Friday, February 15, 2008

Surf Break Map: Lower Trestles, Trestles Surf Area, California



Surf Break Map: Lower Trestles

Lower Trestles is one of the “Crown Jewels” of California surfing. Generally referred to as Lowers the wave is located south of Uppers and north of Middles.

Lowers is the most well-defined point/reef in the Trestles surf area. The point sticks out a bit further than the others in the area, and the rock reef that extends off of the point is both better shaped and extends further out into deeper water. The combination of those two features helps to create a long, but very workable right and a shorter, but faster (and sometimes more hollow) left that breaks back towards Uppers.

Lowers works on almost any swell that it is exposed to but it breaks the best on large S and SW swells.

Even on big swells the peak and takeoff area are pretty small, which concentrates the crowd. Big but inconsistent swells will turn the pack into an ugly feeding-frenzy mess with lots of people dropping in and burning each other. You can pretty much always count on a crowd at lowers, and to be honest not many waves sneak through the peak unridden. The best you can hope for is lots of set waves in a big swell to help thin out the group at the peak and weed out some of the more timid surfers.

Spot details
Best swell direction:
S-SW swell (170-220)
Best Wind: E, light-moderate Santa Ana winds are the best.
Sea Floor: Mix of mostly rock, with some sand and sea-grass
Best Season: Summer, Fall, and when we get big SW’ers in the Spring.
Crowds: On bad days it looks like the LA marathon starting line.

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