San Onofre's Nude Beach to be Clothed

Photo by Jamie Cochran Photo+Design via Flickr

As of July 1st, Trail 6 at San Onofre State Beach will no longer by "clothing-optional." A few problems have caused this, one of which, is the popularity of the beach (which includes regular beaches). "It's no longer one of those remote beaches that is out of sight and out of mind, that few people go to," State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns told the OC Register, who says that "the number of people who go to San Onofre, in San Diego County, increased to about 2.5 million last year, from about 1.7 million people in 2000." But that's not the only reason.

Stearns said some rangers who work at the beach have complained recently about being exposed to a "sexually charged" environment. The state needs to be mindful or may face lawsuits, he said.

Staff members also have complained about "trash such as used condoms, pornographic material and adult sex toys, which has to be cleaned up by our people," Stearns said.

83 citations for lewd behavior and 35 tickets for indecent exposure in the area have been handed out in the last five years. As to other nude beaches run by the State Parks Department, there are no current plans to clothe them. "It doesn't mean they'll be closed down, unless there are problems that have developed that force us to focus attention on it," Stearns told the paper.