Refugio State Beach
Refugio State Beach is a protected state beach park in California, United States, approximately west of Santa Barbara. It is west of El Capitán State Beach. During the summer months, the Junior Life Guard program resides at the beach during the day.
The Refugio oil spill occurred just north of the park in 2015 when a pipeline carrying crude oil ruptured. The spill went into a culvert that ran under US 101 and into the ocean. The spill spread over of coastline, including Refugio and El Capitán state beaches. The parks were closed during the clean-up, including during the typically busy Memorial Day weekend. The pipeline which caused the disaster is no longer in service.
