Early California surfers, in the ’20s and ’30s, hauled around heavy wooden surfboards to explore the beaches and rolling waves at Malibu and San Onofre. Nearly a century later, both sites are embedded in surf culture, considered to have among the best and, today, the most crowded longboarding waves in the world.

Malibu’s Surfrider Beach is so iconic it earned a spot in the National Register of Historic Places. Farther south past San Clemente, San Onofre’s Surf Beach, a small stretch of State Parks land that sits on Camp Pendleton property, is so revered that weekend warriors wait in an hour-long line just to get a parking spot on the small strip of dirt road that runs alongside the beach.

But despite that history, both stretches of coast are facing an uncertain future, prompting concern that the beaches, and possibly the waves themselves, could be in jeopardy.

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At Malibu, erosion is chipping away at the sand, the beach quickly disappearing. San Onofre’s Surf Beach is grappling with a similar erosion concern, but is facing added uncertainty with the looming expiration of a 50-year lease between State Parks and the Navy which, if not extended, could strip away access surfers have had for decades.

Malibu

The area may have been discovered in the ’20s, but it wasn’t until the Gidget craze that Malibu landed on the world map. All the best surfers of the era — the likes of Miki Dora, Terry “Tubesteak” Tracy, Mickey Munoz, Phil Edwards — would gather at the right-point break in the ’50s and ’60s, showing off their hot-doggin’ styles while riding the smooth waves that break just north of the pier.

It’s now one of the most crowded and sought after waves along the California coast. But the beach is changing — and disappearing.

Recent swells and high tides have chipped away at the already-eroding beach, prompting workers to install an emergency rock barrier to protect a wall adjacent the parking lot that abuts the beach in front of what’s known as “First Point” at Malibu Surfrider Beach.

An online petition is asking the Malibu City Council to “stand to protect this natural treasure before it’s too late.” It was supported by surfers who lobbied the City Council.

Specifically, concerns center on nearby Malibu Creek, where a 2012 wetlands restoration project altered how sediment flowed to the ocean. The project prevented sand from settling where the surf break sits and along the beach in front of it, and adjacent to The Adamson House, a historic landmark.

Local, state and county officials are failing to properly manage the seasonal breaching of Malibu Creek, the petition claims, and a lagoon-management plan should be put in place.

“We must make our voices heard now, because there is a near danger that our beach will erode and disappear, thus lost to future generations,” the petition reads. “Long before the restoration project began, many experienced and dedicated 1st Point surfers had predicted and sounded the alarm that this erosion would happen, and here we are, watching our beloved beach fall into the ocean.”

It’s a frustrating scenario that has resulted in reactive, emergency solutions rather than long-term planning, said Graham Hamilton, coordinator for the Los Angeles chapter of the Surfrider Foundation environmental group.

Workers this month dropped 15 to 20 boulders in front of the iconic wall at First Point at Surfrider Beach after the sand disappeared due to erosion. But using the large rocks, or “armoring” the coast, isn’t the way to go, Hamilton said. Instead of the boulders, he said, it would be better to put down native cobble and fill it with sand or use plants with roots that can hold the sand in place — a “living shoreline.”

“Those are long-term proposals and solutions we’re beginning to advocate for,” he said. “Malibu Creek and Surfrider Beach could serve as an incredible case study as we deal with not only current erosion, but the looming affect of sea rise.”

Similar problems exist at spots along the Southern California coastline — and saving the beaches is no easy task. “They are constantly changing,” Hamilton said. “Everything is consistently in flux and moving around.”

But one thing is clear: Letting nature take its course isn’t an option, or precious resources will be lost. “That doesn’t ‘t fly because there is no nature anymore,” he said. “We’ve manipulated things so much we need to manage our changes.”

San Onofre

The cobblestone beach south of San Clemente — a beach that drew surfers as far back as the turn of the 19th century — is faced with a similar scenario. The crumbling of the beach prompted State Parks, in 2017, to install an 800-foot-long rip-rap revetment of large rocks to keep the dirt-road entrance from collapsing.

Such measures are supposed to be temporary, but at the California Coastal Commission meeting Thursday, June 13, a five-year extension was granted to keep the rocks in place in order to maintain public access to the beach. As part of the extension, State Parks agreed to regularly study the wave action and measure the beach to track whether the rip-rap is having a negative affect on the area.

Mandy Sackett, California Policy Coordinator for Surfrider Foundation in San Clemente, said the environmental group wants the boulders removed because hard armoring will negatively affect the natural flow of sand, worsening erosion and potentially altering the wave quality.

Sackett said Surfrider, like in Malibu, is asking for a long-term management plan that doesn’t rely on hard armoring. Long-term solutions include possibly moving the parking area to the cliff above and having people walk down stairs to access the beach, she said.

The parking area on the cliff, however, is owned by Southern California Edison and is needed for the decommissioning of the nearby nuclear plant for at least the next 10 years, said Todd Lewis, California State Parks Orange Coast District Superintendent. And when the decommissioning is complete, the property reverts back to the military.

It’s also unclear if State Parks will be able to manage the beach in coming years.

The military land lease that dedicated the land to State Parks, enacted by President Richard Nixon in 1971, brings with it more uncertainty about whether beachgoers will have continued access to San Onofre State Beach, which includes the world-famous Trestles farther north and other surf breaks in undeveloped areas.

“We are very optimistic things will move forward, but there are no certainties at this point,” Lewis said. “Discussions will be made on a high level. On a local level we’ve had some positive conversations.”

San Onofre surfer Don Craig, who has been riding waves there for nearly 65 years, has seen the ebb and flow of the beach. Some years, the beach is flush with sand. He also remembers when the dirt entrance nearly collapsed in the ’60s.

This, however, is the most beach erosion he’s ever seen.

Craig doesn’t like the idea of moving parking to the upper cliff, forcing families and surfers to haul their stuff down steep stairs. And the big rocks the State Parks put in to save the road seem to have made the waves along that stretch even better, he said.

“It’s going to hold the beach. I think they should not take it out. I think it would be stupid to take it out,” Craig said. “If the road washes away, then what? This is an iconic beach, leave it like it is. Leave this alone.”

Steve Long, a retired State Parks employee of 34 years who once oversaw this area and now runs the San Onofre Parks Foundation, spoke June 13 in support of keeping the rock revetment, as did Matt Brady, president of the San Onofre Surfing Club, which has existed since 1953.

Removing the rocks could impact the access road, they said, preventing surfers and beach enthusiasts from getting down there.

“San Onfore is a very special place to our members and a lot of people who surf in California,” Brady said. “It’s like a camping expedition, it’s a family beach. Their kids have freedom like they don’t have in other places.”

Then, there’s the ongoing issue of 3.6 million pounds of spent nuclear waste being buried at the nearby cliff, as the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station continues its decommissioning. If something goes wrong with the nuclear waste disposal, some worry, it could seep into the ocean.

“I think it’s a real reality we’re facing of losing it,” Johnny Kahanu, president of the Hawaiian Surf Club, said of San Onofre State Beach. “For what reason hasn’t made itself clear yet. But I think it’s real.”