Emma Wood State Beach is a California State Beach in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

. It is located on the

Santa Barbara Channel The Santa Barbara Channel is a portion of the Southern California Bight and separates the mainland of California from the northern Channel Islands. It is generally south of the city of Santa Barbara, and west of the Oxnard Plain in Ventura Cou ...

on the west side of the

Ventura River The Ventura River, in western Ventura County in southern California, United States, flows from its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. The smallest of the three major rivers in Ventura County, it flows through the steeply sloped, narrow Ventura V ...

estuary and south of the railroad tracks of the Coast Line and the US Highway 101 freeway. The beach is named after Emma Grubb Wood who once owned the Taylor Ranch. The beach is popular for walking, fishing, swimming, and surfing. It also includes a primitive campground for recreational vehicles and the remains of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

artillery emplacements.

History

The park is named for Emma Grubb Wood (May 23, 1881-September 19, 1944). Wood was the daughter of Alice Taylor Grubb, the owner of the Taylor Ranch (originally the Rancho Cañada de San Miguelito), an 8,000-acre sheep ranch on which oil was discovered in the 1930s. When Alice Taylor Grubb died in 1936, she left the ranch to her daughter Alice and son Percy. Percy, who was unmarried, committed suicide in December 1937 by carbon monoxide poisoning in a garage owned by Emma Wood's husband, Adrian "Buddy" Wood. Wood died in 1944 in

Carpinteria Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a po ...

. At the time of her death, her land holdings, which included the Taylor Ranch, were valued at $8 million. She was buried at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura. Adrian Wood inherited the Taylor Ranch from Emma, and in 1956, Adrian, gave land totaling with 7,600 feet of ocean frontage to the State of California. The land became the Emma Wood State Beach, which opened in 1957.

Features

Emma Wood State Beach is popular for walking, fishing, swimming, and surfing. The Wood property and the adjoining Seaside Wilderness Park (owned by the City of Ventura) include multiple ecosystems, including sand dunes, a flood plain, cobblestone beach, riparian woodland, and wetlands. At the eastern edge of the beach, the Ventura River estuary attracts a variety of wildlife, including great blue herons. A total of 300 plant species and 233 species of birds have been identified in the area. The Ocean's Edge Trail runs through both the Wood and Seaside properties. Dolphins are also sometimes seen off the coast from the beach; the ''Los Angeles Times'' in 1997 wrote that Emma Wood is the "best bet" for dolphin watching. The beach includes the remains of two artillery installations built in 1942 in response to the

Bombardment of Ellwood The Bombardment of Ellwood during World War II was a naval attack by a Japanese submarine against United States coastal targets near Santa Barbara, California. Though the damage was minimal, the event was key in triggering the West Coast inva ...

, a Japanese submarine attack on the

Ellwood Oil Field Ellwood Oil Field (also spelled "Elwood") and South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field are a pair of adjacent, partially active oil fields adjoining the city of Goleta, California, about west of Santa Barbara, largely in the Santa Barbara Channel. A r ...

. The park also include a primitive campground for recreational vehicles. There are no sewage, water, or electricity connections, and no tent camping is allowed.

Gallery

File:Emma Wood State Beach, rocks and tide pools at low tide, 2018.jpg, Tide pools at low tide File:Birds in Ventura River estuary.jpg, Birds in Ventura River estuary File:Emma Wood State Beach, rocks and driftwood roots.jpg, Rocks and driftwood File:Camp Seaside artillery gun emplacement.jpg, Camp Seaside artillery gun emplacement

References

External links

Official Emma Wood State Beach website
{{Protected areas of California, SP California State Beaches Parks in Ventura County, California Beaches of Southern California Campgrounds in California Surfing locations in California Protected areas established in 1957 1957 establishments in California Beaches of Ventura County, California

History

Features

Gallery

See also

References

External links