The state Department of Parks and Recreation has appealed a lower court ruling that blocked it from enforcing a ban on nudity at San Onofre State Beach.

The appeal was filed Wednesday with the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego, said a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office.

In June, parks officials said they intended to crack down on nudists who frequent San Onofre's Trail 6 beach because of increasing complaints and a spike in lewd behavior. For nearly 30 years, park rangers at San Onofre have left the nudists alone unless visitors complained.

Two pro-nudity groups filed a lawsuit challenging the change in enforcement. Their suit said the tolerance policy is a de facto regulation that cannot be changed without public input and other procedures.

In August, Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell ruled in favor of the nudists and ordered the state to maintain the status quo.

A spokesman for the nudists said they intend to seek another court order to force the state to remove signs it installed in the summer warning beachgoers that nudity is illegal.