Bills Bowls / California / United States

This is a trip for very experienced surfers only. The alternative name for it is Bills Peak, which should give you some idea of the waves you get here. If you aren’t up to surfing it yourself and happen to be in the area, the view from the road can be pretty good and you might catch a couple of the pro’s out there.

Most people make this a day trip, heading north up Highway 1 from San Francisco or south from Point Arena. The beach is public access, and you can walk to the shore from the parking in a minute or two. It has a rocky shore, and is generally considered cool – even in summer, air temperatures rarely go above the low 70’s.

This place works best when the wind is blowing southeast, east or northeast. The swell needs to be north, northwest, or west, and when this happens it all comes together. You’ll find the swells start working at about 2.5m and hold up to 5m and bigger, especially on a falling tide. It is a reef wave, and is considered to hollow, fast and powerful fairly consistently. Length of ride is also pretty consistent, averaging about 100m. It is rarely busy here, and never crowded even at weekend.

You’ll need to drive here from either Point Arena to the north or San Francisco to the south. Point Arena offers accommodation and enough facilities to see you through a day or weekend trip, while San Francisco has the infrastructure to keep you occupied for much longer, even when not out surfing.

Be aware of strong undertows, rocks and sharks.