[This pinpointed location is Secret Beach, also known as San Onofre Beach.]

About 30 miles west of Santa Barbara, Secret Beach and Vista del Mar Beach have both traditionally been visited by nudists. Located along a part of the coastline that has no towns in the immediate vicinity, these beaches are adjacent, and the small headland that separates them is easily skirted at low tide. The parking areas for the two beaches are just 3/4 mile apart. Secret Beach and Vista del Mar Beach both lie within the boundaries of Gaviota State Park, but they are in a disconnected unit of the park a few miles east of the main entrance, and there is no entry fee. The beaches are not signed or promoted as park beaches, so only those in the know are likely to go to either of them. Of the two beaches, Secret Beach has the shorter and easier access trail, while Vista del Mar is a bit more remote and attended mainly by gay men. At either beach, there is ample room to spread out should you encounter textiles. As with all beaches in Santa Barbara County, nudity is illegal, and attendance at these beach has dropped since anti-nudity enforcement throughout the county was stepped up back in 1999.

Secret and Vista del Mar have not been as persistently patrolled as have other Santa Barbara County beaches, so some nudists continue to take their chances. At either location, there are likely to be only a handful of nudists (or overall visitors). Secret Beach is likely to have a few more visitors since the trail is easier.

At either site, discretion is in order. Keep a pair of shorts handy. It seems that rangers are mostly concerned with curtailing lewd activity, so getting arrested simply for being nude is highly unlikely. If you are caught nude by a ranger, that ranger has broad leeway in decided how to respond. There are reports that rangers sometimes do nothing at all or simply ask nudists to get dressed, but there have also been cases where rangers issue citations that carry steep fines. Before you visit, you may want to check for up-to-date information about these beaches and current anti-nudity activity at the Nudebeachalliance.com website. (Note that the website describes these locations simply as Gaviota State Beach.)

Incidentally, Secret Beach is also known as San Onofre Beach—not to be confused with San Onofre Beach in San Diego County.

VISUAL RESOURCES

GPS: 34.4701N, 120.1888W

city, county, state, country  Gaviota, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.

classification  3 (discretion recommended)

There are 13 placemarks related to this site.