Top 10 Surf Spots in California
1. Mavericks
“Mavericks” is a world-famous Northern California Surfing spot located just north of the town of Half Moon Bay, and south of Pillar Point in the town of Princeton-By-The-Sea. It was named after a surfers dog, “Maverick” who would swim out with him while he surfed. Some of the most famous local surfers of Mavericks are Frosty Hesson and his apprentice Jay Moriarity. Mavericks is known today for its huge waves, This is due to an underwater rock ledge that acts as a ramp for incoming waves. Winter storms in the Pacific Ocean produce some of the best waves at Mavericks. Because of the deep waters and underwater ravines, a wipeout at Mavericks can hold someone down for up to four minutes, and so people will train for years just to ride a wave at Mavericks on one of these winter swells. Mavericks is a very scary spot to surf, so in the water, you will find only the most serious and skilled surfers on long skinny surfboards called “guns” designed to catch and ride big waves.
2. Trestles
Trestles is the most famous surf spot in California. In 1933 Lorrin Whitney Harrison and a few friends discovered San Onofre Beach and its surfing potential. Trestles Beach attracts surfers from all over the world to experience the perfect wave. Trestles is named after the railroad bridge over San Mateo Creek near the entrance to the beach. The 3½ mile-long beach consists of five surf breaks: Cotton, Uppers, Middles, Lowers, and Church. To get to Trestles, you must walk about a mile down a winding paved trail from the parking lot. San Mateo Creek Lagoon is directly on the beach, and when it rains sand and rocks are washed down the creek and out to sea, helping to create the surf break. Along the bluff overlooking the beach, there are several trails where you can hike and bike along the coast of San Onofre. Trestles Beach has a reputation as a locals-only beach and is very crowded. Some surfers are very territorial and most of the time they will get angry if you get in their way. Several surfing contests are held here during the year for the WSL(World Surf League) where all the best surfers compete.
3. Steamer lane
Steamer Lane, like Trestles, seems to have perfect waves all year round. The difference is that Steamer Lane only breaks right. Steamer Lane is a very mellow easy ride, and because of this, it is now one of the most crowded surf spots in California. At any given hour, there is probably a wider skill range of surfers than anywhere in the world. Steamer Lane was named by Claude Horan while he was a student at San Jose State in the late 1930s. One flat calm day he and his friend Wes Hammond thought it would be a good idea to hire steamships to cruise back and forth to generate waves for surfing in Santa Cruz. The most famous surfer who lived near and surfed at Steamer Lane was Richard Schmidt. The popularity of Steamer Lane as one of the go-to big and high-performance waves in California increased localism.
4. The Surf Ranch
The Surf Ranch, also known as Kelly Slater’s Wave Pool is a perfect 6-foot barreling wave that travels over 2300 feet yielding up to minute-long rides. The wave can be controlled allowing a wave-riding experience for surfers of all skill levels. The water in a big pool is pushed by a big wall causing the water to break like a real wave, and depending on your skill level the wave can change to meet your preferences. Kelly Slater, an eleven-time world champion surfer, built this wave pool in December 2015. It’s located in Lemoore which is nowhere near the coast. This wave pool is the first of its kind, no one has ever built a wave pool quite like his, and this has attracted thousands of people to come and try out this new wave. There are often surf competitions held at the Surf Ranch for the World Surf League. It was named the Surf Ranch because it was built on a big plot of land super far from the coast. The only limiting factor to this wave is the cost. Each wave costs about $500, and a full day there can cost up to $50,000.
5. Rincon
Rincon Also known as, "Queen of the Coast", Rincon is one of the longest waves on the planet. A classic California point break, Rincon is the product of a river mouth that has groomed the point break for millions of years. If you’re lucky, you can get into a set wave and race through the section that runs across the Rivermouth, connect it to the Cove, and carve to the freeway a total distance of about 300 yards. As its location is right off the highway, Rincon is notoriously crowded with more than 150 people out on nearly every good swell. Furthest out from the point, the Indicator is where the marathon women and men pull out their longboards, sit out at the top of the point, and try to go the distance. The Rivermouth is unpredictable and sometimes polluted. The Cove is the last flawless section that starts halfway up the point and funnels onto the rocks lining Highway 101. The wave usually sections in various areas offering a number of takeoff spots depending on the swell.
6. The wedge
The Wedge is a big wedging left that reflects south swell energy off the Newport Harbor jetty. On a big south swell, The Wedge can produce waves with up to 20-foot faces very close to shore, with hollow barrels right on the sand. During the summer all flotation devices, surfboards, bodyboards, and skimboards are banned at The Wedge between 10 am and 5 pm so that the old-school bodysurfers can have at it. The Wedge is a classic spectator arena and one of the best entertainment venues in the world when it's firing. People love to come to the beach to take videos and pictures of people pulling into the barrel and getting washed up on the beach. A famous shorebreak photographer, Clark Little, often videos there with nothing but his camera and flippers. The Wedge has shore break because of the steep beech and shallow water.
7. Pipes
Pipes is a surf spot just north of the San Elijo campgrounds. It’s known for its consistent lefts and is only good during a low tide. If the tide gets too high, the water hits the rocky beach and comes back creating rocky waters and bad waves. The wave is very mellow with sections of steep barrels making it the perfect spot for every skill level of surfer. It’s usually not crowded thanks to its well-known neighboring surf spot, Cardiff. Unless it gets really big, everyone there is friendly and there's plenty of waves for everyone. When it does get big, you’ll see people similar to the ones at Mavericks, in this case, they pretty much catch every wave before you can and if you get in their way they get really mad. One of the local surfers there is the former pro surfer Rob Machado. Rob basically lives in his van most of the day and surfs Pipes nearly every day.
8. Cardiff
Cardiff Reef is one of San Diego’s most famous beaches because it provides a nice beach for the family to hang out during the summer while also having good waves for surfers. The surf break is on top of a big grass-covered reef that gives it a consistent and clean right-breaking wave. Also because of the reef it has a very gradual slope out to the ocean, which makes it a very long paddle. The wave is usually a little mushy and slow, especially in the summer, which makes it perfect for longboarding, but on a low tide and a good winter swell it brings fast heavy barreling waves that make it perfect for any style of surfing. On days like this, you will often see Professional surfer Rob Machado surfing all day and a hoard of kids paddling out as soon as they get out of school.
9. Blacks Beach
Blacks Beach La Jolla is known for its powerful waves. Unlike other places, it has an unusual amount of power even when the waves are small, which makes it the perfect spot to ride a high-performance shortboard. Another thing that sets this beach break apart from others is the form it has on big days. About every ten years a really big swell hits the Californian coast. When this happens it brings waves over twenty-five feet, and the best spot to surf these massive waves is black beach. One of the local surfers at this spot is Jacob Szekely Zeke.
10. Salt Creek
Salt Creek is about the closest you can get to a natural version of “The Surf Ranch”. It has any type of wave which makes it a good spot for any skill level of surfing. The most common surf spot is At the most southern end of the beach. It is a left-breaking wave and is very fast. Here you can ride a wave up to 50 yards. some of the local surfers here are the Beefs T.V. crew. They are a group of people who make YouTube videos of themselves trying to make the most out of these usually small waves while pulling into barrels, and doing tricks all while riding beginner surfboards.