L.A. County recs?

I'll be in L.A. visiting some family next weekend. Staying in Venice. I'll have one, maybe two shots at getting out for a couple hours. I'll have a car. What's my best bet?

Trestles. Just aim for a sunrise session, so you can avoid traffic on the way there. Or Oxnard.

Actually, it does not look like there will be any S next weekend, but slim chances for a west swell, so keep an eye on that. Maybe El Porto for staying close by.

Let me know what specific days you have free time next week and I can put eyes on Trestles for you, no need to make the 100 mile round trip drive if nothing is happening. Not sure I can help you out with a sunrise session :biggrin: but I am always down to paddle the LB around when the sun is up and shining bright :wink:.


Let me know.....

^^^Nice, thanks. Looking like Sat & Mon mornings at the moment. Hopefully there's something worth getting down there for.

The only LA county places I am familiar with are the northern Malibu spots. It will take some time to get there from where you are. You could take off on the 1, and just stop at the best place you find. When I was in Santa Barbara we used to head down to County Line quite a bit in the summer. There is also Zeros, Staircases, and a bunch of other spots. I would avoid Malibu point, as it is a zoo.

As others have said, your best bet might be Trestles. You could also hit Newport or Huntington, if you want to wake up early. The great thing about Trestles is that it rarely blows out, so you can go in the afternoon. Newps and HB blow out early, but can be fun on a peaky chest high swell. My rule is that it has to be head high for me to go down to Trestles, although it can certainly be fun smaller.

That sucks if there is no swell this coming weekend. I got Cottons really fun last Friday, and had a decent session Saturday morning in Newport.

Keep in mind that driving up to the northern Malibu spots might take just as long as going to OC.

^^^Helpful info, thanks. Never surfed Trestles, but looks like it may not be worth the drive. Perhaps some logging further north is in order.

If you are going north Malibu (think it's a quicker drive from Venice) no need to bring your own log you could just walk on everyone elses. Not sure how much smoke is still being put out by the springs fire, might be a pain for Oxnard, northern ish spots, dunno.

hmm a lot of driving recs here... I try to hit up the local spots first if they're working:

topanga pt.

sunset blvd.

^^ sister points on the way up to malibu, topanga is the better of the two and most crowded (both like low tide and south swells/combos) good for LBs and fish/funshapes.

santa monica pier (no joke, pretty good for maintenance surf, esp w south swell)

jetty near Venice skatepark (worth a visit in and of itself)

marina del ray breakwater, off the harbor mouth entrance

if I'm going to drive 35min-1hr:

County Line, reliably works but crowded and windy afternoons with kiters (check nearby leo carillo on S swell) often better to continue on up to Ventura....

Zuma (malibu beachbreak, usually closes out anything above chest) can be fun!

I don't surf Malibu Point but it sure looks fun/crowded on big souths...

Dockweiler/LAX Jetties = LA secret spot complete with jet breath and wave shaping jetties

El Portal: beachbreak on north end of Manhattan Beach, head north toward powerplant/jetty for smaller more manageable surf if beach in front of parking lot is barreling/closing too hard for your tastes. Everyone should exp. a south bay 1/4 mile wide bomb on the head for character building.

Redondo beach--look for parking just before the road climbs up into Palos Verdes, can be nice sandy peaks here that r surfed irregularly

Palos Verdes Cove is a cool spot for south swells, or a big winter NW, scenic enough to forget you are close to LA. It's a fat and somewhat powerful wave in a kelpy, cliffed out cove and rather open to anyone, other PV spots are more fickle/guarded. Expect to be heckled a little by the LA/hawaiian types surfing leashless on decades old eggs or mini tankers...

ok, probably have said too much.

^^^Whoa! Plenty to work with there. Thanks!

Yeah, PedPro pretty much got it right.
County line is probably the most dependable spot up coast from Malibu. I always preferred the reef over the beach break.
Topanga is super fun, but busy. Monday morning would be a good time to hit it.
Secos(Leo Carrillo) is a fun right, but gets crowded easily, as there's only one take off spot. Johnny Utah got his ass kicked there.
There's lots of hit or miss spots in that stretch of coast. If you see good waves stop and paddle out.

I miss surfing a lot. I don't miss California.