Lowers Trestles Will Be Head High And Fun Tomorrow…With Nobody In The Water

A strong west wind has been howling in San Clemente all day. The surf’s shot. Who knows when anybody will get in the water again.

Signs posted today at the top of the Lower Trestles read, “In an effort to protect our visitors and community during the global outbreak of COVID-19, this park is temporarily closed.” 

Over the past couple of weeks the crowds at Lowers have been steady with a consistent flow of electric bikes on the trail. And now, it’s party over on the point.

As somebody that lives, works and is raising a family in San Clemente, I applaud the move by the California State Park Department. There are a lot of people making a lot of sacrifices to get through this, and a bunch of selfish surfers were ruining it. 

“Hundreds of people from all over SoCal showing up at Trestles (in large groups even) all weekend. Read the rules that the Governor sent out! It doesn’t say ‘Drive out of town, up and down the freeways, and look for waves!’ I didn’t want to close my surf shops, shaping facilities, glass shops, warehouse … ALL ASPECTS of my business’s AND lay off dozens of employees, but I did. We did. It’s the law,” wrote Matt Biolos on Instagram after the weekend hordes showed up as usual.

The beach parking lots around San Clemente are all closed now. Yesterday I went for a run on the beach and there was a little pack on the peak at T Street, and a couple other surfers in the water at a few other sandbars, but it was pretty quiet. There were folks walking on the beach trail, but everybody seemed to be trying to keep their distance to the point where they didn’t even want to make eye contact…as if it might confirm how very weird everything is right now.

Nearby Laguna Beach closed their beaches last week. San Diego closed its city beaches this week. And this was the right move for San Clemente. In conversations with a number of longtime locals, pro surfers and Lowers regs, they all concur, something had to be done to put a halt to the crowds.  

As of the writing of this, there were 256 cases of coronavirus in Orange County, California, with 69 new cases announced today. The number of cases is reportedly doubling ever three days. On Tuesday, Orange County recorded its first death from the virus. 

One of the most telling stats, and one that is relevant to the surf community, is that most of the cases in Orange County are people under 50. Only 39 cases are people over 65. So all the bros that were out flexing at Lowers last weekend, knock that shit off so we can flatten the curve.

The waves will still be there when this is over, and if everybody behaves themselves, it will put us right in the middle of south swell season when things open up.