Surf, California | |
|---|---|
Unincorporated area | |
 | |
  Surf, California  Surf, California | |
| Coordinates: 34°41′04″N 120°36′13″W / 34.6844268°N 120.6035029°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Santa Barbara |
| Elevation | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Area code(s) | 805 & 820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 250152[1] |
| Surf Beach | |
|---|---|
 Surf Beach as seen from the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner | |
 | |
| Operated by | Vandenberg Space Force Base |
| Open | October to February (those sections affected by the nesting season of the western snowy plover)[2] |
| Public transit access |  Pacific Surfliner at Lompoc–Surf |
Surf is an unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County, California,[3] located along the Pacific coast within a publicly accessible area of Vandenberg Space Force Base west of the city of Lompoc. The site originally was established as a railroad town, with its growth peaking after Vandenberg was established in 1941. Since 2000 the site has just consisted of Surf Beach and the unstaffed Lompoc–Surf Amtrak Station. California State Route 246 used to run to Surf, but in 1984 the highway was truncated at Lompoc and the road from Lompoc to Surf is designated West Ocean Avenue.
Sections of Surf Beach are closed between March 1 and September 30 every year during the nesting season of the western snowy plover.[2] The affected areas may be opened earlier than September 30 if all the newly hatched birds reach their fledgling stage beforehand.[4] The closures are in place to protect the bird under the Endangered Species Act.[5] If a set number of trespass violations have been reached during any nesting season (currently 50), the beach is closed entirely.[6][7]
- ^ "Surf". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b Jacobson, Willis (September 24, 2019). "Major changes at Lompoc's Surf Beach could include shift in plover counts, construction of boardwalk". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Surf, California
- ^ "Lompoc's Surf Beach fully reopen to public following plover restrictions". Santa Maria Times. October 1, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Annual beach restrictions to begin at Surf Beach, Ocean Park". KSBY. February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ "Vandenberg Beaches to close for Annual Snowy Plover Nesting Season". Vandenberg Air Force Base. March 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ^ Connell, Sally Ann (June 16, 2002). "It's Birds vs. Bathers on Remote Beach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.