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Outdoor Adventure
The 8 Best Surf Towns in the U.S.
29
Jul
Jul
In my mid-20s, I moved to Ocean Beach, Southern California, specifically to learn how to surf. I spent the first six months of my tenure unemployed, so I was in the water every day, launching myself into the whitewash at Dog Beach, the most beginner-friendly break within a few miles of my apartment. I was enthralled with the surf, but I loved the town of Ocean Beach, San Diego, even more.
Back then, the small enclave was still grungy, with a downtown full of cheap breakfast joints and bars that only took cash. The bartenders looked at you funny if you wore closed-toe shoes. It was a surf town.
More than two decades later, I’m still enamored with surf towns. My home is in the mountains, four hours and 22 minutes from the closest surf break (but who’s counting?). Yet I still take surf trips regularly, as much to explore the towns by the beaches as the surf itself. I’ve been fortunate enough to paddle into waves in Costa Rica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Hawaii, and areas up and down So Cal and the Southeastern United States. I’m not a great surfer, but I bar hop and scout out the best fish tacos at a very high level.
A great surf town has quick access to waves and adventure, but also good food, good vibes, and a dedication to quality of life. Read on for what I believe to be the eight best surf towns in the U.S.
1. Hale’iwa, Hawaii
Hawaii is loaded with bucket-list surf destinations, but it’s hard to beat the North Shore of Oahu, home of the world-famous beaches of Waimea Bay and Bonzai Pipeline. The town of Hale’iwa is the cultural hub of the North Shore, with a small downtown full of shops, food trucks, and surf instructors ready to teach tourists.
Halei’wa is only an hour from the bustling cities of Honolulu and Waikiki, but it has the slower pace of a farming community. The town sits within a 20-minute drive of Waimea Bay, Bonzai, and Sunset Beach, and has plenty of adjacent surf as well. Winter brings heavy conditions, with massive, glassy waves that only pros should paddle into, but the swells mellow during summer, allowing us mortals a go in this storied destination.
Patches of reef scattered throughout the area on the sandy bottom catch the swell. Start with the beginner-friendly waves at Pua’ena Point, which is popular with surf instructors. The beach is small, but has plenty of shade. A double reef break offers bigger rides on the outer reef and a smaller, longboard-friendly wave closer to shore. Then try Ali’i Beach, the closest surf to town. Much like Pua’ena Point, Ali’i Beach has a beginner-friendly wave close to shore and a larger, more advanced wave in deeper water.
Hale’iwa proper has fewer than 5,000 permanent residents and a downtown full of sugar-plantation-era architecture framed by Oahu’s green mountains beyond. It’s a picture-perfect island town where you’ll find waterfalls in the surrounding hills, and a fun and bustling live-music and food-truck scene in town. Paddleboarding the Anahulu River, beneath Hale’iwa’s Rainbow Bridge, is a great way to spend some time away from the surf.
Surf Shop: Haleiwa Surf Shop, right across the street from Ali’i Beach, has rentals from soft tops to performance short boards (from $30 a day).
Surf Instruction: North Shore Surf Girls, a female-owned company with a full staff of women instructors, teaches lessons at Pua’ena Point for the whole family (from $66).
Eat and Drink: If there’s one thing you have to eat when you’re in Hale’iwa, it’s shaved ice from Matsumoto, a family-run business established in 1951 that still uses homemade syrup recipes. The North Shore has become a magnet for food trucks, which serve traditional Hawaiian dishes al fresco. Online reviews say the garlic butter shrimp at Big Wave Shrimp Truck is the best in town. I’m dying to go check out the reports.
2. Solana Beach, California
Here’s the problem with an article about the best surf towns in the country: I could write about 20 deserving towns in California alone. Carlsbad, San Clemente, Santa Cruz…all awesome. I could choose Huntington Beach, which is literally known as “Surf City U.S.A.” thanks to the legends that pioneered the sport there, but the town won the rights to that title via a court battle, which doesn’t seem very surfer chill to me. (Also, the breaks are notorious for their localism.)
So I’m picking the much smaller and more easygoing Solana Beach, in San Diego County. Is there a bit of nostalgia involved because I took my first surf lesson here, 30 minutes north of my old apartment in Ocean Beach? Perhaps. But this small town has a gorgeous, cliff-lined coast and relatively friendly locals, which makes for a powerful combo in Southern California.
