Overview of Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach in San Fransico is one of California's most iconic beach breaks. The beach stretches over 3 miles, from Kelly's Cove on the north side to Sloat Street at the far southern end.
For many Northern California surfers, Ocean Beach provides a premier training ground to refine both big and small wave surfing. It's a spot that can give you one of the best sessions of your life or, quite literally, one of the most terrifying ones. During the prime fall and winter months, Ocean Beach offers a wide variety of waves. The waves can vary from high-performance head-high waves to 2-3x overhead freight train barrels. For surfers looking to spend a full season surfing Ocean Beach, bringing the warmest wetsuit you own and a diverse quiver is mission-critical. From a daily driver to a big wave gun, Ocean Beach will require various equipment and demand a certain level of expertise, depending on the day.
Regardless of the day, Ocean Beach is always physically demanding. Sometimes, just getting out is an accomplishment. It's a surf spot that can fill a surfer with every emotion in the book. One minute, you could catch the wave of your life, while the next, you could get the pounding of your life, or you might spend 45 minutes just paddling and not even make it out.
What Are the Ideal Conditions for Ocean Beach?
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The ideal surfing conditions for Ocean Beach in San Francisco include the following:
- Time of Year - The season typically starts towards the end of September. However, the best time of year is usually from mid-October to the end of January.
- Swell Direction - Ocean Beach comes to life and shows its world-class conditions on medium to large long-period NW, WNW, and W swells. Occasionally, on the rare glassy summer day, Kelly's Cove will be extremely fun and rippable on an S swell.
- Wave Size - Ocean Beach can handle almost all sizes. Anything over 3-4x overhead is typically when the beach maxes out.
- Wind - Easterly wind is offshore at Ocean Beach. The best conditions are when the winds blow out of the E or are glassy.
- Tide - The tide typically varies depending on the sandbars. However, outgoing tides generally are when the best windows present themselves.
- Crowd Factor - Ocean Beach has become increasingly crowded over the years. However, the crowd typically varies a lot from day to day. Some days it can be uncrowded, while others can look like Lower Trestles in Southern California.
How Do You Get to Ocean Beach?
Getting to Ocean Beach in San Francisco is pretty straightforward. The beach has three main sections: North Ocean Beach, Central Ocean Beach, and South Ocean Beach.
Breakdown of each section:
- North Ocean Beach - Kelly’s Cove to Judah St
- Central Ocean Beach - Judah St to Taraval St
- South Ocean Beach - Taraval St to Sloat St
Anywhere along the 3-mile stretch of beach is easily accessible by car. However, Ocean Beach is extremely shifty, and the sandbars constantly change, making the "best spot" hard to predict.
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