Moon Stone / California / United States

This is a consistent spot, offering a variety of waves depending on what mood it is in.  Whatever it chooses, it is for experienced surfers only as it is bounded by a rock pile to the south and a reef to the north.

The beach is quite small, clean and sandy with cliffs behind it which separate it from the road.  It is public access, and during the week there won't be any other surfers about – even at weekends you don't tend to see more than a handful. The water temperatures are standard for this county, with winter temperatures being around 12 to 14° C and summer temperatures 17 to 18° C.

This place works best from late summer right through the winter months. It works on both rising and falling tides and at all tide positions, and the swell will start working at less than 1 m before holding up to around 2.5 m or so. It is a fairly standard beach break, both right and left, and the waves are definitely average – nothing to write home about in terms of power or speed, but just interesting enough to make for a fun day.  The length is usually short at around 50 m, but on some days you might be lucky and see 150 m.

There is a parking lot at the top of the cliffs above the beach, just a couple of minutes walk away. Cambria Pines is the nearest town, where you'll find a few places to stay and some restaurants etc.

As long as you have the experience to handle the nearby rocks, there isn't really anything to cause concern here, so just enjoy it.