Stone Steps Beach
Encinitas · San Diego County · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = our reading
Break Zone: The range of water where the waves break and sediment is stirred up.
Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.
First cam reading around 7 AM.
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Coastal Bulletin
About Stone Steps Beach
Today's forecast
As of Oct 12, 8:02 PM PT · latest available7-Day Forecast
Map · getting there
33.056° N · 117.301° W
Encinitas, CA 92024
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Stone Steps Beach
Stone Steps Beach sits below the bluffs of Encinitas, San Diego County, between Moonlight State Beach to the south and Beacon's Beach to the north. A long concrete stairway at the ocean end of South El Portal Street, just off Neptune Avenue, leads down to the sand, and the city spells the beach Stonesteps. The stairway dates to 1991. In January 2023, the city closed it after an engineer found the main support beam structurally unsafe, and the stairs reopened about 5 months later.
Waves break over a mix of sand and boulders below the stairs, which places Stone Steps Beach in the surf zone biome. The peaks move as the sand shifts, and sections of reef to the north give the site a rocky reef biome. Open sand between the boulders and the reef makes up the sandy flats biome.
Surfing is the main use, and the break has a long history with longboarders, including the Stone Steps Invitational surf contest, which has run here for decades. Encinitas lifeguards describe the city's coastline and its kelp beds as good scuba terrain, and they ask divers to tell a lifeguard about their dive plans before entering the water. The beach faces open swell, so the water is calmest and easiest to dive when the surf is small.
Parking is on the residential streets around Neptune Avenue and El Portal Street. Stone Steps Beach lies north of the northern boundary of Swami's State Marine Conservation Area at Moonlight State Beach, and no marine protected area covers it, so fishing and spearfishing are legal under standard California regulations.
Surf Zone
The surf zone biome consists of sandy beaches and breaking waves. The action of surf disturbing the sand and kicking it up exposes marine invertebrates, buried in their shallow dens. This natural exposure of invertebrates attracts all kinds of fish, looking for an easy meal. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Rocky Reef
The rocky reef biome is bare rock, boulder, and cobble structure without a kelp canopy above it. The hard relief and its crevices shelter invertebrates and reef fish, and the structure concentrates life that the surrounding sand cannot hold. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Sandy Flats
The sandy flats biome is open sand bottom past the breaking waves, from the sand slope off a beach to the sand channels and plains between reefs. Worms, clams, and other small animals live buried in the sand, and halibut and rays bury themselves in it to hide and hunt. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryTarget Fish Species
The fish found at Stone Steps Beach are being researched for the Ichthyopedia. This section fills in as species are mapped to this beach.
Browse the Ichthyopedia →Spot strategies
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