North Jetty Surf Guide

North Jetty Surf Guide

An old cattle and citrus town, Fort Pierce is the last oasis of cut-rate beach culture before heading into South Florida's desert of wealth and elitism, and it's also home to Central Florida's final spot, the North Jetty, appropriately located in a rare piece of public land, Fort Pierce State Park, on the north side of the Fort Pierce Inlet. A number of peaks break up and down the beach, and a good bowling right breaks up against the jetty. Good lefts break off the south side of the inlet on huge swells, but it's a very rare occurrence. The wave really lends itself to longboarding, but there is some hotdog potential with some swell.

North Jetty is the first spot far enough above the Bahaman Bank to receive swells from the S and E. Even in the dead of summer, little peaks can appear apparently out of nowhere. It's also one of the only spots in Florida that works best at high tide. As the tide comes in, the punchy little A-frame peaks improve. As the tide drops, rip currents really hurt the waves' form, and at low tide the surf will drop to near flatness. Although a head-high swell can be very hollow, especially if the wind is out of the S or SW, North Jetty is not a particularly big wave; however, it has excellent form. If the wind is too strong out of the N/NW or hard onshore, look elsewhere, perhaps further south to Hutchinson Island or Palm Beach.