Emma Wood

Surf Guide

Emma Wood State Beach marks the definitive bend in the coast between Ventura proper and the points and reefs beyond. Although Emma Wood is home to a handful of forgettable waves over a span of two miles, its franchise player is Ventura Overhead, a famous big-wave break that used to be the Sunset Beach training grounds for California's bravest big-wave pioneers. Overhead only breaks a few times a year, but it remains the area's premier big-wave spot -- wedgy, open-face rights that funnel for hundreds of yards and steep, lined-up lefts that can barrel with enough W in the swell. No one really knows what Overhead breaks over: some say it's just a patch of reef that doesn't grow any kelp, others say it's more like an aquatic junkyard -- abandoned cars, old tires and scraps of metal. Whatever brings Overhead to life, it's a quality deepwater break.