Orange County

Seal Beach Pier takes what is big and walled up at Huntington Pier and grooms it into nice, snappy little peaks. The most consistent spot to surf is on the north side of the pier, where you get all kinds of surfers ranging from the clueless to the talented. North Side of the Pier is also a great place to learn how to surf with good surf school instruction and small, gentle waves on most days. South side only works on winter swells from the WNW -- the bigger the better -- and is a hot spot for bodyboarding and skimboarding with steep bowly shorebreak.On a large WNW swell North Side becomes a very demanding wave with steep "pier bowls" that are reflected off the Anaheim Jetty to the south and sweep through the pier. South Side begins to imitate Hawaii with powerful thick bowls that break countless boards each day it pumps.At the north end of the beach is Ray Bay at the mouth of the San Gabriel River, where you can sometimes find long fun rights on big south swells -- but may actually be best on huge west swells. If the sandbars in the San Gabriel river are currently good, they offer steep hollow sections beginning at the end of the jetty -- especially on bigger swells and lower tides. However, most of the time the River is best for a longboard and beginners. Warm water from the Edison Plant inland keeps the water temps in the higher than the surrounding areas, which also attracts thousands of stingrays so stay off the bottom or do the shuffle.Seal Beach is in a wind tunnel due to its location below the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and the place is a favorite for kite boarders on windy days. Seal Beach may also be one of the cleanest spots around when the wind is strong out of the northwest due to the south facing coastline and protection from the jetties.

Huntington Beach is the alleged Surf City: a land of palm trees, riots, reform madness, body art, heat sheets, pink stucco, and a surfing Walk of Fame. Huntington, like many of Hollywood's sagging heroes of yesteryear, has undergone some major cosmetic surgery over the past few years. The Pier alone has been reconstructed some half dozen times. Mom-and-pop liquor stores and surf shops have transformed into block-sized palaces equipped with movie theaters, health food and top-rate surf goods. Like it or not, the days of Huntington as a mellow little surf town are over. Despite all the surrounding changes, the waves remain unchanged. Diehards swear by the break, claiming it's the ultimate surfer's wave, and others just laugh and say that contest organizers can have it every day of the year, for all they care. Whatever the case, there are still classic California days to be had at the Pier. Just wake up early one morning and if it's a peaky swell with Santa Ana winds, you'll side with the diehards. The division between the two main breaks is a logical one.

The Wedge: a mutant of a big wedging left that reflects south swell energy off the Newport Harbor jetty. On a big south swell the Wedge can produce waves well over 20-foot faces very close to shore, with hollow grinding boels right on the sand. During the summer all flotation devices (surfboards, bodyboards, skimboards, etc.) are banned at Wedge between 10am-5pm so the old school bodysurfers can have at it. The Wedge is a classic spectator arena and one of the best entertainment venues in the world when it's on.

Nestled in a beautiful cove at the northern end of Dana Point lies Salt Creek, a watery playground of long pointbreak-style lefts, wedgy A-frames, relentless shorebreak and sand-gurgling rights. You name the type of wave, and Creek probably has it. At the most southern end of the beach is the Point. If the sand is good, it's a goofy-footer's skatepark as far as left pointbreaks go: extremely rippable, extremely crowded and has an extremely small takeoff zone. The Point takes any south swell and on the largest days, it can reel across the bay producing 50-yard rides. Watch out for rocks on the inside at low tide. Middles is usually where the rest of the pack ends up catching waves. Peaks crumble year-round from the outside and suck dry on the inside, creating ankle-snapping aerial sections on the right tide. During summer after 10 a.m., Middles is black balled and Point is the only spot left open to surfers. If you're one of those surfers who enjoys pulling into deep closeout tubes and getting sand in all of your orifices, head north of Middles to the section in front of the golf course called Gravels. On west swells, Gravels is a showcase right-hand barrel. It peels in about two feet of water on any tide, and sometimes throws squarely into shore.

Killer Dana is dead, and Doheny is its low-budget tombstone. Thirty years ago, a jetty and harbor transformed summer's Orange County answer to Rincon (500-yard right-hand walls on big south swells) to a polluted children's wave. Faithful old-timers still paddle out to catch its meager remnants, but they're left pining for the past.If you aren't aware of what existed before it, Doheny is an ideal beginner's wave. Swells slip past the swell-choking jetty, break softly over a bed of cobblestones and form into slow shoulders. A few hundred yards north, by the San Juan Creek, there's a sandbar and reef that break better on stronger swells. During the winter of 1993 and the El Nino winter of 1998, perfect sandbars formed near the rivermouth and produced hollow freight-train rights. If you can withstand the sky-high fecal counts, it's these types of bars that'll quench the thirst for days past. Those days are all too rare, though, so Doheny, if anything, will serve as great place to introduce your child to his/her first wave.For many years Doheny has been ranked at or near the top of lists of the most polluted beaches in southern California. Orange County Health Care Agency's 2003 Ocean and Bay Water Quality Report indicates that Doheny had the most "Beach Mile Days" of water quality standards violations of any beach in Orange County. Heal the Bay's 2003-2004 Beach Report Card listed Doheny as their #1 Beach Bummer, consistently earning "F" grades for water quality, especially during wet weather. Although a sewage treatment plant exists alongside San Juan Creek just up from the beach, this plant has had a good operating record in recent years. Doheny's high bacteria counts are likely due to a combination of factors, including urban runoff from the 134 square mile San Juan Creek watershed, pollution from boats in Dana Point Harbor, large flocks of seagulls that poop in the creek water near the creek mouth, and poor water circulation at Doheny which has been a problem ever since Dana Point Harbor was constructed.If you live or work in Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita or San Juan Capistrano, you could be part of the problem or part of the solution. Surfrider Foundation reminds you not to litter, to pick up after your dog, not to over-irrigate your lawn, don't hose off your sidewalk or driveway, and take your car to a car wash rather than washing it at home. And stay out of the water at Doheny and at other surf spots near creek mouths and major storm drains for up to 72 hours after a rain.

