This is a dune specialist, might even be endemic and possibly endangered, so please release it. Dune camel crickets are called "sand treaders," and they have those enlarged and enlongated spines on the legs to help them burrow. Neat find! They are detritivores, scavenging any windblown organic matter they can find.

They're also not restricted to dunes, you can find them on nearly any beach from salinas to santa barbara.

It's the desert genera/species in isolated small dunes that have the endemism and peril.

any endemic treaders on our coast unknown to us are likely long-gone, sadly, as socal doesnt take good care of its beach habitats.

Thanks for the info. Field Guide to Grasshoppers,Katydids, and Crickets of the US says these guys are noctural. (Guess the ones I saw had too much coffee the night before.) Only 3, all in the genus Ceuthophilus, are listed in the book and none of those are in CA. But there are supposed to be 150 species. BTW, don't worry, the cricket was released immediately after I took its photo.