About

Huntington Beach and Pier is a classic. One of those places every surfer should visit at least once. Crowded and competitive by the pier, mellower up or down the beach. For a good breakfast try the Sugar Shack on Main St. Lots of big "Surf and Sports" in town so you can get any surf gear you need. For a taste of the old Huntington before the yuppies and track homes visit the Chuck Dent surf shop.

Atmosphere:
Crowded, aggressive and crazy, but a lot of fun. In the summer small waves (except on a big south swell) warm water and beach, tons of chicks and tourists and freaks and assorted loons!
In the winter cool to cold water, bigger, more consistant surf and fewer weirdos, but still a whole lot of surfers.
Offshore winds from the east and/or northeast can turn Huntington into a "magazine quality" wave. In the summer and fall keep your feet off the sandy bottom as warm water can bring in lots and lots of stingrays!!!

Additional Info:
From Bolsa Chica to the north, to Santa Ana River Jetties to the south, Huntington Beach offers mile after mile of classic southern California beach break. The most crowded area is usually around the Huntington Beach Pier at Main St.and PCH. Parking is widely available for a fee. Plenty of facilities and tons of people. Huntington is VERY consistant and almost always has waves while other areas are flat. This area works best on combo swells, say nw and sw, so as to break up the long walls into workable peaks. Big, one direction swells tend to wall and create strong side shore currents.

Location

Access

Drive along Pacific Coast Hwy (Hwy 1) in the heart of conservative Orange County. Located south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego.

Wave Characteristics

Ideal Conditions

Crowd

Dangers

Rips / undertow, Localism, Pollution

Videos

None