Coastal campers, here’s the bad news: El Capitán State Beach is going to completely close for about one year starting on September 1, 2021. That’s according to a notice on the state-run campground’s website , which is somewhat buried beneath the long list of COVID-related rules and announcements.
The good news, for those with patience, is that the closure will allow State Parks to build a new entry road to accommodate more cars; a new bridge over the creek near the entrance to the park, with ample room for steelhead trout passage beneath; a larger kiosk for rangers to process day-use and camping visitors; and an ADA-accessible trail along the entrance road to allow safer access for pedestrians, who currently must walk along the road to reach the beach and campground.
“We didn’t come out with a big shabang about it because COVID has slowed down a lot of things, and getting agencies to issues permits has been a real challenge,” said Dena Bellman, who took over as the State Parks Channel Coast District Planning Chief and PIO in January 2019. “So we are still trying to get those permits, but our plan, and the funding, and the way we need to approach it really needs to start on September 1.” In fact, it was slated to start a year earlier, before COVID threw a wrench in those plans.