Sandy Shores is a small desert town located on the northern edge of the Grand Senora Desert in Blaine County, San Andreas that appears in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Description
Sandy Shores is situated between the Senora National Park and the south coast of the Alamo Sea and overlooks Mount Chiliad. It has a dry, arid climate, and is home to many coyotes that often end up as roadkill. At some point in time, it had a population of 3,010, as seen on a welcome sign on the approach to the town. It is serviced by an airfield south of the town.
Formerly a picturesque holiday resort, Sandy Shores is a somewhat abandoned, poverty-stricken, desolate town with ubiquitous meth labs, trailer parks, drug addicts, gang activity, prostitutes and bigoted rednecks. There is evidence of its past as a holiday destination with the decaying remains of motels, drained swimming pools and trailers, and even a boarded-up marina building by the coast of the Alamo Sea. The town possibly turned into a neglected, run-down community due to the increasing toxicity of the Alamo Sea, caused by people dumping waste into the water and the large influx of methamphetamine production, turning its residents into addicts, and deterring potential tourists as a result. The town is also one of the most remote in the state, with Trevor Philips at one point mentioning that he can't even "get a pizza delivered to Sandy Shores."
On the eastern side of Panorama Drive, there are mostly trailers and small houses in which the local hillbillies dwell. Two streets continue east of the town site, over the levee to the Sandy Shores Beach Front Recreation Area, ending in dead-ends in the middle of vacant land on the waterfront.
On the western side of Panorama Drive most buildings are abandoned or completely derelict, with several obviously vacated lots all the way along Marina Drive, some with signage still intact but no trace of the buildings. But there is also a meth lab owned by Trevor Philips Industries, located upstairs from an operating liquor store.
East Joshua Road marks the southern edge of the township, but the south side over the rail line, including much of the Senora National Park, is still considered part of the Sandy Shores area. This includes the Beam Me Up art installation, a trailer park area on unnamed dirt roads on the edge of the national park, and west of Panorama Drive, the Sandy Shores Airfield, actually located within the Grand Senora Desert.
Despite being such a derelict and neglected area, there are several major chain businesses located around Sandy Shores, including Ammu-Nation and 24/7. There is also a radio tower in the center of the town.
Influence
Sandy Shores is based[1] on the towns around the Salton Sea in California, such as Desert Shores and Bombay Beach. Sandy Shores also shares some inspiration from Niland and Joshua Tree, two other towns in California (which are referenced on the city's street names).
It is possible that a development name for Sandy Shores was "Seaton Sand" or "Seaton Sands" or "Seaton Beach" as seen on a Seaton Sands Monster Trucks Festival poster when first entering the Yellow Jack Inn, as well as the name of the Auto Repair business in the town. Seton Sands is the name of a real-life beach in East Lothian, Scotland situated just 14 miles southeast of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh, where Rockstar North is based; the alliterative name may have also been intended to be a play on the Salton Sea region of California that can be seen on signs[2].
Notable Residents
- Andy Hamilton
- Ashley Butler (formerly/deceased)
- Chef
- Cletus Ewing
- Clinton
- Dax (possibly)
- GTA Online Protagonist (determinant)
- Jock Cranley (formerly)
- Johnny Klebitz (possibly/formerly/deceased)
- Jolene Cranley-Evans (formerly/deceased)
- Melvin
- Merle Abrahams (formerly/deceased)
- Michael De Santa (briefly)
- Patricia Madrazo (briefly)
- Phil & Isabel
- Polly Patterson & Brandon Patterson
- Ron Jakowski
- Taliana Martinez (determinant)
- Trevor Philips (formerly)
- Wade Hebert (formerly)
- Wallis
- Mrs. Gilbert [3]
- Cletus Ewing's sister [4]
Roads and Streets
- Algonquin Boulevard
- Alhambra Drive
- Armadillo Avenue
- Cholla Springs Avenue
- East Joshua Road
- Joshua Road
- Lesbos Lane
- Lolita Avenue
- Marina Drive
- Meringue Lane
- Mountain View Drive
- Niland Avenue
- Panorama Drive
- Zancudo Avenue
Purchasable Properties
Only one property is available for purchase in Grand Theft Auto Online from Dynasty 8:
Two businesses are available from Maze Bank Foreclosures:
- 47 Algonquin Boulevard Motorcycle Clubs Clubhouse.
- Facility east of Beam Me Up (technically outside the Sandy Shores area)
Places of Interest
- Alamo Sea Marina
- Beam Me Up
- Blaine County Radio
- Sandy Shores Airfield
- Sandy Shores Beach Front Recreation Area
- Sandy Shores Fire Station
- Sandy Shores Sheriff's Station
- Sandy Shores Medical Center
- Smack Shack
- 7184 Cholla Springs Avenue
- 7953 Algonquin Boulevard
Businesses
- Active
- Inactive/Unknown
Wildlife
The wildlife in this region includes coyotes, deer, boars and many people have dogs and cats (enhanced version only).
Gallery
Map
General
Trivia
- There are two streets, Cholla Springs Avenue and Armadillo Avenue, that are references to locations in Red Dead Redemption; Cholla Springs and Armadillo.
- In the enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto V, large amounts of sand and dust can be seen above roads and other surfaces, due to the amount of sand from the desert being blown around. This is most noticeable during the night with car headlights on.
References
- ↑ “We did know the [biographies] for the three characters right at the start, so we knew we wanted to create an area for Trevor out in the sticks. Towards the beginning of preproduction, I met up with [Rockstar president] Sam [Houser] in LA, and we spent a week together driving about, just exploring and talking. During that trip, we drove out into the desert and eventually ended up visiting Salton Sea [in California]. We went to an amazing spot called Bombay Beach and expected a real-life Trevor to burst out on us at any second. When the full reference trip was organised, we sent a team out to Salton Sea for a few days.”— Aaron Garbut interview
- ↑
An advertisement for property by "Salton Sea Real Estate".
- ↑ Mentioned in Target Practice.
- ↑ In Target Practice, if the player shoot a satellite dish which isn’t meant to be shot he might say “Not that place, that’s my sister’s place!”
