San Diego

Children's Pool Beach Closed for Seals Pupping Season

The annual closure of Children's Pool Beach for harbor seals pupping season started Saturday.

The beach and the surrounding area will remain closed until May 15.

The rope that serves to keep the public at a safe distance will also be removed since the entire beach is closed.

Children's Pool Beach was opened in 1932 after Ellen Browning Scripps paid for a seawall to built so that inexperienced swimmers can enjoy the beach. Seals started to use the relatively calm water of the beach to rear their pups in the 1990s.

The city started closing the beach in 2014 after environmentalists complained that beachgoers were disturbing the marine mammals. The California Coastal Commission issued a permit allowing the beach to close to protect the seals.

A group advocating for beach access called Friends of the Children's Pool sued the city arguing that the closure violated the California Coastal Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

A lower court sided with the group but the issued was resolved in the city's favor earlier this year when an appeals court reversed the decision, allowing the city to close the beach for 5 1/2 months each year.

Contact Us