San Onofre may take the cake for being the nude beach in the most unlikely location. It lies down the road from a nuclear power plant with ominous twin reactors, and it is adjacent to Camp Pendleton, the largest U.S. Marine base in the country. San Onofre State Beach is 3.5 miles of wide, sandy beach with state park amenities. The southern end of the beach, accessed from the beach trail farthest from the entrance (Trail 6), is clothing optional. All park amenities—including picnic tables, restrooms and showers—are quite a long haul from the nude area. San Onofre has become the second most popular nude beach in Southern California, after Black's Beach in San Diego, and it is the closest nude beach to Los Angeles.

The beach is flat, spacious, beautiful and thickly covered with white sand, and the water is warm and great for swimming. Nude volleyball is popular, and sometimes you'll even see nude surfers. San Onofre attracts a diverse crowd, and the majority of visitors at the southern end of the beach are nude. The crowd in the nude area numbers several hundred or more on weekends. Arrive early on warm weekends to get a parking space close to the trail to the nude area. Be advised that it is illegal to trespass onto Camp Pendleton property. A dilapidated chain-link fence with a "no trespassing" sign very clearly demarcates the boundary. You are likely to see a few nude sunbathers beyond the fence, but be advised that those persons are taking a risk. Military personnel at times patrol the property on ATV's and have the authority to write tickets to violators (not necessarily for being nude beyond the fence, but simply for being beyond the fence).

CURRENT EVENTS:  Until a few years ago, San Onofre met our guidelines as a "freely nude" beach, but we have sadly felt it necessary to downgrade it one level to a "traditionally nude" beach. In 2008, San Onofre came under fire after a long period of tranquility and tolerance. After battling nudists in the 70's, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) backed off and for nearly three decades abided by what is known as the Cahill Policy, which states that "it shall be the policy of the Department that enforcement of nude sunbathing regulations within the State Park System shall be made only upon the complaint of a private citizen." Thus, nudists were left alone until 2008, when the DPR suddenly posted "no nudity" signs and let it be known that it would begin writing tickets for nudity, allegedly due to an increase in lewd public displays that occur mainly beyond the fence on Camp Pendleton property. The Friends of San Onofre Beach (FOSOB), a naturist advocacy group, aggressively combatted this abrupt policy change that did not take into account any public input. As of 2012, the battle is still ongoing. In a nutshell, it seems that FOSOB has been succeeded in getting the DPR to moderate its approach to anti-nudity enforcement. The most likely result of being caught naked by a DPR ranger is simply being told to put something on. In proportion to the number of nudists who visit this beach, the number of nudity citations written since 2008 has been very low, and FOSOB encourages anyone who is cited for nudity not to just pay the fine. FOSOB works with beachgoers who are cited for nudity and usually manages to get the cases dismissed altogether, so be sure to contact them in the unlikely event that you get a citation. Although attendance by nudists has dropped off since 2008, nudists continue to visit the area south of Trail 6, and FOSOB urges continued nude use so that San Onofre remains a vital and viable nude beach in the long run. Before you visit the beach, you may want to visit the Friends of San Onofre Beach website for the latest details.

Friends of San Onofre Beach website

VISUAL RESOURCES

GPS: 33.3320N, 117.5050W

city, county, state, country  San Clemente*, San Diego, California, U.S.A.
    * nearest town is in a different county

classification  2 (traditionally nude)

There are 9 placemarks related to this site.