Emma Wood State Beach
Also known as Emma Wood SB, Wood State Beach
- Status
- Open (per official listing)Daily 7 a.m. – sunset
- Entrance fee
- $10 per dayAnnual pass available
- Day-use reservations
- None mentioned
- Dogs
- Dogs allowed, with restrictions
- Camping
- Yes
- Official site
- parks.ca.gov(805) 585-1850
Official page last checked Oct 29, 2026. Details last changed Oct 29, 2026. How we keep this current
Current alerts 2
Alert Emma Wood - North Beach Day Use area is closed due to a construction project beginning on 8/25/25. Emma Wood North Beach will remain closed until the construction projects are completed.
Posted by the park. Official alert
Construction Partial Closure — ConstructionEmma Wood - North Beach Day Use area is closed due to a construction project beginning on 8/25/25. Emma Wood North Beach will remain closed until the… (more)
Emma Wood - North Beach Day Use area is closed due to a construction project beginning on 8/25/25. Emma Wood North Beach will remain closed until the construction projects are completed.
Posted by the park 2026-03-23. Official alert
Overview
In Ventura County, about 4 miles west of San Buenaventura (Ventura), Emma Wood State Beach covers about 123 acres.
The park supports surfing, swimming, fishing, biking, and picnicking. On the water side, there is a swimming beach. Camping is available: campsites, including RV sites, tent sites, group camping, and showers.
Hours
Park, gate, office and facility hours are listed separately because they often differ. Alerts above override normal hours.
| Facility | Days | Hours | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park | Daily | 7 a.m. – sunset | — |
Official wording
7 am - Sunset
Source: official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Times are local to the park (America/Los Angeles).
Fees and passes
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Day Use | $10 |
Official wording
Special rates may apply for peak season, high demand holiday periods, and during weekends. Prices are subject to change without notice. • Vehicle Day Use: $10.00
California park passes
- California Explorer Annual Pass — $195. Vehicle day-use entry to 134 state parks incl. high-demand Southern California beaches Details
- Golden Poppy Annual Pass — $125. Vehicle day-use entry to 112 state parks Details
- Historian Passport — $50. Admission for up to four people at per-person-fee State Historic Parks Details
- Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Annual Pass — $50. Entry to State Vehicular Recreation Areas that collect day-use fees Details
- SNO-Park Pass — $40 season / $15 day. 18 SNO-PARK winter recreation areas Details
From the California state guide. Confirm which passes this park accepts.
Reservations
- Day use
- No day-use reservation requirement mentioned
- Booking system
- ReserveCalifornia
- Phone
- (800) 444-7275
We link to the official booking system rather than showing live availability, which changes minute to minute.
Pets
Dogs allowed, with restrictions
Not allowed in or on: beach; the beach.
Are dogs allowed? Yes: Dogs allowed in campground and day-use area. Dogs not allowed on beach. Leashed dogs are permitted in the campground only, and are prohibited on the beach.
Service animals are generally permitted where pets are not. Check with the park for specific areas.
Camping
Emma Wood State Beach - North Beach Full Closure: Emma Wood State Beach – North Beach Campground will be fully closed to camping and day use from August 25, 2025, through June 2026. This closure is to facilitate two consecutive construction projects (State Parks and CALTRANS).
- Phase 3 – Intermittent Traffic Control: Day-use access will resume with traffic controls in place, expected to last from June 2026 through December 2027. State Parks continues to address road safety issues within the campground area, which must be resolved before camping operations can resume.
Camping may reopen later, with no anticipated deadline. There are remaining additional projects that are still in early design phases which are still preventing the campground from opening.
Read more from the park
Emma Wood State Beach offers family camping for self-contained vehicles only and group camping is available at Ventura River Group Camp.
Emma Wood State Beach offers primitive camping for fully self-contained vehicles ONLY. Tents are not permitted. No water, restrooms, electricity, fire rings, or phones or dump station are available. There are 90 campsites, which are not level and may contain a mixture of asphalt, dirt, cobble and ocean debris. Maximum vehicle length is 40 feet, due to small turnaround areas.
High tides may close the campground at any time. Railroad tracks and Highway 101 are adjacent to the campground which can be noisy. Leashed dogs are permitted in the campground only, and are prohibited on the beach.
Group camping is available at Ventura River Group Camp, with reservations required year around. This group campground is separated by 2 freeway miles from Emma Wood State Beach. The group sites offer developed tent camping for groups of up to 30 people and primitive RV camping for groups up to 50 people and 20 vehicles. The maximum length for an RV is 45 feet.
Ventura River Group Camp offers four developed group campsites, each with a capacity of 30 people. Groups may reserve one or more campsites, subject to availability. Camping gear must be carried a short distance from the parking lot to the campsites. Facilities include restrooms, water (no hook-ups), fire rings, tables, and a lighted parking lot.
Overnight facilities: Tent Camping, Group Campsites, Hike-and-Bike Campsites, Remote Camping, RV Access
From the official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Site counts and prices can change; confirm when booking.
Things to do
PicnickingFishingSwimmingSurfingHikingBikingCamping
Amenities
Facilities
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Drinking water
- Picnic areas
- Parking
- Group facilities
Water
- Swimming beach
Camping
- Tent camping
- RV camping
- Group camping
✓ listed by the park · ✕ the park says it is not available. Anything not shown here isn’t mentioned by the official source — that means unknown, not unavailable.
Getting there
- Address
- 800 West Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001 - Nearest town
- San Buenaventura (Ventura) — about 4 mi west (straight line)
- Coordinates
- 34.2818, -119.3170
- Phone
- (805) 585-1850
- Ventura.SpecialEvents@parks.ca.gov
Entrances
- Directions point
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOfficial park map (PDF)
Directions from the park
The beach is two miles west of Ventura. North Beach is reached via Highway 101. The group camps entrance is at the west end of Main Street in Ventura.
Nearby state parks
Sources and freshness
- California State Parks — park page — last checked Oct 29, 2026
- California State Parks Listing page (one link per unit, page_id = officialId), unioned with the CSP Enterprise GIS 'ParkEntryPoints' ArcGIS layer (coords, address, county, unit number, management status) and the 'CSPParkUnit_CurrentStatus' layer (open/partial/full closure)
- Wikidata
- USGS PAD-US 4.1 (boundary and acreage)
“Last checked” is when our system last read the official source. “Last changed” (Oct 29, 2026) is when the information shown here last differed from the previous check. Hours, fees and rules can change without notice — confirm with the park before you go. Methodology