A popular surf spot is a lot easier to reach after the City of Encinitas reopened the Beacons Beach access trail Thursday. The trail was closed in early May after a small landslide.
โI understand they have to take cautionary steps to make it as safe as possible,โ said Margaret Vanasse who was overjoyed to see the trail reopened.
โIโm so happy about it. Just being able to surf down here again,โ added Deven Tomey, who was forced to walk a mile along the beach from another entrance to reach his favorite surf spot.
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Encinitas closed the trail May 2 after the landslide was discovered. The city and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography studied the slope for eight weeks before deeming it safe again.
"The repair of the trail entailed the construction of four small retaining walls and the installation of damaged steps and the releveling of the trail," A city spokesperson said. "The trail was kept in the same configuration and the route was not changed. Additional steps were added to the trail since the section of trail had dropped almost two feet."
Monitors installed inside the hillside will remain active for at least another year.
The Beacons slide is the latest in a series of collapses in San Diegoโs North County. A large chunk of cliff fell Wednesday along Torrey Pines State Beach. In 2019, three people died when another cliff collapsed a mile north of Beacons. The family of the victims filed a lawsuit against the City of Encinitas in 2020.