Lifeguards at the Wedge spent part of August describing a railway tie. It had surfaced under the water near the West Jetty, along with PVC pipes, wires and the occasional piece of metal, after a series of hurricane-driven swells carved away the sand that had covered them for decades. "A lot of sand has been carved away, uncovering things that haven't seen the light of day in decades," Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda told the Los Angeles Times.
Two months later, trucks are bringing sand back to the tip of the peninsula. Most of that work is for the stretch of beach by the jetty. By the city's own account, the Wedge needs something else, and that something else has no approval and no start date yet. On November 1, the summer surf rules lift and the Wedge's off-season begins anyway.
What the August Swells Left Behind
The Times tied the erosion to at least three hurricanes that formed in the central and eastern Pacific starting in July, including Fausto and Genevieve, which sent dangerous waves and strong rip currents toward Southern California. Much of the damage was near the west jetty, right where the Wedge breaks. Yacenda noted that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a pair of jetties at the harbor entrance decades ago. City spokesperson Georgia Rios told the Times that much of the buried material dates to dredging and construction projects from the 1920s to the 1940s, including construction of the west jetty and the harbor entrance.
Within the week, ABC7 reported that the city had taped off a steep, unstable drop-off at a popular Wedge viewing area. That report dates to August 22. No later account confirms whether the tape is still up, so anyone planning to watch a south swell from the sand should look for themselves before settling in.
City Council Member Robyn Grant wrote in a September guest column in Stu News Newport that the loss was heaviest around the Wedge and Balboa Pier, leaving "steep drop-offs" and exposed rocks, pilings and other infrastructure. So the problem covers two ends of Peninsula Point's shoreline at once, and the city is treating them as two separate jobs.
The Sand Arriving This Month Is Headed for the Jetty Beach
The first job is already happening. City Manager Seimone Jurjis wrote in his late-September City Hall to You update that the city and the County of Orange had taken about 100,000 cubic yards of sand from the mouth of the Santa Ana River and placed it along the coast near the West Jetties. The city can draw as much as 200,000 cubic yards if the river has that much to give.
Usually this is a winter job. Jurjis wrote that the city sped it up because of the expected El Niño and aims to finish moving the sand by the end of October. The river mouth has sand that has to be cleared anyway, and the beach near the jetties needs sand, so one trip handles both.
Grant's column explains why this job could move quickly. It runs under permits the city already holds from the County of Orange and the California Coastal Commission, which allow roughly 100,000 cubic yards to travel from the Santa Ana River outlet to the lower jetty. Her column called the project "out to bid." The city manager's later update says the sand has started moving.
While the trucks were working, Municipal Operations crews were rebuilding protective berms along the coast before the Hurricane Polo swell, which forecasts said would arrive Sunday, September 27. FOX 11 showed crowds watching the surf at Balboa Pier as lifeguards kept an eye on stronger rip currents. No published account yet describes what Polo did at the Wedge once it hit.
The Wedge Needs a Different Fix
This is where the two jobs part ways. "The Wedge requires a different solution," Grant wrote, and the city is looking at dredging sand out of the harbor entrance channel. That would take more permits and more money, and it could involve the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency Yacenda credited with building the harbor entrance jetties.
Grant also pointed to Governor Newsom's statewide emergency proclamation as a reason permits could come faster. The proclamation, announced September 21, tells state agencies to help with local coastal preparation and to speed up permitting. It does not name Newport Beach or any dredging project at the Wedge. A faster timeline for the Wedge is something a council member expects, and nothing has been approved.
The next public moment is October 13. Jurjis said the City Council's study session that day will take a broad look at sand replenishment, covering the history of Newport Harbor and the coastline, the work happening now and the city's plans from here. The city calendar lists the meeting at 4 p.m. No detailed agenda for the sand discussion had been posted as of early October.
Two Calendars That Don't Line Up
The beach's rule calendar runs on fixed dates. The sand work runs on permits and forecasts. Here is where each one stands as of October 7, 2026:
| Date | What happens | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 17–22 | Erosion uncovers decades-old buried infrastructure; viewing area taped off | Reported in August |
| Sept. 21 | State El Niño emergency proclamation | Announced; names no specific project |
| Sept. 27 | Hurricane Polo swell forecast; berms rebuilt | No account yet of its effect at the Wedge |
| Oct. 13, 4 p.m. | City Council study session on sand replenishment | Scheduled |
| End of October | River-mouth sand transfer to the West Jetties | Underway, target date |
| Oct. 31 | Last day of the Wedge body-surf-only and Towers 40–44 blackball rules | Recurring seasonal window |
| Not set | Dredging the harbor entrance channel for the Wedge | Being explored; needs permits and funding |
The city's lifeguard rules page sets May 1 through October 31 as the Wedge's body-surf-only season. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during that stretch, bodyboards, surfboards and skimboards aren't allowed. The same window covers the blackball zone between Towers 40 and 44, which keeps surfing and skimming out of that area. The page doesn't list a year. It describes a recurring window, so the restrictions come off after Halloween on the usual schedule.
That timing matters more than usual this fall. Visit Newport Beach describes the Wedge as a powerful shorebreak with heavy backwash, and says local bodysurfers gave the spot its name. Starting November 1, the boards are allowed back on a beach that lost much of its sand this summer and whose dedicated repair is still in the planning stage. Lifeguards will have the best read on conditions on any given day. Jurjis asked beachgoers to watch the flags and talk to a lifeguard before going in.
For a look at the harbor entrance without standing at the edge of the sand, West Jetty View Park at 2300 Channel Road has views of both the bay and the ocean.
The Rest of the Point Has Already Switched to Off-Season
The sand work is the one part of Peninsula Point still behind schedule. Most other seasonal changes have already happened:
- Balboa Pier Lot rates dropped in October. The city's parking page lists $3.10 an hour and $30.85 a day from October through April, down from $4.50 and $45.35 from May through September. The lot is open around the clock.
- The East Ocean Front Lot at 105 Palm Street is partly closed. The same page lists its 93 spaces as partially closed until September 2027.
- The free Balboa Peninsula Trolley has stopped. The city's trolley page shows the 2026 season ended September 7, and no fall dates are listed.
- The ferry runs on its usual schedule. The Balboa Island Ferry lists service every day from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, all year. In February, the Daily Pilot reported more than $10 million in grants for electrifying the ferry, with no conversion timeline yet and the operator saying service would continue without interruption.
December, Seen From Peninsula Park
Once the November surf season is underway, the next big date at this end of the peninsula is the Christmas Boat Parade, set for December 16 through 20 this year, with boats starting out around 6:30 p.m. each night. Opening night begins with fireworks off Newport Pier at about 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16. The parade site lists nightly drone shows that can be seen from Peninsula Park near the Fun Zone, at 6:45 and 8 p.m.
By then the river sand should be in place by the jetty. Whether a dredging plan for the Wedge exists by then depends on what comes out of the October 13 session, plus permits and funding the city doesn't have yet.
As a Newport Beach native, Brian Liberto has followed how the sand at the harbor entrance moves from one season to the next. If you'd like a clear, local read on how the shoreline at the Point fits into owning, buying or improving property here, Let's Connect.