“It’s super laid back, almost what you imagine when listening to a Beach Boys song,” says John Cavan, a 48-year-old lawyer and surfer who’s been exploring the beaches up and down the coast from Manhattan Beach outside of L.A. for more than 20 years.
The beach is flanked by tall cliffs topped by private residences, both of which help keep the crowds at bay compared to those in other popular breaks in Southern California, making Solana a top choice for surf instructors. The town offers quick access to a handful of breaks; the most obvious option is Fletcher Cove, Solana’s main beach, with plenty of parking and a sidewalk.
A beach break that picks up size during the summer makes Fletcher a popular spot for all surfers, but it’s still a great option for beginners. Another good nearby choice, Seascape, has a long sandy beach and a reef break deeper offshore that is good for intermediate to advanced surfers. Want something more aggressive? Swami’s, a legendary right-hand point break, is just four miles up the street in Encinitas.
In town, the Cedros Design District is full of boutiques and restaurants, and just outside of it is a weekend farmers’ market based in 1940s-era Quonset huts. The legendary Belly Up live-music venue has hosted a wide variety of talent, from B.B. King to Ludacris to Hayes Carl.
Surf Shop: Mitch’s Surf Shop, located just south of Swami’s on PCH 101, has been a SoCal institution since the 1960s. You can rent soft tops (from $20 a day) and performance boards (from $45 a day) along with wetsuits, snorkels, and SUPs.
Surf Instruction: For lessons, try Ride Solana Beach, which offers two-hour instruction sessions ($120 per person).
Eat and Drink: Pizza Port has been a pillar of good pizza and craft beer since the early 1990s. The place helped establish the West Coast style of IPA and is still a master of it today.
3. Ocracoke, Outer Banks, North Carolina
The Outer Banks is a chain of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina that is absolutely full of great surf, and a dozen towns up and down the islands could qualify for this list. OB is the epicenter of surf culture on the East Coast, and the towns that line the northern section, like Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, have some of the finest breaks on the Atlantic.
But they’re also pretty crowded, which is why I’m choosing Ocracoke, a sleepy fishing village on its own island on the southern end of the Outer Banks, as my favorite surf town. I’ve surfed and camped dune-side there several times over the years.
Ocracoke has under a thousand year-round residents, and you can only reach the island by boat. A ferry can take you from Cedar Island ($15 with car) to Ocracoke Island, crossing the Pamlico Sound in just over two hours. The remoteness means crowds are minimal compared to other towns on the barrier islands, and the vibe is pretty tranquil. A small fishing village wraps around the harbor, and most of the 17-mile-long island is protected as part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which means there are miles of undeveloped beach and dunes covered in sea oats to explore, not to mention inexpensive camping just inland of the breaks.
All of the surf on Ocracoke is beach break, and the sandbars are constantly shifting, so it’s hard to point you to one specific spot. Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, two miles south of the village, has a guard on duty and, thanks to that added safety net, is the best place to get in the water as someone who is new to the sport. But if you’re an experienced surfer and have 4WD you can cruise the beach looking for your own personal break. The surf is best in the fall and winter, but you can find good conditions year round. You’ll need a permit (which is free) to drive the beach, and while you’re at it, snag a permit for a beach fire, too.
Surf Shop: Ride the Wind has rentals (from $25 a day) and lessons (from $95 per hour).
Eat and Drink: Zillie’s Island Pantry is an institution, with a shaded back porch perfect for drinking beer. Ocracoke Oyster Company has the southern staples of barbecue and fried fish along with its bivalves.
4. New Smyrna Beach, Florida
The Sunshine State has no shortage of beach towns, but New Smyrna Beach, in North Florida directly northeast of Orlando, gets the nod on this list because of the consistent quality of waves and the variety of options. Sandwiched between Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach (childhood home of pro surfer Kelly Slater), New Smyrna Beach is blessed with long beach breaks and a river inlet with stone jetties that create what may be the most bankable surf in all of Florida. The conditions are so good, the beach is a stop in the USA Surfing’s Prime Series of competitions for rippers under 18.
As you might expect, the breaks are incredibly popular, so weekends can feel like a zoo, especially at the best wave, Ponce Inlet, where two rivers meet the Atlantic between stone jetties, adding shape and size to the swell. Ponce is a great option for advanced surfers who know how to maneuver through a lineup, but New Smyrna also has 17 miles of other beaches and waves.
