First San O, now Cardiff. Image: @Kookslams
California has had quite the winter. From floods to giant swells to ridiculous amounts of rain, Mother Nature hasn’t been easy on the state in the last few months. And her most recent victim is the Cardiff Reef parking lot.
Cardiff Reef, as you probably are aware, is a wildly popular surf zone near San Diego. Rob Machado’s house looks over it. His van is often found in the parking lot there. The waves get really good on their day, and the vibe is generally a great one. It’s a classically Southern California area, with the smell of breakfast burritos and the sound of waves breaking in the air. But as of February 9, that parking lot is no more.
According to reports, the parking lot sustained some pretty major damage a few weeks ago, when cracks began to appear in it. But on February 8, it finally gave up the ghost.
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The parking lot at Cardiff Reef has been closed after king tides and big waves were a little too much for it to handle. ““To better ensure the safety of park visitors, we have closed the parking lot,” wrote California State Parks in a statement. “California State Parks is in the process of finalizing plans to repair the parking lot, and we are hopeful to begin construction soon. We understand how important this beach access is to the community and look forward to completing these repairs as soon as possible.”
Just over a week prior, the dirt road to another famous surf spot in Southern California was demolished by the weather. The entrance to San Onofre was taken out by erosion and a series of storms that proved too much for it.
