Ormond Beach

Ormond Beach is a two-mile stretch of remote shoreline in south Oxnard, running from Port Hueneme on the north to the northwestern boundary of Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu on the south. Behind the dunes lies the reason most visitors come at all. The 1,500-acre Ormond Beach Wetlands, a system of marshes, lagoons, and estuaries that takes in the inland margin of Mugu Lagoon, supports roughly 200 bird species, among them the federally listed western snowy plover. The beach itself is undeveloped, with no road access onto the sand. The northern entry leaves Arnold Road and runs about a quarter mile south to the surf; the southern entry leaves the end of Ocean View Drive and runs a full mile east.

The sand bottom and breaking waves along the open beach are a surf zone biome. Inland of the dunes, the brackish channels and tidal flats of the Ormond Beach Wetlands and Mugu Lagoon hold eelgrass and submerged grass beds, which makes that area a seagrass biome reachable from the wetland trails rather than from the surf line.

Shore anglers fish the open sand for perch. The bird community is the dominant non-fishing draw and brings visitors year-round. The remote access and shifting bars make surfing uncommon, and the absence of rocky structure or kelp offshore keeps snorkeling, scuba, and spearfishing uncommon as well.

Neither access point puts a visitor on the sand without a walk, and there are no restrooms, facilities, or lifeguards on site. Fishing and spearfishing on the open beach are legal under standard California regulations. The wetlands and the lagoon are managed habitat with bird-nesting closures during the breeding season, and posted signs and designated trails govern entry on that side of the dunes.