C Street

Surf Guide

Through the years, California Street has endured numerous face-lifts. Two decades ago, when it was known as Surfer's Point, a crew of hard-core locals proudly guarded their break against invaders from the south (Oxnard and Malibu), the east (the Valley) and the north (Santa Barbara). These days, with a boardwalk, pay parking machines (a buck an hour), islands of well-groomed sod and bathroom and shower facilities, the three-fourths mile series of points known as California Street, located in front of the Ventura County Fairgrounds, has been tamed into submission. The top and most popular point, known as Pipe (there's only one, so don't call it Pipes), tends to be the highest quality wave of the bunch. Like Upper Trestles, it's an ever-changing configuration of sand and cobblestone -- dependent on the flow of the Ventura Rivermouth -- but the wave remains the same: long right walls. This is true primarily during the winter, but it's also good on southwest swells with the occasional hollow section that runs for 50 to 75 yards. On the biggest winter days, it's possible to connect it clear to California Street, a distance of a half-mile or so. Pipe tends to be the most crowded break in Ventura, with a tight dawn patrol crew and a huge army of weekend warriors that keep the place humming. Inside of Pipe is the connecting link between Pipe and C Street, known as Stables -- named after the livestock section of the Fairgrounds. Stables functions more as a link to get you from point A to point B, but the occasional wave that swings wide at Pipe can be a home run here. In front of the main parking lot is California Street, a mushy beginner-oriented break that offers a dominant right with an occasional steeper left. On a minus low tide and large winter swell, Inside C Street (better known as Inside Point) can be one of the best waves in Ventura, with long, flawless walls that reel to the pier. When it's small, Inside Point -- the venue of the world's first pro surfing event, Tom Morey's $1500 Noseriding Invitational in 1965 -- is a longboarder's dream wave: everything that First Point Malibu offers without the surly Dora descendents yelling for priority.