Depending on your definition of “opening,” California’s beaches are mostly back in business. At least to the extent that surfers can be excited. Los Angeles County was more or less the final holdout — one of the last places in the state where an activity like surfing was explicitly off-limits as a precautionary measure rolled into the state’s stay-at-home orders that began in March. That is until the county officially re-opened beaches Wednesday morning. As of May 11, California’s Department of Parks and Recreation listed 30 state parks that were still temporarily closed while hiking trails are slowly opening back up in the state as well.
And it’s all timed with a nice little bit of south swell for anybody who’s managed to stay on land through the entirety of the six-week closure.
If you can and do keep moving, you’re allowed on the sand and expected to wear a face covering. And if you’re getting in the water, have at it, so long as you’re still following the physical distancing of six feet that’s become a norm in the rest of society. That’s the simplest way to describe the new guidelines in place at LA County beaches, which now mirror closely the same rules and restrictions of other California cities and counties that have been opening beaches back up to residents recently.
County of Los Angeles Public Health Department
Surfing restrictions were lifted in San Diego at the end of April, which, to the disappointment of San Diego resident and The Inertia contributor Jason Nauman, didn’t come with an official bow-cutting ceremony from the mayor.
“I watched in horror as the city’s combination of boredom and pent-up surf desires caused a bro-cano to erupt, spewing every surfer within 50 miles out into the Pacific,” Nauman said about the amazing chaos that was his first day back in the water.
But in Los Angeles, the Wednesday morning scene didn’t sound so chaotic, according to The Inertia founder Zach Weisberg.
“It’s really exciting to be able to get back in the water,” he said about his opening day session at one of the county’s busiest lineups. “I’m nervous that Angelenos may flood the beaches, even with new restrictions, and it could quickly be pulled back. More than anything, I just want everyone to be safe. If enjoying the beaches contributes to increasing the rate of transmission and/or deaths in any way, then I have no issue sacrificing it. Public health is the priority, in my eyes.”
Weisberg described seeing a handful of walkers and joggers on the sand while parking lots still remain closed. And even with a lot of surfers in the water, he pointed out people maintaining plenty of space and having to catch up with one another by shouting “over twenty-yard gaps of ocean.”
“We’ll see how things develop. I’m sure it will continue to be a challenge managing 10 million residents accustomed to freely accessing one of California’s most valuable resources,” he said.
County officials say they’ll be monitoring how well the openings go, which is of course code for “don’t mess this up.”
“If you need to get in there to swim, to surf … that is something I hope we can earn again,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We’re not moving past COVID-19, we’re learning to live with it.”
Mayors in beachfront cities throughout the county are saying the same, with the temporary policies mirroring the rules in Orange County.
“They can and will close us down, as they did in Orange County,” Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand said on his Facebook page. “So please, hit the beach, do your thing, and leave. No hanging out for this first phase.”
