The Wall:
When it comes to New Hampshire surf spots, the times change, but the spots’ names and the vibe around them often remain the same. The Wall is where everyone checks, hangs and surfs on the 330 days each year that the points aren’t breaking. It’s the only ridable spot when the surf is under three feet, and it’s always bigger than everywhere else. Yep, it’s that spot.
However, at The Wall, bigger clearly isn’t always better. Often, The Wall is just one solid, closed-out wall. On smaller days, this 2.5-mile stretch of sand is the best-shaped wave around. With the peanut gallery watching your every move from the beach, reputations are made and broken every day here. When the wind’s cranking offshore, the locals all hunker down under the “cement tube,” basking in the sun and tossing rocks as the show unfolds in sand-sucking barrels. As you can imagine, this isn’t the easiest spot to rock up to out of nowhere and expect to surf under the radar.
Plaice Cove:
If you like lumps in your gravy, then paddle out at Plaice Cove. The Cove is arguably the biggest ridable wave in New Hampshire, but, man, is it a crapshoot. Beyond the unforgiving shorebreak breaking in every direction, the heaving right-hander that you’ve presumably come for dumps onto a shallow shelf, presenting most surfers other than, say, the ASP Top 34, the ultimate challenge.
There are definitely more quality breaks in the area,- like Fox Hill just up the coast — but some people swear by the cove. Considering this, expect to find a salty contingent of locals, that can border on the intense when the swell is up and conditions are favorable. There is a small parking lot located along the beach near the break, but it will fill up fast. Everywhere else is residential.