Distance: 3.7 miles round trip on trail and beach
Summit Elevation: 0'
Elevation Gain: 400'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.3
Round trip time: 1 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 16 oz.
Parking/Fees: $15 State Park Day Use Fee
Difficulty: Easy
With temps over 100F, Leisa and I looked for a beach hike. Torrey Pines was closed due to COVID-19, but San Onofre State Beach was open. We decided to try this hike from Socalhiker.com, heading to the Cristianitos Fault. We started at 6:30 AM to make sure we got a parking spot and also to get the hike in before it got hot. We drove past the main surf beach, and the long line of cars waiting to get in, through the campgrounds and parked right next to Trail Number 3.
There are warning signs to keep you away from the steep and unstable bluffs. We followed trail 3 down to the beach and proceeded north over large, wet stones. We brought canyon shoes that were perfect footwear for the conditions. We took a small detour into one of the canyons where creative rock cairns were set up. We returned to the beach and hugged the surf, wading into ankle deep water to keep cool. A small number of surfers were already in the water and the beach got more crowded as we got closer to trail 1. We passed the closed life guard station and continued along the fault as far as we could legally go. The last quarter mile was slow going, again over wet stones. We stopped at a sign that marked the restricted area around the San Onofre nuclear generating station. It was a fun beach hike and unique with the high bluffs and fault.
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