“You can drive onto the beach at Flagler Avenue and drive north on the sand until you see a spot you like,” says Joshua Stallworth, a 24-year-old law student who spent his college years surfing the various breaks around New Smyrna Beach. You need a permit to drive on the beach ($20 per vehicle, per day).
The town is sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Flagler Avenue is the main strip, stacked with fish shacks and surf shops, while Canal Street Historic District is a little more upscale, lined with palm trees and boutiques. New Smyrna Beach also makes for a great basecamp for exploring other beaches in the area.
Head south to Canaveral National Seashore, a 58,000-acre wildlife refuge with 26 miles of undeveloped sand. Playalinda Beach, inside the National Seashore, has a beginner-friendly beach break without many crowds. Canaveral is the longest stretch of undeveloped coast on the Atlantic coast of Florida, protecting wildlife such as manatee and sea turtles, as well as ancient shell mounds left by the native Temicua.
Surf Shop: Nichols Surf Shop is the area’s oldest, with board rentals (from $35) delivered to you at the beach, and two-hour lessons (from $109).
Eat and Drink: You can’t beat the location of Breakers, a burger bar with local Half Wall Brewing beers on tap overlooking the Atlantic. Head to Cafe Heavenly for a lobster roll and wood-fired pizzas.
5. Westport, Washington
Washington’s coast might offer the most dramatic surf backdrop in the U.S., with beach and reef breaks tucked between dense green redwood forests and craggy sea stacks rising offshore from deep water. The state offers adventure surfing at its finest, with many of the best options requiring multi-mile approach hikes where you carry your board. Westport, a town of 28,000 two hours west of Seattle, is the happy exception, with two steady breaks on its outskirts. The surfing is so good, locals refer to Westport as the “Surf City of the Pacific Northwest.”
The two main breaks start with the Groins, a big left-hander on the north side of Westport’s marina. This one is best for advanced surfers, not just because of the sizable wave but the powerful currents and shifting tides, which can change as much as 20 feet. The Jetty, however, in Westhaven State Park, is less daunting and has something for both beginners and advanced surfers. It’s known as the most reliable wave in Washington, thanks to the rock jetty that helps shape the swell and deliver point breaks, while the sandy bottom and frothy whitewash (that’s the foam after a wave breaks close to shore) offer a less intimidating option for learning.
“There’s always a wave in Westport,” says Brian Calder, owner of Bigfoot Surf School. “Even if the surf is too big for beginners, we can push them into the whitewater on a sandy beach so they can practice standing up in it. And we teach new surfers to respect the locals, who are usually surfing bigger waves on the outside.”
The Jetty can get crowded on weekends, but it’s an expansive break with long waves, so you should be able to find a spot in the lineup. Just be aware of rip currents, which locals may use as an expressway back out to the lineup after surfing a long wave in—not a move new surfers should ever try.
Surf Shop: The Surf Shop was the first in Washington, opening in 1986. LOGE has a basecamp in Westport that not only has rooms, but performance boards and soft tops to rent.
Surf Instruction: Bigfoot Surf School has semi-private lessons (from $175 per person including the board) and will get you paddling out into the whitewash at Westhaven State Park.
Eat and Drink: Westport is a hub of commercial fishing, and you can find fisherfolk selling their catches, from albacore tuna to Dungeness crabs, right on the docks. Or you can hop over to Merino’s Seafood Market, which has a variety of local catch as well as a fish ’n’ chips restaurant.
6. Newport, Rhode Island
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but it’s also dubbed “the Ocean State,” with more than 400 miles of coastline to brag about. Located on the edge of the state’s Aquidneck Island, Newport is positioned to make the most of that coast. Traditionally known as a hub for sailing (the harbor is full of yachts, and America’s Cup is staged here every year), the swanky town is also the epicenter of surf in New England, with very big swell showing up offshore during hurricane season in the fall.
Locals surf the town’s handful of beach breaks year round, getting the thickest wetsuits on the market for the bitter winter temps. Newport was long home to Water Brothers Surf and Skate, a cornerstone of surf culture for more than 50 years until the owner, Sid Abruzzi, closed the shop to focus on making apparel two years ago.
The northeastern edge of Aquidneck Island offers a handful of breaks, with something for all levels of surfers. Ruggles, with a rocky bottom and big, powerful storm waves, is the most famous of those breaks, attracting the biggest names in surf during hurricane season. Easton’s Beach, near downtown Newport, has beginner-friendly waves.
