North Ocean Beach Surf Guide
Surf spot guide
Ideal Surf Conditions
Swell Direction
NW, WNW, W.
Wind
E
Surf Height
Head high-3X overhead.
Tide
Varies with swell and part of the beach. Outgoing generally best.
North Ocean Beach Surf Guide
Ocean Beach is bordered by Kelly's Cove on the north end and Sloat Street on the south end. In between are three miles of shifty beachbreak -- generally biggest in the middle of the beach.
It's also located dead center in the middle of California, and it's open to every burble and bellow from the north and the south. The winds are dynamic, but the real factor is the tide. All that water moving in and out of the Golden Gate sweeps up and down Ocean Beach with enough force to dislocate swell and shift sandbars from hour to hour.
Ocean Beach has many, many moods, from the manic ecstasy of clear, blue offshore fall days to the gloom and doom of stormy winter, windy spring and gray summer. There is no stretch of ocean in California that changes as much from hour to hour, day to day and season to season this place.
On a lot of days at Ocean Beach, just getting out can be a major accomplishment. Depending on swell and tide and sandbar, on many days there is a 200-yard "zone of death" in between the beach and the lineup. It can be as hard to get off the beach and out to sea for a surfer as it was for a marine to get from sea to shore on the beaches of Normandy. It takes knowledge, skill, strength and courage, but the deciding factor on a lot of days is still dumb luck.
Make it outside, and there are rewards, but your troubles aren't necessarily over. A good day at Ocean Beach is as good as any beachbreak in the world, but the good peaks here have a maddening quality of always being 50 yards away from where you're sitting.
LINEUP TIPS:
Etiquette | Surf Safety Basics
LOCAL RESOURCES:
SF Surfrider Chapter | MeWater Foundation | City Surf | Salted Roots
Ability Level
Intermediate - Advanced
Intermediate-advanced.
Local Vibe
Intimidating
Good days can see some attitude.
Crowd Factor
Moderate
Varies with size, sandbar and quality.
Spot Rating
Perfect
Quite good.
Shoulder Burn
Exhausting
Strong if it's solid overhead. Often difficult even when small.
Water Quality
Clean
Minimal and nothing really to worry about, except after a rain.
Hazards
Frozen foreheads, noodle arm, broken boards, cleanup sets and the current. And, as usual, sharks. But this is Northern California, you knew that already.
Bring Your
Shortboard, Gun, Longboard, Funboard, Fish, Bodyboard, Kiteboard
Access
Public parking lots on the north and south ends. Parking in the avenues for middle of the beach.
Bottom
Sand.
Best Season
October-January.
Do you have local knowledge about North Ocean Beach?
If you have any insights or information to add to this spot guide, drop us a note at [email protected]