Martins Beach / California / United States

This is a good spot that offers consistently good surfing days. It is suitable for beginners upwards, and even experienced surfers are likely to have some fun with the waves. Many people bypass it to head for the more popular beaches further south, but by doing that they are missing out on this hidden gem.

This is a thin, curving sandy beach. To find it, head south from Half Moon Bay and turn off highway 1 onto Martins Beach Road. Parking is right on the beach so there is no walk, but there is a fee for accessing the paring here – you can avoid it by parking further p the road and walking down to the shore.

With an east wind and the swell coming up from the west or southwest, the conditions are at their best here. The swell starts working at 1m or so, and holds up to 3m and above. It is a reef wave, moving both right and left, and is fairly powerful. A normal day length will be about 100m, but it can be 300m on a good day. If you are a beginner, then the north end of the beach gets the smaller waves and is generally safer. It’s empty during the week, and even at the weekend doesn’t get crowded.

There aren’t any facilities here, but Half moon Bay is just up the road and there you’ll find accommodation and places to eat.

Make sure you know where the rips are before you paddle out here, and watch out for the rocks. Other than that, it’s an easy spot to surf.