City officials say the rock wall along Westward Beach Road is temporary. Since August, the County's own repair schedule has grown from one work area to four, and then to the lifeguard building and restrooms. The next items on that list are more rock repair, water lines and road repair. Officials describe sand as the end goal. So far the only step toward it is a countywide study of possible sand sources, and Malibu.FM called that work "a long way away."
For anyone at Point Dume Club, that schedule starts at the front gate. The park sits at Cliffside Drive and Birdview Avenue, and the County's vehicle closure begins at the Westward Beach Road and Birdview Avenue intersection. The closure starts at that corner, and the project behind it keeps growing.
Where the closure starts and what it covers
Los Angeles County Beaches and Harbors posted its current safety advisory on October 30, 2026. As of that update, the rules at Point Dume Beach are:
- Access road: closed to vehicles at all times, starting at the Westward Beach Road and Birdview Avenue intersection.
- On foot or by bike: pedestrians and cyclists may not enter active construction areas. Crews generally work from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Restrooms 1, 2 and 3: closed because the water service is damaged. Temporary toilets and handwashing stations are set up instead.
California State Parks posted its own notice on August 28, 2026. It says the lower parking lot at Point Dume State Beach can't be reached by road while Westward Beach Road is closed, but the beach itself is still accessible.
Westward Beach Road and Birdview Avenue themselves are still open to traffic up to the closure point. On a Monday night around 8 p.m., more erosion undermined the pavement and broke a County water main just west of the revetment work, according to a Palisades News report dated October 21. County contractors placed rock until midnight while City Public Works crews handled traffic control, and both streets stayed open. Waterworks District 29 shut off water in the immediate area for a time, which cut service to The Sunset Restaurant.
How one work area became four
When the road first failed, the fix looked contained. Within days, Area 1 had a short run of rock along the access road. Since then, each finished piece of work has been followed by another one further along. Here is the sequence as of the County's Point Dume Beach emergency repairs update dated November 2, 2026:
| When | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| July 31 to Aug. 1 | Access road and water lines | Erosion damages the road and the water serving the restrooms; closures begin |
| Aug. 5 to 13 | Area 1 | About 235 feet of new rock revetment |
| August | Water system | Waterworks District 29 installs a replacement water main and meter |
| Sept. 8 to Oct. 23 | Area 2 | About 230 feet of new revetment, 120 feet of it at the City's request near the Birdview intersection |
| Sept. 8 to Oct. 23 | Area 3 | About 230 feet of existing revetment repaired |
| Began Oct. 26 | Lifeguard building and two restrooms | Shoreline protection work, ongoing |
| Upcoming | Area 4 | Repairs to about 325 feet of existing revetment |
| Upcoming | Restrooms | Remaining water line installation and reconnection |
| Upcoming | Access road | Engineers developing plans for road repairs and stormwater drainage |
Adding up the rows gives roughly 465 feet of new rock in Areas 1 and 2 and about 230 feet of older rock repaired in Area 3. Another 325 feet in Area 4 is next. Road repair is the item that would bring cars back to the lower lot, and it comes last on the County's list, which still describes it as plans in development.
The 120 feet near Birdview is the stretch closest to Point Dume Club. The County built it because the City asked it to protect the City's right-of-way at the intersection.
Why the dune by the lifeguard building came out
The newest work, which began October 26, explains why the schedule keeps growing. A fenced dune used to sit between the ocean and the public restrooms and lifeguard building. The County says it originally reached about 45 feet out from the buildings. When emergency construction began, only about 20 feet were left.
County coastal engineers decided the remaining sand would no longer protect the buildings from the erosion they expected. Installing the rock revetment the engineers recommended also meant digging out some of that sand. The goal, in the County's words, is to protect the seaward edges of the buildings and "prevent further erosion, damage to their foundations and potential structural collapse."
So a stretch where a fenced dune once stood in front of public buildings now has rock. The Coastal Commission and the City of Malibu authorized the work done so far. The County says it keeps coordinating with those agencies as new repairs are identified.
What "temporary" means to the City
The section along Westward Beach Road across from The Sunset Restaurant is the part locals know best. Malibu.FM's Hans Laetz described it as the spot where "a nice sandy beach, Freesuma Beach, used to sit."
Travis Hart, Malibu's deputy public works director, told KBUU News, as Malibu.FM reported on October 9, that the rocks are there to protect Westward Beach Road along with its water lines and fire hydrants. The City worked with County Beaches and Harbors and Supervisor Horvath's office to hire the County contractor already on site. Hart said the City will pay 70% of the cost of the new wall and the County 30%.
He described the rock in these terms:
"These are temporary measures right now, obviously due to the emergency and critical concerns of protection of infrastructure. They are only temporary. A larger plan, a more permanent plan, will be discussed in the future."
Hart said the goal is sand replenishment. He mentioned talks with property owners in the area and said he hopes a planned replenishment or other measures can come later. The County Beaches and Harbors department and the Board of Supervisors have approved a study of possible sand sources for beaches across Los Angeles County, not only Westward and Zuma. Malibu.FM called that work "a long way away."
Hart also said Westward Beach Road is one of the only City-owned streets this close to the ocean that the erosion is affecting. That explains why the City is paying most of the cost for this stretch.
Some costs are already visible. Malibu.FM reported that some surfers blame the rocks for the loss of the "Barrels" break. Crews dug a trench in the surf line for a fiber lining that sits under the rock, and work during low tides ran day and night, disturbing sleep for residents of the apartments below Point Dume Club. The report said the total cost of the new revetment was not known.
Whale season from the top of the bluff
Gray whale season is close. The County lists the migration as December through March, and State Parks extends it to mid-April. Point Dume is one of the best places on this coast to watch it. On a clear day the headland looks out over all of Santa Monica Bay to Catalina Island.
While the lower lot is cut off from cars, watching from the bluff top is a separate trip from going down to the sand. According to State Parks, free two-hour parking at the top is limited, the surrounding residential streets don't offer parking, and some disabled parking is on Cliffside Drive next to the bluff-top park.
If you go down to the sand, plan around the crews. Work generally runs from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., and pedestrians and cyclists have to stay out of active construction areas during those hours. The County's 2026 notices list no repair milestones tied to whale season or winter.
The County updates its Point Dume Beach page as construction milestones and access rules change. For alerts by phone, the department offers text notifications: text "beaches" to 27816.
Brian Merrick has lived in Malibu all his life and watched Westward Beach change over the decades. He follows how a project like this changes daily life at Point Dume Club and at the homes around Birdview and Cliffside. If you're weighing what the work at the bottom of the hill means for your home, the Brian Merrick Team can talk it through with you. Work With Brian.
