Home / Action Life / Sport / Water / San Diego’s Best Bodysurfing Spots

San Diego’s Best Bodysurfing Spots

Action Life, Sport, Water August 12, 2015 181 5947

Whether you’re trying to make the most of summer blackball rules, or you just look good walking backwards in fins and a speedo: here are the best spots to get womped in San Diego County, from South to North. Make sure to check out to our overall guide to the best beaches in San Diego as well.

No-Surf

no--surf--sunset--cliffs--san--diego

AKA Uluatu for groms… Just inside of luscombs and Bird Sh*t, on Sunset cliffs, a fun left when it’s working. The reef is tide sensitive and needs just the right swell. Have a good long look before you climb down the cliff, it’s almost never worth it.

AVALANCHE (O.B)

Avalanche--surf--OB

Bodysurfing is the only way to enjoy Avalanche in the blackballed summer. Super fun, hollow and peaky, wedges up nicely near the stub jetty. A nice alternative to the polluted paddle battle over at the OB Jetty.

Shop for a hand plane and get started today!

SOUTH MISSION JETTY

south--mission--jetty--locals--graffiti--surf

The locals suck, the wave is worth it. Mind your manners.

WINDANSEA

Windansea--bodysurfing--La--Jolla

Inside, by the Pump House, you get a fun little bowl that connects to the shorebreak, but it needs the right kind of swell to really work. Nine and a half days out of ten Marine Street is a better bet. That said, I’ve had some great sessions in there while my friends were on the main peak. Those little orange guys you see when you duck dive are girabaldi, the state fish of California

Big rock is a great place to play with your hand-plane, just watch your head.

Hand planes are great for bodysurfing and small enough to always have in your car so you can jump out and have a fun swim

Don’t forget the fins! Having fins for body surfing makes life easier. Churchhills are the best.

MARINE STREET

Marine--Street--bodysurfing--la--jolla

(That’s me in the picture.)

Hands down the best, and heaviest, bodysurfing wave in the county. This is a true womping shore break that commands respect at any size. There’s a weird doubled-up second reef that starts working on huge days. The beach attracts plenty of spectators and ambulances when it’s on. You might want to keep dental floss in your car to get the sand out of every crevice after Marine Street spits you out.

BOOMER

Boomer--bodysurfing--La--Jolla

Most days it’s fat and lumpy.  You find yourself pretending it’s something it’s not. Then there’s those sessions that make you say ‘this really is ‘America’s finest city.’  Not nearly as consistent as Marine Street. But, much like the nearby cove, Boomer comes into its own when everything else is maxed out. It can handle pretty much any size and the kelp keeps it glassy. A great spot for snorkeling and swimming when it’s flat. There’s plenty of banter to be had with the yogis and slack-liners in the park.

 

TORREY PINES STATE BEACH

Torrey--Pines--state--beach

Picturesque, uncrowded, and much easier access than Blacks, this is our most underrated wave. The ride is steep, fast, and almost always closes out–which is part of what keeps the crowds down. Be ready to swim a lot.

OCEANSIDE

World Bodysurfing championships Oceanside California August 2017

Oceanside hosts the annual World Bodysurfing Championship. Other than that, it’s just another San Diego beach break.

DEL MAR JETTIES (CAMP PENDELTON)

You’ll need a friend in the military to get access. That or you could join the Marines. Believe me, it’s worth the hassle. This break always make something out of nothing. I’ve seen it overhead when Oceanside is waist high. DMJs comes out of deep water Slams on a shallow bar. Wave choice is key. There’s never anyone out.

  * * * 

Images:

Wikipedia, Surf-Forcast.com, thesunsetcliffs.blogspot.com, Vimeo, Mission Beach Life

About the author / 

Charlie Daly
Author Image

Remember when the Squid got a longboard on Rocket Power? Charles didn't know he could rip until he discovered the womp of the shore-break and traded his stick for fins and a speedo. He writes on a typewriter and lives in East Asia. Read him at: Dalyprose.com & Broke-Ass Stuart

Related Posts

Follow The Action

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YOUTUBE
RSS

Newsletter

Like Our Page

More Action

Contribute to The Action!!

Even More Action

  • .

    San Diego’s Best Bodysurfing Spots

    August 12, 2015

    Whether you’re trying to make the most of summer blackball rules, or you just look good walking backwards in fins and a speedo: here are the best spots to get womped in San Diego County, from South to North. Make sure to check out to our overall guide to the best beaches in San Diego as…

  • .

    Interview with Big Wave Surfer Jenny Useldinger

    May 31, 2014

    In the silence there is a massive blue body of water surging upward towards the sky. Wind naturally blows along the face of the wave creating a hissing sound as the trough bends over the reef. The lip begins to fold and the water cracks against the base of the wave. A roaring thunderous sound…

  • . Essential Trad Climbing Gear

    Essential Rock Climbing Gear: Trad Climbing

    September 18, 2015

    Ah, trad climbing. Before the 1980’s, there was no distinction: sport climbing was yet to be a discipline so all climbing was “trad” or traditional, involving placing pieces of protection as one ascends, removing it later. There’s a certain prestige in trad that is summed up in a joke: Q: How do you spot a…

  • . Interview with Shelby Stanger

    Interview with Freelance Journalist/Consultant Shelby Stanger

    September 3, 2015

    From Vans Warped Tour pit reporter to CNN fact checker, to freelance writer, Shelby Stanger has had some amazing job experiences. Following your dreams can be exciting and scary all at the same time. Take some time and get to know Shelby and her life adventures. 

  • .

    Top Three Places to SUP in Southern California

    July 7, 2015

    When the waves go flat, but the weather is awesome, I still want to go play in the water. A couple of years ago I tried SUPing and instantly loved it. Not enough to go buy one and store it at my house, but enough to go rent one or borrow one if I could…

  • .

    Interview with Surf Diva Marketing Coordinator: Iris Hrabe-Ritzert

    August 20, 2015

    Iris has what some people might say, a dream job. Every day she clocks in at the world famous Surf Diva surf shop in La Jolla, California. Just minutes from the Ja Jolla Shores, Iris helps run the  show. From organizing the surf instructors to making sure all the clients are in the right class,…

Categories

Action Life
Culture
Travel
Business
Take Action

Newsletter

Follow The Action

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YOUTUBE
RSS