Pismo Beach

Surf Guide

One of the more consistent and shapely of all Central Coast beachbreaks, the Pismo Beach Pier is the hub of South County surfing. At 1,250 feet long, the pier itself is lit at night, meaning full-moon sessions are a possibility. Cradled in the lee of Point San Luis and San Luis Obispo Bay, the Pier is in a slight northwest swell shadow, so it's usually smaller and less windy than the more exposed sandbars down around Oceano, but bigger than the Avila Beach area to the north.Pismo's south side is usually better than the north. Surfers are liberated to snuff out several miles' worth of white-sand beachbreak guaranteed to be devoid of others, but the pier vicinity is the hotbed. Juicy rights sometimes form off the south side, but it can be more walled. Bigger, solid groundswells are especially shapeless, so it's best to show up during a peaky windswell or a small groundswell in times of light wind and high tide. Since the beach faces southwest, playful summertime swells are desired. The beach slopes gently out from the water's edge, which also means the waves are much softer than, say, Jalama Beach or Morro Rock.