Not all Bay Area beaches will be closed this holiday weekend.
Record heat is forecast to hit the Bay Area and much of California over Labor Day weekend, with temperatures expected to reach a sweltering 106 degrees Sunday in San Jose, 114 in Livermore and 111 in Hollister.
But all the beaches are closed, right?
No, many are open. But check before you head to the coast.
Here’s the short version: All beaches in Monterey County are closed from Friday to Monday night. All beaches in Santa Cruz County, including city beaches and state park beaches, are closed from Saturday at 5 a.m. through Monday at 7 p.m. — but with two big exceptions. You can walk across the sand in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to go surfing, swimming, boogie boarding or kayaking, and the beaches are open in Santa Cruz County from 4 to 8 p.m. today and Sunday.
What’s open? With a few exceptions, most state park beaches in San Mateo County, Marin County and Sonoma County, along with all the beaches at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area from Fort Funston near San Francisco to Stinson Beach in Marin County, and East Bay beaches operated by the East Bay Regional Park District.
Medical experts say the risk of spreading COVID-19 is greater
indoors than outdoors. But parks officials are reminding people not to congregate in groups other than their own families, and to maintain a healthy social distance from others to avoid spreading COVID-19 if they head to the shoreline this weekend.
“We understand people want to escape the heat wave but we all need to be responsible and do our part during the pandemic,” said Gloria Sandoval, a state parks spokeswoman.
Leave early and bring plenty of water. It will be hot at the coast also.
Here’s the list:
San Mateo County
• Año Nuevo State Park (including Gazos Creek Beach) is closed because of
the CZU fire.
• Other state beaches on the San Mateo Coast, including Pigeon Point, Pescadero, San Gregorio, Pomponio, Bean Hollow, Half
Moon Bay and Gray Whale Cove, will be open.
• Some San Mateo County beaches are closed, including Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and Tunitas
Creek Beach. Others, such as Coyote Point in San Mateo on San Francisco Bay, Mirada Surf in Miramar, are open.
• Beaches in Pacifica are closed today, Sunday and Monday, including Pacifica State beach (Linda Mar).
San Francisco County
• All Golden Gate National Recreation Area beaches, including Ocean Beach, Baker Beach, Crissy Field, Muir Beach, Tennessee Hollow and Stinson Beach, are open.
Marin County
• All beaches are open except for Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay State Park, which is closed because of the Woodward fire.
Sonoma County
• All beaches are open.
East Bay
• East Bay Regional Park District beaches are open, including Crown Memorial Beach in Alameda and Keller Beach in Richmond.
In Santa Cruz County, Sheriff’s Department deputies will be writing tickets, with fines up to $1,000 for violators.
The decision to close beaches didn’t come from the Santa Cruz County health officer but rather from the Board of Supervisors, which was concerned about crowds of people potentially spreading COVID-19.
“The board really wants to discourage congregating and travel by tourists over a busy holiday weekend,” said Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin. “The population of the county can double on a weekend like Labor Day. While the beaches are not really a public health issue, it does encourage a lot of people to come to Santa Cruz County and congregate elsewhere — in restaurants, stores and other places. We want to keep our numbers down.”