The town of Newport is well-known for its Gilded Age mansions, once built by America’s wealthiest families as their summer retreats, some of which you can now tour as museums. Enjoy Newport’s historic 3.5-mile Cliff Walk, showing you many of those homes.
Surf Shop: Breakwater Surf has boards and anything else you might need for the water.
Surf instruction: Rhody Surf offers private lessons ($75 per person for one hour, includes a board).
Eat and Drink: Seafood is the name of the game in Newport, and much of it is upscale. Pour Judgment, though, is a casual burger-and-beer bar downtown. Anthony’s Seafood, in neighboring Middletown, has house-made clam chowder and massive warm lobster rolls.
7. Pacific City, Oregon
Pacific City is a former fishing village of just over 1,000 full-time residents that in recent years has turned into the surf mecca of Oregon. Surfing here is as much about the scenery as the waves. The break is framed by Cape Kiwanda, a sandstone headland that reaches out into the water, protecting the beach from the wind, while huge sea stacks rise just offshore. As for the wave, it’s not huge, but the shield effect results in a glassy structure over a sandy bottom that’s ideal for beginner and intermediate surfers. A popular longboard competition is held at the beach every September, and it all happens steps from downtown at Pacific City Beach.
Pacific City is hella charming, even without the surfing. Fisherfolk launch dories straight from the beach and paddle beyond the break to haul in cod and salmon off the point of Cape Kiwanda. The hiking in Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area travels through Sitka spruce forest to the top of the 246-foot tall “Great Dune,” with dramatic views of the Pacific below. In town, breweries and restaurants embrace the scenery, with outdoor beer gardens and expansive windows.
Surf Shop: Moment Surf Company, two blocks from the beach, has everything you need for cold-water surfing, with full rental packages that include wetsuits (from $75). The place also offers daily two-hour lessons (from $165 per person).
Eat and Drink: Pelican Brewing Company might have the best view in town, with a beer garden that unfolds directly onto the beach and a full view of Haystack Rock, the most notable sea stack in the region. Kiwanda Ale is the place’s signature easy-drinking beer, named after the home cape.
8. Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Yes, there’s surfing on the Great Lakes, whose 4,500 miles of shores are often dubbed “America’s Third Coast.” Hardy surfers track down waves all over these inland seas, and Sheboygan, a small town on the western shore of Lake Michigan, is arguably the most surf-centric town in the Great Lakes area. Locals call it the “Malibu of the Midwest” because of the laid-back vibe and access to good surf, which can be found year round, but is best in the fall and winter.
“Summer is pretty flat, but come fall and winter you can get out a couple of times a week at least,” says Nathan Anderson, who grew up in the area and now works at EOS Surf Shop downtown.
The surf is dependent on the wind and gets the biggest when heavy gusts come in from the northeast or southwest. Since the best waves form in fall and winter, a thick wetsuit is necessary. The lakes are fresh water, less buoyant than salt, which means long boards are a must for most surfers.
North Beach of Deland Park is the best break in town, thanks to the jetty that helps shape the wave. The shore has a sandy bottom and can be suited to beginners on mellow days, or hard chargers when the wind and surf are up.
Beyond surfing, Sheboygan is a town of 49,000 situated between Green Bay and Milwaukee and known for its bratwurst. There’s a vibrant downtown with a good street art scene and even better food. Also cool, the city of Sheboygan places a handful of large fire rings, each about twice the size of a Solo Stove backyard pit, out for lakeside bonfires from Memorial Day through August, north of Deland Beach near North Point Park. Kohler-Andrae State Park, next door to downtown Sheboygan, has two miles of sandy beach and dunes.
Surf Shop: EOS Surf Shop is the only game in town, and they’ve got you covered with local knowledge, rentals (from $40 a day), and two-hour lessons ($120).
Eat and Drink: You’ll find bratwurst all over town, but Schulz’s has been an institution since the 1950s, serving a brat burger that does the town’s reputation proud. To drink something local, check out 3 Sheep’s Brewing, which has a 10,000-square-foot taproom and a Fresh Coast juicy pale ale.
Graham Averill is Outside magazine’s national-parks columnist. He’s always been torn between the mountains and the beach, but currently lives in the Southern Appalachians. Construction has begun on a surf wave in the French Broad River close to his home of Asheville, North Carolina, so that could solve all of his problems.
For more by this author, see:
Boating Turns Me Green. But I Couldn’t Miss a Chance to See the Channel Islands.
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