hosts a wide range of wildlife and fauna, including more than 300 native plant species and multiple types of

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, and

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

Access

During the winter of 1998, portions of the access road to the beach were washed out by winter rains. As of June 2011, the road has not been repaired and remains closed to vehicles. Point Sal State Beach is accessible only to visitors who hike to the beach. One way is to travel west on Brown Road from its junction with

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

approximately south of downtown Guadalupe. With cars parked at the trailhead, there is a hike of approximately to the top of the cliff overlooking the beach. Visitors should allow sufficient time to return to the trailhead on Brown Road by sunset. Alternatively, the strong hiker can trek (round trip) to the state beach from Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park located to the north of Point Sal. The entrance to the park is accessed by driving approximately west on Main Street from Highway 1 in Guadalupe. The park closes at 7:30 pm, well before local sundown in the summer.Rancho Guadalupe Dunes
accessed June 29, 2011 The route involving going through

Casmalia Casmalia (Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Kasma’li'', meaning "it is the last") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Barbara County, California located just outside the borders of Vandenberg Air Force Base about southwest of Santa Maria, ...

using Point Sal Road is no longer accessible to the general public since it requires traversing Vandenberg Space Force Base.

References

{{Protected areas of California Beaches of Southern California California State Beaches Parks in Santa Barbara County, California Beaches of Santa Barbara County, California

History

Wildlife

Access

See also

References