Overnight campers won’t be able to stay at El Capitán State Beach starting next month as the park undergoes a yearlong construction project.
The state beach, located off the 101 Freeway just 30 minutes north of Santa Barbara’s downtown, features 132 standard campsites, five group sites and spaces for hike-and-bike campsites.
During the duration of the construction, the state beach will be open for day use, but overnight campers will have to wait until January 2026 to reserve a spot to allow for a $5.5-million construction project.
A major portion of the construction project will be to widen the entrance road to reduce wait times, broaden access to larger vehicles, including RVs, camp trailers and emergency vehicles, and increase public safety.
“We haven’t had a major overhaul in this park in decades, so this will be really good to get this road redone,” said Dena Bellman, district superintendent of the state park’s Channel Coast District.
The project will also replace an existing culvert with a more effective bridge and remove a fish barrier, and replace two separate antiquated park entry buildings with one functional park entry kiosk.
Bellman said her favorite portion of the project is replacing the culvert.
“It’s going to do so much for bringing the creek back to its natural flow and it’s natural state,” she said.
The project will also include an improved ADA trail to accommodate pedestrian traffic that was built by the parks trails team along with the California Conservation Corps.
“This is a really sustainably built product that our trail teams have spent a lot of time learning how to do and we’re hopeful this will give it its maiden voyage,” she said. “We think it’s going to be a real benefit to folks being able to utilize that to get to the park while we’re closed.”
Throughout the construction timeline, visitors are allowed to access the beach.
Although the project is set to take a year, Bellman said there is a potential for a delay if the area is hit by storms.
Certain areas in the campgrounds are prone to storm impact, including the beachfront and the creek.
“We’re really hoping that we can get it done as quick as possible and make sure that we have plenty of time to get things ready to open back up,” she said.
Visitors who are looking to camp on the coastline can consider booking reservations for nearby Refugio and Gaviota state parks.
