Is it legal to own beach in California?

In California, the state owns the beach waterward of the mean high tide line for your benefit, to access, use, and enjoy. The state and other public entities like counties and cities might also own dry sandy beaches landward of the mean high tide line for public use.



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The public trust doctrine, Selvin says, holds that the sand below the mean high tide line is held for the public. Meaning, more or less: All of have the right to be on sand that's wet or damp, but not necessarily so where the sand is dry.

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Every beach in California is open to the public up to the mean high tide level (average of the high tides). So if you can get there from the water, tidelands, or an adjacent beach, you are legally allowed to be there as long as you don't venture onto the land above where an average high tide would be.

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Does LA have private beaches? There's really no such thing as a hidden beach in Los Angeles: The sandy stretches along the 70 or so miles of coastline in the county are mostly contiguous (with parking often only steps away), while even some obscured at the bottom of a cliff are among L.A.'s worst-kept secrets.

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A private beach is typically owned by an individual or organization. They have the right to restrict access, although specific laws may still allow public use of parts of the beach under particular conditions. However, defining what constitutes public access and where private property lines begin can be complex.

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The County received grant deeds from the State for eight popular beaches in September 1995; Topanga, Malibu Lagoon, Point Dume, Dan Blocker, Las Tunas, Manhattan, Redondo, and Royal Palms Beaches. Today the County not only operates and maintains the beaches along the Los Angeles Coast but also owns most of them.

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What most people don't realize is that it's illegal to take sand from any beach in California. Most States and cities have laws against taking sand, plants, and wood from local beaches.

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Under California's federally-approved Coastal Management Program, the California Coastal Commission manages development along the California coast except for San Francisco Bay, where the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission oversees development.

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In 1976, the state legislature passed the California Coastal Act, basically making Prop 20 permanent.

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For many states with a coastline, legally, it belongs to the public.

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