Refugio State Beach Park plans to reopen August First

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.-Refugio State Beach Park isn't open for Fourth of July campers due to storm repairs, but it will be soon.

California State Park Channel Coast District Superintendent Dena Bellman said they are shooting for August 1 or earlier.

Although the park is closed Bellman said the beach can be accessed by foot along the coastline.

That is why there is a lifeguard on duty.

People on the sand are likely to be shocked by the missing palms.

"We did have to remove of the Canary Islands Date Palms, many went down in the storm, as well, so that is really a difficult piece of this whole storm damage story, but we are looking to the future," said Bellman.

Bellman said 10 came down during winter storms.

The storms also led to the removal of 14 other Canary Island Date Palms.

Bellman said the storms caused erosion beneath the roots holes making them hazardous.

The park service is taking reservations for later this summer.

Bellman said they lost a lot of beach due to storm damage.

"Those repairs are being finalized, but we are hopeful to be open this summer. So we're looking at after August 1, potentially, maybe a little earlier."

They have about 100 spots to camp at Refugio and reservations fill up fast so she said it is always worth looking at all the parks online for spots that open up.

"Refugio State Beach Park is currently still closed we are finishing repairing the culvert and other road work and having to repair the road we lost a lot of beach and day use area."

She said the park staff knows how much the palms mean to people.

"It was a really hard decisions that our department had to make, our natural, cultural resources division, and the district staff really had to put our heads together to keep the park open and to plan for the future, so do look for ECRG updates and you will see a way to participate in the future of Refugio, El Capitan and Gaviota State Beaches," said Bellman.

There are still palms to enjoy.

"There are currently over 200 Canary Island Date Palms in the park and there are also policies that allow us to keep that characteristic in place, so participating in that process is a great way to keep yourself informed and inform our planning process and what we want that park to look like in the future."

Stacy and Brian DeMore drove up from Orange County and had hoped to drive in to see the historic palms after visiting Solvang.

"We are a little bummed because we wanted to see them," said Stacy DeMore.

"It is such a pristine part of California," said Brian DeMore.

Before turning around at the closed off entrance they said they would visit again when it reopens to cars.

Their daughter is a UCSB student, so they intend to come back.

They considered walking in but said their older dog wasn't up to the long walk to the see the shoreline.

The park service has funding to restore the area.

They welcome public input into the planning process.

They have updates on all the parks and future plans that can be found at https://ecrgupdate@parks.ca.gov