Seal beach pier
San o - first lifegaurd tower ( mecca )
Oceanside harbor jetty , the north end by the playground
Brookhurst st. In huntington beach by the rivermouth.
In San Diego, Tourmaline surfing park at foot of Tourmaline St. Parking, restrooms, showers very convenient. Beach is very good for family outing. Surf is crowded but tolerable, too crowded if there is a swell on weekends. Crowd manners are ok to good with the occasional youngsters and over serious riders spoiling things in a recognized and obvious family/ beginner setting. Short walking on the nice stretch of beach allows some variety of beach break peaks and crowd conditions. Morning and usually pre noon wind conditions are best, afternoons bad, evening session is sometimes ok for wind. Summer swell strength in San Diego isn't so good. The summer south swells hit best from Oceanside north into Orange County.
Thanks for the heads up guys. I think the fam is kind of set on hitting San Diego for the warmer water.
Any thoughts on water temps in early July for that area. Are we still going to be stuck with full wetsuits?
Any beaches we should avoid due to sharks? I know there is no such thing as a totally safe beach, but some beaches have histories. Got little guys in the water so I want to be carefull.
Here’s the sea surface temperatures in July, 2010 and 2009 at the San Elijo mooring (offshore from Cardiff Reef). Every year is different, but it gives some idea of the range of sea surface (1m depth) temperatures during this month.
FWIW, San Diego sea temps typically run a few degrees cooler then OC & LA, mostly due to deep water close to shore.
Also, as happened this past week, just a day or two of strong NW winds can take the water from 66° down to 58° overnight, everywhere in SOCAL, so you'll want that wettie just in case....
San Diego is no sharkier then anyplace else and what are probably the sharkiest spots in SD, you will not likely surf. (Pt Loma & Sloughs)
If you're planning on staying right in San Diego and you're driving the heavy camping rig think about bringing bikes. The San Diego central beach area has great bike riding. San Onofre State Park is a great call, a fun outlying place with a taste of Baja Balifornia. Water temps early July can be chilly low to mid 60s or ok hier 60s or icy hi 50s to low 60s. Our water temps are all over the chart with no quarantees. Last summer many folks never got out of their winter suits, the two previous summers were all time warmer water. Even if its running hier 60s, overnight it can drop to hi 50s low 60s. Early July is a little early to expect warmer water temps, late July thru August is usually best for water temp. but we never know. Sharks aren't an issue to think about much, that problem gets going from Santa Barbara north. PM me also if you'd like, this is home and there are no secret spots left :)
factory outlet store near Trestles/San O. don’t buy a used wetsuit unless you have to; most are in bad shape and have been, well, repeatedly peed it…gross.