Who owns California beaches?

Owns in trust The State of California acquired its ownership over tidelands and submerged lands and beds of natural, navigable waterways upon its admission to the United States in 1850. The State of California holds these lands and resources in trust for the benefit of all the people of California.



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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 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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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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PUBLISHED: July 7, 2016 at 4:57 p.m. | UPDATED: August 28, 2017 at 6:04 a.m. Unlike on the East Coast, where Nantucket bluebloods can keep the riff-raff away, there are no private beaches on the 840 miles of California coastline.

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

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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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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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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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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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A beach tag (also beach badge or beach token) is an admission pass that must be purchased to access a beach. It is commonly associated with the Jersey Shore in the U.S. state of New Jersey, where many communities restrict summer beach access to residents and visitors who pay a fee for a daily, weekly, or seasonal pass.

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