County Line Beach is a beach located in Solromar, California, an unincorporated community of Ventura County. This stretch of sandy beach is easily accessible from the adjacent Pacific Coast Highway. This surf spot popularized by the Beach Boys in their 1963 hit song "Surfin' U.S.A." is administered by the California State Parks' Malibu Sector Coastal Lifeguard Program in addition to Leo Carrillo State Park.[1][2] The beach lies within the south coast portion of Ventura County amidst a mostly rugged coastline that is some of the most striking and diverse coastal terrain in the County and a backdrop for many televised car scenes.[3] The beach lies at the mouth of a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains that hugs the shore along the Ventura County's south coast.[4]: 63
| County Line Beach | |
|---|---|
  Location in California  Location in United States | |
| Location | South coast, Ventura County, California, USA |
| Nearest city | Malibu, California |
| Coordinates | 34°3′6″N 118°57′36″W / 34.05167°N 118.96000°W |
| Administered by | Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy |
| Parking | Street parking |
| Website | Official website |
Location
editThe beach is within Solromar, the most westerly community on the Malibu Coast and is within the Malibu zip code. The area was not included within the city of Malibu when the city incorporated as it is located just across the boundary separating from Los Angeles County in Ventura County. Its sandy beach stretches over half a mile, bordered by the Whaler's Village Condominium complex to the east, the MariSol residential community to the North and a tract of single family beach homes on the western end.[5]
Neptune's Net, across the highway from the beach, has been used for filming movies like Point Break, Fast and Furious, and Iron Man 3. The restaurant was opened in 1956.[6]
Firestation 56 is located at the southern end of County Line Beach and the 2008 station features two engine bays, living quarters for the crew, offices, an exercise room and shop. The Malibu Fire Station is staffed by three firefighters and houses Engine 56, Brush Engine 356. Also assigned are two Rescue Water Craft (jet-ski), and Patrol 56.[7]
Yerba Buena Road intersect the Pacific Coast Highway and leads up into the Santa Monica Mountains where there are residential properties, and a number of recreational activities within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area such as the Grotto Trail.[8] There is also a health and wellness retreat called The Ranch Malibu which has attracted celebrities like Michelle Obama, Brooke Shields and Mandy Moore.[9][10]
It has a small parking lot and street parking is available along Pacific Coast Highway[11] which is part of the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route. This is an access point for California Coastal Trail.[12]
Recreational activities
editBoard surfing, body surfing, kite surfing, wind surfing and stand up paddle boarding are common activities at County Line Beach.[13] The water quality at County Line Beach is consistently graded as an A+ by the environmental steward organization Heal the Bay.[14][15] It has a beach break with good peaks for surfing, and a point break that stays glassy from the thick kelp beds.[16] Junior surf competitions are held there and it has received some celebrity notoriety with "Ventura County Line" being mentioned as a favorite surf spot by the Beach Boys in their 1963 hit song "Surfin' U.S.A." Kite surfing and wind surfing are also popular at the beach.[5]
Coastal marine habitat
editScuba diving and freediving are popular because of the easy access and a marine habitat consisting of an abundant kelp forest with numerous reefs. When the waves are small and the water visibility is clear, diving conditions can be good to excellent. The outer reefs have an abundance of sea life and are popular among spear-fisherman when the white seabass are running.[16] Spearfishing, kayak fishing and shore fishing are popular here. The largest draw is for the California white seabass when it is in season typically at the end of Spring and through Summer. Pacific halibut and Calico bass are also popular game fish.
Wildlife including dolphin, whale, seals, seabirds and fish are abundant off of County Line Beach.[17] The large kelp forests and abundance[18] of opalescent inshore market squid[19] means a high biodiversity. The market (opalescent)[20] (118,000 tons, $7,670,000)[21] squid fishery[22] is California's largest and most lucrative[23] commercial[24] fishery, off the coast from the beach.[25][26] The thick kelp beds also provide an opportunity to test for radioactive contamination that could arrive in ocean currents from Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.[27]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Carlson, Cheri (March 30, 2020). "Authorities close Point Mugu State Park trails, beaches during another busy weekend". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "Swim Near a Lifeguard".
- ^ "How do those car commercials get filmed in Malibu?". The Malibu Times. February 20, 2013.
- ^ SUBSEQUENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR FOCUSED GENERAL PLAN UPDATE and Related Amendments to the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance and Zone Change ZN05-0008 (PDF) (Report). County of Ventura. June 22, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "The Beach Boys' Malibu Beach House" PR Newswire (Nov. 20, 2012)
- ^ Barker, Tess (January 28, 2016). "A Trip to the LA County Line and Its Unlikely Hangout For Tourists, Surfers, Celebs, and Outlaws". Curbed LA. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "Station 56 – Ventura County Fire Department".
- ^ "Grotto Trail".
- ^ "Inside the $7,800-per-week resort where celebrities go to lose weight and recharge". ABC News.
- ^ "Michelle Obama's Fave Fitness Retreat... The Ranch". Hip and Healthy. March 2023.
- ^ Plascencia, Anthony (August 9, 2018). "Your guide to Ventura County beaches". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ California Coastal Trail Hiker's Guide: Ventura County Section 13 Map Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine Coastwalk Accessed 1 May 2014
- ^ Cardwell, Diane (July 30, 2014) "At Patagonia, the Bottom Line Includes the Earth" The New York Times
- ^ "Beach Report Card". Heal the Bay. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ Carlson, Cheri (July 17, 2024). "Ventura County spot makes the list of top-scoring California beaches". Ventura County Star. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "County Line Beach". L.A. Mountains. Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Archived from the original on October 28, 2004. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ Echeverry, Sebastian; Yamamoto, Jane (March 24, 2019). "Dead Whale on Malibu Beach Draws Crowds, Interest". NBC Southern California. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ Guldimann, Suzanne (January 10, 2017). "Squid boats dot Malibu coast: Roughly 40,157 tons of squid caught this season". Malibu Surfside News. Archived from the original on May 9, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Market Squid". California Sea Grant. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "California Commercial Squid Fishery Closed November 21". Sport Fishing Magazine. November 21, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "Squid Fishermen Find Massive Schools Near Santa Barbara Shores". KEYT. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "Squid Fisheries". Gilly Lab. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Adkisson, Knowles (October 23, 2013). "Two Sea Lions Killed by Bullets". Malibu Times. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "The catch in squid fishing". Malibu Times. November 1, 2000. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "A squishy romance". Malibu Times. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ Guldimann, Suzanne. "Squid Fishers". The Malibu Post. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Sahagun, Louis (January 16, 2014) "Study to test California's kelp forests for radioactive contamination" Los Angeles Times