When we were in the Carmel area last year, we were enjoying the sunset on the little beach just north of the entrance to Point Lobos. A couple was sitting there with a little bonfire, and I so want to do that with DH when we're there in a week and a half!

Does anyone know much about it? I mean, is it legal? Is it common? Have any of you ever done it?

Don't know about that specific beach but bonfires are common elsewhere on beaches in CA...you just have to do them in approved fire pits (permanent structures at the beach). You cannot just lay wood on the sand and start a fire (as far as I know).

Thanks for your input! It would be nice to have an established fire pit so we wouldn't have to mess with building a fire from scratch!

Here are the rules for beach fires in Carmel:

III. FIRES: The following restrictions apply to fires on the beach:
All fires must be extinguished by 10:00PM.
Fires are permitted only south of 10th Avenue.
No fires larger than 3’ x 3’ x 3’.
All fires must be at least 25 feet from the slopes.
Do not burn trash or any wood containing nails or sharp objects.
Extinguish fires with water not sand. Leave the coals open and visible to pedestrians.

There is a store in Carmel that sells what you would need for a fire but the name escapes me, if you don't want to do it yourself Romantic Room Designs offers a service that includes blanket and smores!!

SAB, I don't know how I didn't reply to you! I always follow up! Sorry about that! I followed your info and looked into Romantic Room Designs... wow! So cool, but out of our budget, unfortunately. And thanks for the info for Carmel beach. Just what we needed to know!

We did indeed have a bonfire! It was the sweetest thing. The clear sky was gorgeous and we were lying on our blanket gazing up at the stars, listening to the ocean waves, and being warmed by the fire.

We got a bundle of wood and a fire starter pack at Ace Hardware in Pacific Grove.

Funny thing was, a cop did a U-turn and pulled up behind our car. We were far away but could see him. He put his lights on high, and walked around our car with his flashlight shining in! As he was walking back to his car he looked up our way. We couldn't imagine what we were doing wrong. It was about 9:15 or 9:30 pm. Anyway, we were just about to leave anyway, so we quickly doused the fire, grabbed our stuff and started to book it over to him but before we could get there he left. No ticket on the car, thankfully, but it did give us a little scare!

Glad you got to have your romantic fire on the beach. If there were not a lot of cars parked on Scenic, this might be the reason the cop checked out your car.

The cop was probably checking if you are homeless - if there is junk in your car or not, if it looks you will spend the night there.

Hmmm, that's a good possibility! I'm sure he saw our Point Lobos State Park entry receipt taped to the windshield and our pizza box on the dash!