San Onofre's new bare necessity: a suit.
A battle nearly 40 years in the making is coming to a head at one of Southern California's most iconic beaches, pitting the suits against the people who don't wear any.
Swimsuits, that is.
After decades of looking the other way, officials at San Onofre State Beach in north San Diego County are set to crack down on a clothing-optional stretch of sand where people soak up the sun without fear of tan lines.
Citing ongoing complaints from park visitors and the fear of workplace harassment lawsuits from employees, officials say they will begin citing skinny dippers who refuse to cover up after Labor Day. New large signs warning that nudity is prohibited have recently sprouted up throughout the park, and rangers are telling nude sunbathers that their endless summer is about to end.
"Times have changed," said Rich Haydon, acting superintendent of the California Parks and Recreation Department's Orange Coast District. "The population growth within a two-hour drive of San Onofre has grown tremendously through the years. It can no long be considered a remote beach."
Angered naturists say they intend to fight the move lying down -- in the sand, as hundreds of nude sunbathers do every summer weekend.
"Do you think one or two rangers could cite all those people? No way," said R. Allen Baylis, who heads Friends of San Onofre Beach, a naturist group. "There's going to be no way to effectively enforce this policy."
Haydon responded with a chuckle. "It will be enforced," he said. "We've already been in discussion with other law enforcement agencies."
San Onofre's surf breaks are internationally known, in particular the perfectly shaped lines at Trestles and the easygoing 1960s time warp at the longboarders' hub known as Old Man's Beach.
Naturists worldwide know San Onofre for Trail 6, a dirt path that snakes down from sandstone bluffs to the beach's southern end, where it meets Camp Pendleton.
When President Nixon transferred part of the Marine Corps base to the state for use as a park, he told a reporter, "This is a great sunning beach."
James Healey agrees, but probably not in the way Nixon envisioned.
"The vibe is very mellow down here. People mind their own business," said Healy, 49, of Oceanside, who was lying on a towel naked one recent afternoon. "I don't understand why this is a problem. Who cares?"
