mwessel

Our teenage daughters want to try surfing while we are on our SF/Monterey/SantaCruz trip in July. What are the best beaches to go to for this? Will a wet suit be a must in July or not? Anyone have experience with surf lessons and where?

Where do people swim around San Francisco? What beach is best for a dip?

SAB

Not many people swim in the ocean in SF--its too cold. And its too dangerous; riptides carry off unsuspecting tourists every year.

The water in the Bay is a little less cold, but I don't think I have ever seen anyone actually swimming in the Bay either, wading maybe.

In Northern California the surfers wear wetsuits all year round; again the water is too cold. Not cold in the "its a little chilly", but in you will become hyperthermic within minutes cold.

Santa Cruz is a good place to take lessons; it is where CA surfing began.

elmom

in santa cruz there is a teeny but good surfing museum -- it's in a building that I think is an old lighthouse; up on a hill overlooking the ocean. It has the history of surfing/old boards etc.... We watched people surf from there -- but the waves looked rough and big

bookhall

It's no place for beginners, but about 25 miles S of San Francisco is Mavericks, which is probably the premier surfing beach in Northern California. Might be fun to take a look....

NorCalif

San Francisco has a number of beaches. Baker Beach and China Beach have beautiful views looking out on the Marin Headlands and the GG Bridge. Ocean Beach is a long broad beach at the west end of Golden Gate Park. It looks out on Japan. (ha ha) I do see people swimming without wet suits occasionally at various SF beaches, but I personally think they're crazy! They are also usually under age 20, kids being more impervious to cold (and common sense?) at times.

Mavericks is not actually a beach. It is a surf break about a half-mile or more offshore, near Half Moon Bay (between SF and Santa Cruz.) It is the site of a world famous contest in the winter when conditions are right.

re: surf lessons: Santa Cruz County has a number of surf breaks (I believe 11 is the number usually bandied about.) In any case, some are better for beginners, some for experienced surfers, and some for experts only. Here's a link you might find useful to the various surf areas:
http://www.santacruz.com/guides/santa-cruz-surfing

Cowell's is often used by beginners. The members of my family who regularly surf Santa Cruz (I"m not one of them) were already expert (lived in Hawaii for a long time) so have never taken lessons in SC, so can't give any first-hand recs on lessons.

The Surf Museum is in a lighthouse on the cliff above the surf spot known as Steamer Lane. It can be a fun spot to watch good surfers, but is not for beginners.

Have fun!

NorCalif

Geez, I'm an idiot. For some reason this showed up on the list of recent threads and I didn't even notice the OP was in 2008! I'm sure his/her teenage daughters are expert surfers by now!