The beach is named for José Francisco Ortega, who retired from the Spanish Army in 1795 with the rank of captain and received the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio as a land grant.

The property rises above the existing park through oak woodlands and chaparral to the ridgelines of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

The spill spread over 7 miles (11 km) of coastline, including El Capitán and Refugio state beaches.

[7] In 2021, a project removed barriers for steelhead trout swimming upstream to reproduce by rebuilding the entrance bridge.

[8] An update to the 1979 General Plan which included an inventory of wildlife, historic, and archeological assets and an outline of issues and concerns was started in 2024.