A beach bonfire in a fire ring is a time-honored tradition California residents and visitors enjoy as the sun goes down over a perfect California beach evening. Fire pits are usually large cement rings in the sand to build your very own bonfire, though in places such as Oceano Dunes Vehicle Recreation Area and its beach where cars can drive right on the beach in Grover Beach, you can pull your car onto the sand and simply set the wood out on the beach and light it,  or dig your own pit. Some beaches provide fire pits free, first come-first serve. You bring the wood with you for the fire. Some beaches such as many state beaches offer them to the campsite guests as part of their camping fee. It can be fun to add storytellers to your bonfire experience, making it memorable. Of 108 state parks, 29 allow fires for beach vacationers and visitors (excluding camping). The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors maintains fire rings at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey.
 

Below is a list of beaches with bonfires and policies stated at the time we performed research for this page.  Please be sure to check the links listed to get the accurate, up-to-date information. Don't count on a ring being there until you speak with the official beach agency.  Firepits for bonfires create instant gathering places for entertainment and sharing, which is why they are such a popular activity. At most beaches during summer, weekend evenings, 4th of July and other large beach attendance days, your chance of getting a fire pit is greatly diminished as some of the visitors go at the crack of dawn to stake out a claim on a pit.  What type of wood is best for your beach fire?  According to studies at Santa Cruz campgrounds fire rings, concentrated residue containing arsenic was discovered as a bi-product of pressure treated wood used in campfires. Stick with unprocessed wood  often sold at concessions near the beach to avoid contamination. Don't use discarded wood from household furniture with varnishes and paint and wood containing nails.

California State Parks  released a chart that has been at least a month in the works. It specifies how and what will be cut and the California State Parks system. No jobs were cut, nor were any trees in the planning and release of the new plan, which closes some parks a few days each week, removes fire rings, locks up bathrooms and other maintenance style measures. While more cuts are expected in the spring if a funding mechanism isn't secured, no jobs were cut. Many state employee field workers will be sent to nearby offices to do something instead of work at the beaches and parks that would have been open otherwise.

Thumbing through the report, there are around 150 state parks impacted with cuts, and seven will have their bonfire pits, and fire rings removed. Those parks include:

Bolsa Chica SB Orange Coast in Huntington Beach
Crystal Cove SP Orange Coast in Newport Beach
Doheny SB Orange Coast in Dana Point
Huntington SB Orange Coast  in Huntington Beach
San Onofre SB Orange Coast near San Clemente
Silver Strand SB San Diego Coast in San Diego's Coronado Island
South Carlsbad SB San Diego Coast in Carlsbad