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Photos from July 2006 show an almost deserted Summerland Beach.
NOTICE: SUMMERLAND IS NO LONGER A NUDE/CLOTHING OPTIONAL BEACH! POLICE SWEEP THE BEACH PERIODICALLY AND WITHOUT WARNING. YOU ARE TAKING A BIG RISK OF BEING TICKETED IF YOU DISROBE HERE!
In the 1970's and 1980's this beach was one of the more popular nude beaches in Southern California. With easy access to/from the freeway and ample parking at Lookout Park, there were often several thousand nudists here on any given weekend day.
It's popularity became its undoing, unfortunately. There was no "Mayor" or "Friends" group in charge of enforcing the behavior of beachgoers, and a few diviants took advantage by visiting the beach and masterbating or having sex in front of others. This was especially true the farther south one went down the beach, as that was known as the "gay" and "swinger" area.
After numerous complaints about this lewd conduct from other beachgoers -especially families trying to enjoy a restful nudist day at the surf's edge - the police began conducting periodic sweeps of the beach, ticketing everyone who was nude - not just the swingers - without giving any verbal warnings. By 1990 this police activity had forced many of the regulars down the coast to Bates (North Rincon) Beach at the Ventura-Santa Barbara County border.
Still, Summerland's reputation continued to draw nudists for another dozen years until the constant ticketing essentially closed the beach to all but the most dedicated and foolhardy.
Today, the beach is hardly used at all by anyone. We made a trip there in May, 2006 at what should have been the start of the summer tanning season and we saw one couple walking and another man walking with his dog. That was it for a half-mile long beach!
If one truly believes the beaches are for everyone to enjoy, and if nobody is using this beach anyway, what's the harm in letting the nudists back in? They would definitely need to be "organized" so that some behavior guidelines could be established and enforced by volunteers (as it is at most of the successful nude beaches in the country.) It also will require a closer relationship with local law enforcement and city officials so that the diviants are kept off the beach or arrested promptly as the nudist community does not condone lewd behavior on its beaches. Anyone interested in helping?
Losing such a pretty beach is an absolute shame.