McGrath State Beach

Coordinates: 34°13′30″N 119°15′30″W / 34.225°N 119.25833°W / 34.225; -119.25833

McGrath State Beach is a protected beach park located in the city of Oxnard, California.^[1] It is located five miles south of Ventura on Harbor Boulevard.^[1][2]

McGrath State Beach will close indefinitely starting 9/6/11 due to lack of funding to repair the infrastructure, specifically the rusting sewage pipe. Local residents are attempting to save the State Beach by voting in Coca Cola's Live Positively park contest coincidentally ending on 9/6/11. The top three highly voted parks will win up to $100,000. Refer to external link below to vote.

McGrath State Beach is one of the best bird-watching areas in California, with the lush riverbanks of the Santa Clara River and sand dunes along the shore. A nature trail leads to the Santa Clara Estuary Natural Preserve. Two miles of beach provide surfing and fishing opportunities. Camping sites are available.

The beach is adjacent to the Mandalay Generating Station – the stack is easily visible from the beach – and overlies the productive West Montalvo Oil Field. The oil wells in an enclosure just behind the beach are operated by Venoco, Inc., and slant-drill into the offshore part of the field. The generating station is owned by Reliant Energy^[3].

South of McGrath State Beach is the undeveloped Mandalay Beach Park. The beach is located along the California Coastal Trail^[4].

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Google, Inc. Google Maps – McGrath State Beach (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.225,-119.258333&ie=UTF8&ll=34.225855,-119.257965&spn=0.102193,0.264187&z=13. Retrieved 2010-07-18. 
2. ^ State of California (2009). "McGrath SB". http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=607. Retrieved 2010-07-18. 
3. ^ Reliant Energy Retail Holdings, LLC (2010). "Reliant Energy - Electric Power Generation within the United States". http://www.reliant.com/en_US/Page/Generic/Public/Wholesale_Plant_Listings.jsp. Retrieved 2010-07-18. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Coastwalk. "California Coastal Trail Section Data". http://www.californiacoastaltrail.info/hikers/infopoints.php?DisplayAction=DisplayPoint&PointId=1405. Retrieved 2010-07-18. 

External links

• Official McGrath State Beach website
• Vote at Live Positively until 9/6/11 to help save McGrath State Beach