Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna Beach is named inaccurately; the stairway contains 218 steps rather than a thousand. The beach is secluded between two coves and accessible only by a narrow, foliage-framed staircase off Highway 1 with no designated parking. Locals have long contested access, and homeowners challenged the state over public entry more than fifty years ago as the California Coastal Commission was established to protect beach access. The staircase has been rebuilt and renovated multiple times after losing steps to wear and landslides. Recent January landslide forced a temporary closure, and ongoing coastal erosion continues to threaten the beach's future.
"It's always been called 'Thousand Steps,'" Eric Jessen, a retired chief planner for the Orange County parks department, told SFGATE. "Why? Because it's a lot of steps - not a thousand, but a lot of steps." More accurately, the secluded spot in Laguna Beach has 218 steps, and they have carried Californians to a pristine shore that locals have fought over for more than a century.
Also called the Ninth Street Beach, its staircase entrance is marked with just a sign and encased in foliage. But anyone willing to venture down the 218 steps will find a quiet beach that locals once fought to keep secluded. Over 50 years ago, homeowners challenged the state over public access just as the California Coastal Commission was conceived to ensure the state's beaches remained open to all.
The staircase has lived several lives over the years - losing some steps, being rebuilt and going through renovations along the way. But when a landslide threatened the beach in January, Thousand Steps Beach was forced to close temporarily. As is the case across the Orange County shore, its future is jeopardized by an unbeatable foe that's underfoot and slowly clawing away at the California coastline.
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