How are the beaches for swimming? (stats, safe, park)

[Quatermass]

Most of my beach experiences growing up were on the Gulf of Mexico, so naturally I freeze my ass off on California beaches.

[shannonM]

YES!!! we actually swim at the beach! when the bacteria levels are low enough lol

[ehcsrop]

Originally Posted by shannonM

YES!!! we actually swim at the beach! when the bacteria levels are low enough lol

Yes, the water quality is very bad at times. No one seems to be immune. Laguna has had it's spills along with notoriously fouled waters like Long Beach. I was within 10 feet of the ocean yesterday and didn't even get my feet wet.

[MapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by bluewatergirl888

I grew up swimming on Cape Cod in MA. I used to be in the water for hours. Now that I am older, I find that I am so much more sensitive to the cold water.

There are some beaches on Cape Cod that are really warm (South Side of the Cape) as well as some beaches in RI. Beaches on the North Side of the Cape, and up the coast of MA are freezing! Most people seem to just stick their feet in.

I was just wondering about how warm the water got in SoCal the summer (as compared to MA - anyone have a comparison?).

A friend of mine grew up in Pismo Beach. She said the ocean was great for surfing, but not swimming, and prefers the beaches of Florida now.

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, Nauset beach gets very cold (I think 14 - 16 C), but we don't swim there for hours, we bodysurf for couple of min and getting to the shore and it's more fun than warm water of the Skaket beach

[MapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by ehcsrop

Yes, the water quality is very bad at times. No one seems to be immune. Laguna has had it's spills along with notoriously fouled waters like Long Beach.

Is it really so? Which places/beaches may have bacteria? Are there postings?

[albinoazian]

All of them in SoCal may have bacteria at different times. As said above, nowhere is immune. There are millions of people in SoCal. Where do you think all of the sewage and runoff goes? Evaporates into thin air? It is worse around the concrete rivers. Or where the pipes shoot out the sewage, though they are supposed to be far enough out for it not to matter . . . Huntington has been better the last two years. It used to have closings/postings several times a year and it is one of the biggest beaches in the state.

[MapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by albinoazian

All of them in SoCal may have bacteria at different times. As said above, nowhere is immune. There are millions of people in SoCal. Where do you think all of the sewage and runoff goes? Evaporates into thin air? It is worse around the concrete rivers. Or where the pipes shoot out the sewage, though they are supposed to be far enough out for it not to matter . . . Huntington has been better the last two years. It used to have closings/postings several times a year and it is one of the biggest beaches in the state.

And how about Northern Cali?

[MtnSurfer]

Heal the Bay does a good job of reporting on water pollution levels or the lack there of.

Here is the link to the data: Beach Report.

Select the area of intertest such as Los Angeles. Then zoom in to the individual beaches and reports. Next check out the Historical Data. The reason this is important is that while a beach may have an ok water report 'today' it may have had several closures or poor grades in the not too distant past. Usually grades get much worse after a rain since much of the pollution spills over into the ocean from city 'runoff.' The overall trend throughout the year is what is most important.

Derek

[sav858]

Yes, lots of people swim in the beaches in SoCal all summer till about end of Sept/mid Oct. Temps generally range from the mid 60's to the low 70's and sometimes the mid and even upper 70's. Back for a couple weeks in July many of the water temps in SoCal were in the 73-76 range. Usually there is a little chill right when you get in but after a minute or two it's great.

I was at La Jolla Shores on Saturday in SD and the water temp was 72. Most beaches are 70-72 according to reports.

[BRinSM]

As an fyi, 72 is warm for our ocean water here, but it is still rather chilly to the average person. on the rare occasions where the water gets warmer than this, you have to watch out for jelly fish. i swim in the ocean regularly, so i prefer the water to be cooler rather than warmer because of this.