Terra Mar Point, Carlsbad CA

Terra Mar Point

Terra Mar point is a unique spot in North County San Diego, located in the southern part of Carlsbad along the 101 highway. There is a small housing community situated on the headland coming out from the adjacent cliff sides. To the north the cliff gives way to an open beach that before development would have been the sand spit for the Batiquitos lagoon. To the south end of Terra Mar point is sea cliffs around 50~ ft in height. The location is special to me in that it is one of the early places I would go surfing, and still surf to this day. However the location is unique beyond surfing. Just to the outside of the headland is a large rocky reef. This reef extends out some 200-300 ft from shore, and provides that excellent surf break. It also is an amazing diving spot with kelp forest to the outside of the rocky reef. Additionally this area makes for a fertile fishing spot, with plenty of rock fish to catch, and pelagic species like Yellowtail coming through. Conversely during spiny lobster season it is an excellent fishery.  

The location is interesting in that there is no formal parking lot in the area, just side of the road parking. Limiting the number of people who can use the beach. Which would seem bad, but given the steep cliffs and limited beach this is more than fine for preventing overcrowding and dangerous conditions. Access to the beach is limited in some regard. There are various trails that wind around the cliff and down to the beach but they regularly change during rain storms, or the area from which the trail ends becomes impassable because of undercutting and erosion of the cliff. The main access is a stairway leading down the cliff side adjacent to a home on the south side of the point. It should be noted this stairway used to be built on a cliff, however due to several storms the cliff under the stairway has been cut out in various sections. That said the stairway remains open. Maybe it’s safe? To the north there is also beach access down trails on the cliff or where the cliff ends. However on the point itself there is only private beach access. There is a locked gate with a stairway down to the beach used by locals and their friends (as well as a hand full of old salty longboarders who don’t care for many people).

The beach being a changing environment is very evident here, to the north there are jetties which impact the deposition of sand on the beaches to the south. To that end the beaches to the south along the cliff are eroding the hill side towards the 101. The homes upon the headland cliff side have extensive hillside armoring in way of concrete, that leads into the rocks below in some cases placed walls, or natural sea rock. The reef definitely helps mitigate the impact of the waves on the beach. However this last winter was very devastating to the cliffs to the south of the point. Much of the cliff side lost significant portions of material. Additionally the beach itself lost nearly all of its sand becoming rocky and inconsistent. The backwashing during high tide was especially bad during big surf days which there was plenty of. The overall condition of the beach itself is probably most heavily impacted by the jetties to the north at the  batiquitos lagoon. Over the years I have noticed a change in the beach in that during the summer the sand doesn’t fill back in enough to replenish the losses from the last winter. The beach and cliffs are slowly breaking down. I foresee in my life time sections will be completely sea cliffs with no beach, coupled with the changes in sea levels the beach itself may become all but useless for recreational activities. Conversely the homes which have been relatively hardened and protected by the outside reef will inevitably see the impacts of sea level rise as the waves break closer and closer to shore inevitably on the hardened hill sides themselves.

-Matt Wells