San Diego County, California
San Onofre Beach
San Onofre Beach occupies a dramatic stretch of Southern California coastline between San Clemente and Camp Pendleton Marine Base, managed as part of San Onofre State Beach.
- Beach
About this place
San Onofre Beach occupies a dramatic stretch of Southern California coastline between San Clemente and Camp Pendleton Marine Base, managed as part of San Onofre State Beach. Trail 6 has been the traditional clothing-optional section for decades, though naturism here exists in legal limbo — technically prohibited under state park regulations but historically tolerated with wildly inconsistent enforcement. You'll find a blend of surfers catching waves, conventional beachgoers, and naturists, mostly concentrated at the southern end of Trail 6 where acceptance runs highest. The setting is classic SoCal: sandy beach backed by eroding sandstone bluffs, views of the distinctive containment domes from the now-decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station visible to the south. Rangers do patrol and citations happen, particularly on busy summer weekends when the beach draws larger crowds. The clothing-optional culture here relies on community self-policing and a sort of unspoken détente with authorities. Access requires paying the state park day-use fee. This isn't a designated naturist beach in any official sense — it's a public beach with a long informal tradition that could shift with enforcement priorities or policy changes at any time.
Visitor notes
Contributed by ClothingOptional.org Editorial Team
Who visits
The crowd skews toward longtime Southern California naturists who've been coming here for years, along with curious first-timers drawn by the beach's reputation. You'll see a range of ages, mostly adults, with couples and solo visitors more common than families given the legal ambiguity. Surfers mix freely with sunbathers. The vibe is laid-back and informal, shaped by the beach's semi-tolerated status rather than any organized naturist community structure.
How to find it
The beach sits along Old Highway 101 (now Basilone Road) south of San Clemente in northern San Diego County. From I-5, take the Basilone Road exit and follow signs for San Onofre State Beach. Park in the main lot (day-use fee required) and look for Trail 6, which leads down the bluff to the beach. The clothing-optional area is toward the southern end of this access point, a short walk along the sand.
Things to watch out for
Enforcement is genuinely unpredictable. Rangers issue citations periodically, and there's no guarantee of tolerance on any given day. Summer weekends see heavier patrols. The legal status could change without warning if state park policies shift. Ocean conditions can be rough — this is an active surf break. Parking lots fill early on warm weekends. Be prepared to cover up if approached by rangers or if the situation feels uncomfortable.
Last updated
Etiquette & ground rules
Keep clothing-optional activity to the southern portion of Trail 6, away from textile beachgoers and families. Bring a towel to sit on. Stash valuables in your vehicle — the parking lots see occasional break-ins. No photography of others without explicit permission. If rangers approach, comply immediately. Don't leave trash — the area has limited services and relies on pack-it-out practices. Respect that this is shared space with surfers and textile users.
Know this spot?
Report an update
Beach closed? Parking price changed? Section moved? Send a short note and we'll check it.
Also in California
More places nearby
California, USA
Baker Beach (North End)
Baker Beach is a half-mile of Pacific shoreline tucked under the Presidio cliffs in northwest San Francisco, with one of the most famous postcard views in the United States: the Golden Gate Bridge framed against the Marin headlands. The northern end of the beach — closest to the bridge itself — is the long-established clothing-optional section, and has been for decades. The southern end is the textile family-beach part; nudity convention shifts as you walk north toward the rocky cove below Battery Chamberlin. Public nudity is technically prohibited under San Francisco municipal code, but Baker Beach is administered by the National Park Service (Presidio/Golden Gate National Recreation Area) rather than by the city, and the NPS doesn't enforce the prohibition. The result is a tolerated, decades-old C/O zone with no signs but a clear local convention. Visitors who stay in the northern third — past the rocky outcrop, in the direction of the Sand Ladder Trail — are operating within the established norm. The crowd is genuinely diverse Bay Area: San Francisco locals on a weekend, tech-industry expats, the long-standing queer community that has used the northern end as a meeting spot for decades, and curious tourists who heard about it. Cold Pacific water (typically 12-15°C even in summer) and the afternoon fog mean Baker Beach is a sunbathing-and-walking beach more than a swimming beach. Practical notes: free parking at several lots along Bowley Street and at the Battery Chamberlin lot at the north end; the Sand Ladder Trail from Lincoln Boulevard is the steep alternate entry. Parking fills early on warm weekends. Bus access via the 29-Sunset route to Lincoln/25th Avenue.
California, USA
Beeks Bight
Beeks Bight is an informal clothing-optional area along the Sacramento River near Folsom, California — a stretch of river bank in the American River Parkway system of the Sacramento Valley. The spot takes its name from an old Sacramento River landmark and has been used by Sacramento area naturists as a river skinny-dipping spot for generations. The Sacramento River here is wide, warm in summer, and flanked by riparian forest of cottonwood, willow, and Valley oak — the characteristic landscape of California's Central Valley rivers. Unlike the cold Pacific coast, the Sacramento Valley runs hot in summer (100°F+ regularly), and the river water warms to genuinely pleasant swimming temperatures of 72–78°F from late June through September. Sacramento is in the center of California's inland valley network, and river access near the city fills a recreational niche that the ocean or mountain lakes can't serve for people who want a same-day outing. The American River Parkway trails and the Folsom Lake recreation area are the backbone of Sacramento's outdoor recreation system.
California, USA
Black Sands Beach
Black Sands Beach is a dark-sand beach in the Marin Headlands portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, named for the distinctive dark volcanic and serpentine rock that erodes into the sand. The beach is reached via a short but steep trail from the Conzelman Road / Battery Spencer area and is a different location from Rodeo Beach (about 2 miles to the west) — both are in the Marin Headlands, but serve different communities of regulars. Black Sands has an informal C/O tradition with deep roots in the San Francisco gay community — the Marin Headlands above are on the Golden Gate Bridge north approach, and the beach below has long been a clothing-optional destination for Bay Area LGBTQ+ outdoor visitors. The setting is dramatic: sheer cliffs, cold Pacific surf, the Golden Gate visible to the south, container ships passing at close range through the strait. The GGNRA technically prohibits nudity, but enforcement at Black Sands has been consistently minimal due to the beach's self-selecting access and its established community character. The crowd tends to be male-dominated and LGBTQ+-friendly — a San Francisco institution that has persisted across decades of changing policy environments.