T Street is known for one thing -- consistency. The entire West Coast from Jordan River to Cabo could be flat, and T Street, the central hub for San Clemente's finest, would manage to cough up a wave or two that would make a surfer happy. There are a lot of things that help T Street break: sandbars, reefs, rocks and odd seaweed gardens all contribute to the wave's quirky behavior. It'll transform from San O' to mini-Backdoor in the time it takes to do a bottom turn. Although the T Street fanatics have many different names for every hole in the reef, the break is typically divided into three spots: the Reef, Cropley's and Beach House.On a strong S swell, lefts hit the outside reef, break slowly, then peel over the inside rock shelf, bowling in a fast, down-the-line section. On winter swells, you get the opposite: long, workable rights off the reef ending in a collapsing shorebreak. Cropley's is strictly a winter break. Named after the owner of a tasty hamburger stand that no longer exists, Cropley's provides fast, zippy righthand peaks just north of the snack bar. Some swear it's T Street's best wave when it's on -- which isn't very often. It takes just the right swell direction from the NW. South of the overpass, there's a sandbar that old locals call the Beach House, named after a candy shack that once stood there. On medium-size swells, you can catch some wedgy lefts and rights that are often less crowded and more geared toward shortboards and bodyboards. T Street is a longtime haven for bodyboarders and San Clemente's top pros.

While the surf media limelight tends to focus itself a quarter-mile south, Upper Trestles steadily grinds out quality cobblestone righthanders that are often equally as impressive as Lowers. And if the river is flowing, Uppers can even offer a short, punchy left into the mouth. But the focus is always on the rights, especially since Uppers draws in a bit more west and northwest energy than its sister to the south.North of the rivermouth is the outer takeoff zone, which peaks up the biggest but usually sections off once the wave reaches the corner of the cobblestone point. From the corner, which offers the most bowly, rippable waves, rights run through the quasi-cove created by sediment buildup from the San Mateo Creek. And if you pick off the right wave, it's not impossible to go the entire distance -- burning your legs through upwards of 150 yards. It should be noted that the sections are directly affected by sand and cobblestone placement. Big swells and the extreme rains that cause the rivermouth to burst are the main movers and shakers of Uppers' wave quality.

The apex of everything surf in Southern California - peak action, A-framing rights and lefts and even a peek-a-boo view from the freeway. Lowers IS Ground Zero for high-octane surfing. Offering forgivably rippable walls going either way, Lower Trestles only closes out on the rarest of swells.If there's a sniff of south swell in the water, Lowers will welcome it with open arms. But if there's a puff of south wind, Lowers will shut down quicker than 5:00pm on Wall Street.Don't expect to score Lowers uncrowded either (even on full moon nights). Watch any set roll through and you'll see two (or more) surfers taking off in either direction, which often makes things frustrating for even the biggest name pro surfers. But if you manage to wrangle one to yourself, hold on because you're in for one of the best rides Southern California can offer.

San Onofre State Beach is the Waikiki of the California Coastline -- a beginner's paradise of gentle breaking waves, long sandy beaches and an absence of ego. It was at this break, more than 50 years ago, that legendary surfers such as Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison, Don Okey and Bob Simmons planed forward using balsa/redwood surfboards. Today, it is one of the last few beaches that epitomizes the California surfing lifestyle. On any given summer weekend, you can find a whole tribe of surfers playing volleyball, talking story and swilling beer under grassy huts or sitting hunched over their longboards, waiting for the next lazy peak to float their way. Locals divide San Onofre into three main breaks: the Point, Old Man's and Dogpatch. All work best on a strong south swell. If you must bring a shortboard to San O', which, by the way, is the equivalent of bringing a longboard to Teahupoo, the Point would be your best bet. The Point is located directly in front of the northernmost parking spot. On a head-high southwest swell, there are some relatively fast lefts (fast in San Onofre terms) and even a section or two to hit if you get lucky. Rights are far more predominant and can be milked with a funboard or longboard. During winter, the Point often shuts down. With a 15-minute paddle to the south of Point, you'll find yourself in the surfing world's equivalent to the movie Cocoon. Here at Old Man's, geezers rule and grommets learn. The wave rolls off a padded reef some 200- to 400-yards offshore and is mushier than a bowl of cream of wheat. A longboard that'd float Shaquille O'Neal is the weapon of choice and surfing etiquette does not apply. In fact, it's not uncommon to see 10 people on a wave during the summer, nor is it rare to see lawn chairs and dogs brought on board. Just south of Old Man's is Dogpatch. It's ideal for beginners if the swell is up and they cannot make the paddle out to Old Man's. On a high tide, Dogpatch breaks in slow motion and is second to Doheny as Orange County's easiest wave to learn on. All of San Onofre's waves are typically indecisive about breaking. If you understand this point, you'll be well ahead of the game. Waves here like to crest, back off, crest, back off, crest, back off and then finally break. Trying to find your "one last wave" of the day can be a good trial in anger management. But if you find yourself ready to spout, you've missed the point. San O' is there to remind us that in this crowded world, there's still a spot where we can all ride together with smiles on our faces.