Emma Wood State Beach

Status: North Beach closed (checked October 26, 2026). Emma Wood North Beach closed to camping and day use on August 25, 2025, for State Parks and Caltrans construction, and State Parks says it will stay closed until the projects are finished. Day use was expected to resume with traffic controls from June 2026, but the park page still lists the North Beach day-use area as closed, and camping has no reopening date.

Emma Wood State Beach is two miles west of Ventura, with the Ventura River estuary at its southeast end and views of the Channel Islands. People come to swim, surf, windsurf and fish for perch, bass, cabezon and corbina, and the Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail runs past. There are ruins of a World War II coastal artillery site.

Camping

North Beach has 90 primitive sites for fully self-contained vehicles only, with no water, restrooms, power or fire rings. The Ventura River Group Camp, at the west end of Main Street about two freeway miles from the beach, has group tent sites and primitive RV camping, with restrooms, water and fire rings; reservations are required.

Rules

Leashed dogs are allowed in the campground and day-use area, but not on the beach.