Report Details

There is considerable erosion of the bluffs overlooking the north and south beaches at this site, potentially threatening the integrity of the parking area and even highway 101.  Paths leading down from the parking area to the lower bluff and especially the south beach are also badly eroded, creating dangerous conditions for visitors.

Conditions

Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 3.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 15. Number of dogs: 3. Walking or running: 15. Playing in sand: 3. Tidepooling: 5. People were well-behaved.

Concerns

Apparent violations: None..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 14.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Wood pieces. There are always a very large number of mussel shells here, especially on the south beach.

New Development

None.

Man-made Modifications

None.

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls, Major cracks appearing in bluffs, Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Visible retreat of solid bluff.

Actions & Comments

There is considerable erosion of the bluffs overlooking the beaches north and south of the Strawberry Hill parking area.  See attached photos.  Most of this seems to be caused by wave action, as evidenced by the many large pieces of driftwood on the beaches up against the bluffs, and by the numerous streams flowing down the bluffs onto the beaches.  See attached photos.  But the graffiti at various places on the bluffs indicates people have been climbing on the bluffs, also contributing to erosion.  The most serious bluff erosion is at the south end of the parking area, where the blufftop edge is only about 11 feet from the parking area fence and 14-15 feet from the pavement.  See the attached photo.  Blufftop edges are about 10-15 yards from highway 101 in several places, though treacherous conditions on the blufftops make it difficult to measure or document this.  There is also considerable erosion of the path leading west from the parking area toward the rocky islands just offshore and especially on the two paths leading from the parking area to the south beach.  These latter paths have become rather dangerous for visitors as a result of this erosion.  See the attached photos of these paths.

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All Mile 188 Reports

Showing 8 of 53 reports

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

March 15, 2024

It was a beautiful day at Strawberry Hill, with many visitors -- and the resident harbor seals -- enjoying the balmy weather.

Mark Gasiorowski

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

January 5, 2024

The high surf (even at low tide) made for dramatic conditions during this visit.

Mark Gasiorowski

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

October 2, 2023

Mile 188 has no notable changes since my last visit two months ago.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

July 21, 2023

It was another beautiful day at Mile 188.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

April 14, 2023

It was a beautiful day at Mile 188, with the resident harbor seals dozing on the rocks just offshore and many gulls flying around.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

January 16, 2023

There were two mudslides on the north beach, 20-40 yards north of the parking area, that appeared to be recent.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

October 17, 2022

It was a beautiful day at Strawberry Hill.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

Neptune SP, Strawberry Hill Picnic Area

July 18, 2022

Strawberry Hill is a popular destination for beachcombing and tidepooling.

GasiorowskiM