Contents
- Beach recreation visits statistics for selected California beaches
- How selected beach estimates changed over time
- Seasonal patterns in beach recreation visits
- Weekend visits at the selected beaches
- California State Parks beach attendance in FY 2021/22
- Reading beach visitation figures in context
- Sources
Beach recreation visits statistics for selected California beaches
Beach visitation figures depend on what is counted. A cellphone-based estimate for a mapped beach area, an attendance total for a state park, and a count of paid day-use entries can describe different things. The figures below cover selected California locations and should be read within those boundaries; they are not a census of every beach or every beachgoer in the state.
A 2024 technical report estimated visits using cellphone-derived location data. For its defined Gaviota-to-County-Line extent, the report estimated 7,312,234 visits in 2017, rising to 10,629,000 in 2018. The estimate fell to 9,719,436 in 2019, then reached 13,254,592 in 2020. It declined to 12,262,554 in 2021 and 9,807,584 in 2022.
| Calendar year | Estimated visits, Gaviota-to-County-Line extent |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 7,312,234 |
| 2018 | 10,629,000 |
| 2019 | 9,719,436 |
| 2020 | 13,254,592 |
| 2021 | 12,262,554 |
| 2022 | 9,807,584 |
The series shows the highest estimate in 2020 among the six years listed, followed by two lower annual totals. The 2022 estimate was still above the 2017 figure, but below the 2018–2021 estimates. These are estimated visits to a delineated multi-beach area, not unique people: a person visiting more than once may contribute multiple visits. The report’s measure is inferred from cellphone location data, so it should not be treated as an exact gate count.
Source: BEACON, Estimating beach visitation using cellphone-derived locational data, Appendix, “BEACON Extent,” “Annual Visitation (2017–2022).”
How selected beach estimates changed over time
Three individual Santa Barbara County beach locations in the report illustrate that annual patterns differed by site. Carpinteria State Beach’s estimated visits were 179,397 in 2017, 190,164 in 2018, and 180,617 in 2019. The estimate then increased to 288,111 in 2020 and 300,431 in 2021, before falling to 146,726 in 2022.
El Capitan Beach had 42,181 estimated visits in 2017, 48,066 in 2018, and 27,730 in 2019. It rose to 62,112 in 2020 and 79,859 in 2021, then declined to 34,201 in 2022. Refugio Beach followed a similar broad sequence in these reported values: 43,729 in 2017, 48,589 in 2018, 29,080 in 2019, 69,453 in 2020, 77,376 in 2021, and 38,003 in 2022.
| Calendar year | Carpinteria State Beach | El Capitan Beach | Refugio Beach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 179,397 | 42,181 | 43,729 |
| 2018 | 190,164 | 48,066 | 48,589 |
| 2019 | 180,617 | 27,730 | 29,080 |
| 2020 | 288,111 | 62,112 | 69,453 |
| 2021 | 300,431 | 79,859 | 77,376 |
| 2022 | 146,726 | 34,201 | 38,003 |
Across all three sites, the 2022 estimate was lower than the 2021 estimate. Carpinteria’s 2022 estimate was also lower than every listed year from 2017 through 2021; El Capitan and Refugio likewise recorded their lowest listed estimate in 2022. These comparisons describe the report’s mapped beach locations and its estimation method, not every facility or activity associated with each park.
Source: BEACON technical report, Appendix, Santa Barbara County, California Department of Parks and Recreation, “Annual Visitation (2017–2022).”
Seasonal patterns in beach recreation visits
The report also combined monthly estimates across the 2017–2022 series for individual beach locations. These are six-year combined totals for each named month, not a typical month’s annual count or an average across years.
At Carpinteria State Beach, the combined estimate was 160,227 visits in June, 195,510 in July, and 161,137 in August. December’s combined total was 58,535. July was therefore the largest of these four reported month totals, while December was much smaller. At El Capitan Beach, the combined June total was 39,356 and July’s was 51,661. Refugio Beach had 47,536 combined visits in June and 44,496 in July.
| Beach location | June, 2017–2022 combined | July, 2017–2022 combined | August, 2017–2022 combined | December, 2017–2022 combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpinteria State Beach | 160,227 | 195,510 | 161,137 | 58,535 |
| El Capitan Beach | 39,356 | 51,661 | — | — |
| Refugio Beach | 47,536 | 44,496 | — | — |
A dash means the checked figures listed here do not provide that month’s value; it does not mean zero visits. The summer-month comparisons are consistent with higher combined counts in July than June at Carpinteria and El Capitan, while Refugio’s June total exceeded July’s. Since these are pooled six-year totals, they do not show whether the same pattern occurred in each individual year or how visits were distributed within a month.
Source: BEACON technical report, Appendix, Santa Barbara County, “Monthly Summary (2017–2022 Combined).”
Weekend visits at the selected beaches
Combined weekday estimates add another view of when visits occurred. Carpinteria State Beach had an estimated 277,932 Sunday visits and 270,607 Saturday visits across 2017–2022 combined. At El Capitan Beach, the combined Saturday estimate was 77,475. Refugio Beach had 67,854 estimated Sunday visits over the same combined period.
These values are totals for each weekday pooled across six years. They are not per-Saturday or per-Sunday averages, and a direct comparison between weekday totals would need to account for how many of each weekday fell in the period. The reported values nonetheless show substantial weekend use at these locations within the combined series.
Source: BEACON technical report, Appendix, Santa Barbara County, “Day of the Week Summary (2017–2022 Combined).”
California State Parks beach attendance in FY 2021/22
California State Parks’ FY 2021/22 statistical report provides a separate kind of measure: unit attendance divided into paid day use, free day use, and camping. Carpinteria State Beach recorded total attendance of 601,335, consisting of 108,632 paid day-use attendance, 146,399 free day-use attendance, and 346,304 camping uses.
Pismo State Beach recorded 690,358 total attendance: zero paid day use, 456,552 free day use, and 233,806 camping uses. The reported total at Pismo was higher than Carpinteria’s, but the composition differed: Carpinteria’s total included more camping uses, while Pismo’s included more free day-use attendance.
| State Parks unit | Paid day use | Free day use | Camping | Total attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpinteria State Beach | 108,632 | 146,399 | 346,304 | 601,335 |
| Pismo State Beach | 0 | 456,552 | 233,806 | 690,358 |
These are California State Parks unit-level attendance figures for fiscal year 2021/22. Because camping is included, the totals are not equivalent to day-only beach visits. Nor should they be directly compared with the BEACON calendar-year estimates: the reporting periods, counting approaches, and geographic definitions differ. The State Parks report also notes that attendance collection methods vary, so the totals are best understood within its own categories.
Source: California State Parks, Statistical Report, FY 2021/22, p. 16, “CARPINTERIA SECTOR – Visitor Attendance, Revenue & Authorized Base Budget,” and p. 38, “PISMO STATE BEACH SECTOR – Visitor Attendance, Revenue & Authorized Base Budget.”
Reading beach visitation figures in context
The available statistics offer complementary snapshots rather than one statewide total. The BEACON report provides cellphone-derived estimates for a defined coastal extent and selected beach locations, including annual, monthly, and weekday patterns. The California State Parks report gives attendance by use category for named units in one fiscal year.
For comparisons, keep the unit and period attached to every number. An annual estimate for a multi-beach extent is not the same as attendance at one named beach. A pooled July total across six years is not a July average. A State Parks total that includes camping is not a count of people who came solely for a day at the shore. With those distinctions in view, the figures show both the scale of use at selected California coastal sites and the limits of treating different visitor measures as interchangeable.