Jupiter Inlet:
Two sandbars, one inside, one way out back, parallel each other between Jupiter Inlet and the Juno Beach Pier. When a good swell is running, many sections of these sandbars create good long walls. Watch out for rocks though. In most places, impromptu parking is permitted along either side of A1A and stairs rise over the dunes to the beach. When conditions are right, a fun wave will break beyond the dunes at any given point. Surfers have given a few of these accesses names, but they’re all about the same. Your best options are either the Jupiter Inlet or Juno Pier.
The focus of some controversy since they lengthened the south jetty, the Jupiter Inlet’s south side is still one of the best big waves around. It’s also one of the few good rights in South Florida — it’s just a little hard to find. Take Indiantown Road until it runs into A1A, then turn north. The park is on the far north end of the island, but you must veer right off A1A at the Circle K — the turn-off is marked — and follow a two-lane road around to the northeast. The surf is directly in front of the restroom facilities.
While a decent left breaks off the main outside peak, the right is what makes the Inlet famous. Before the south jetty was extended in 1998-’99, there was also a rippable left inside in the cove and adjacent to the jetty. That wave is essentially gone now, but the outside right is still strong. At smaller sizes, it may seem like a weak A-frame, but when a big east-northeast swell is running, the right comes to life and wraps in toward the jetty, bending like a pointbreak with hollow sections.
The main peak is way outside between the jetty and the lifeguard tower. It’s best to paddle out along the jetty, but mind the currents. A strong outgoing tide might be a one-way ticket to the Bahamas, and staying on the peak is like paddling upriver. It’s advisable to catch a wave fast, walk back up the beach and paddle out by the Inlet again. Of course the crowd sometimes makes that difficult, but less so during school and business hours. The peak shifts in and out and up and down, so the crowd tends to spread out on larger swells. A few aggressive locals frequent the place, and violent incidents have occurred, so be careful.