Bolsa Chica State Beach ***
PRO miles of sand, consistent, if poor, surf
CON high winds

Bolsa Chica is Huntington Beach on downers. Miles of beach are lined with parking lots ($6 a day or state park pass) a boardwalk, snack bars and not much else. Except soft waves. This is a place for grommets just learning to stand up and greybeards on longboards. The beach - and the surf - can get fairly packed on weekends near the parking lots, and there's always some entertaining tailgating going on, whether it's the middle-aged surfer who looks like he may have been out in the sun since his last life or the family that has converted their van into a kitchen on wheels. The good news is, you'll always find a spot in the sun at Bolsa Chica. The bad news is you might get blown off it in the afternoon by the summertime Northwesterlies.

Huntington Beach ***
PRO a lot of fun
CON a lot of hassles

The closest thing Orange County has to L.A.'s Venice Beach. Everything from tourists to tattoos are on display at this beach that claims to be Surf City USA (in 1992, city legislators even tried to make it official but were turned down after Santa Cruz claimed it was the true Surf City). Regardless, Huntington does have a good argument. Consider that it boasts 12 surf shops, six surf-themed restaurants, many surf murals and sculptures and about five zillion skate rats on any given Sunday - all located just footsteps from California's longest municipal pier at 1,900 feet. Huntington is also the SoCal surf contest home. Probably best known is the OP Pro, which started in 1982 and quickly became the rowdiest and gaudiest stop on the pro tour. Through the 80s and most of the '90s, the event saw everything from day-glo wetsuits and bikini contests to rioting crowds and burning police cars. Not surprising, since up to 50,000 spectators would cram the south side of Huntington Pier on Finals Sunday for a look at surfing's biggest stars.

Of course, if you're looking for free umbrella space, get in line behind the 11 million beachgoers who visit yearly. And, unless you're large and local, don't even think about getting a wave to yourself within 300 yards of the pier.

Huntington does mellow the further north or south you get from the pier - both in crowds and surfer territorialism. To the north lie miles of wide beach, with plenty of metered parking on Coast Highway (bring change-o-plenty: 25 cents only buys eight minutes), a cliffside walkway with grassy knolls and even a dog park. To the south are also miles of sand, with parking lots ($6 for the day or a state parks parking pass), snack bars and a wide boardwalk. The main drawback to all of Huntington Beach is its exposure to strong afternoon northwest winds and frequent rip currents.

West Newport Beach ****
PRO an eclectic mix of characters, waves and beach
CON an eclectic mix of characters, waves and beach

This territory runs from the Santa Ana River Jetties to the Newport Beach Municipal Pier. First, if you're surfing near the Santa Ana River Jetties - which define the border between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach - try very hard to ignore the fact that you are at the end of the line for dozens of cities' urban runoff flush. This massive watershed once ended in Newport Harbor, then just a natural bay, but was diverted by the county in 1919 to better form the new harbor and create a true peninsula. If it's rained anytime in the past three days, get out! If it's summer, you have a chance for survival - although you still must contend with the crowds of competitive surfers herded to the area by the infamous blackball law further south (no board surfing from noon to 4 p.m., or later, from mid-June to mid-September). The good news is, the beaches in upper west Newport (56th Street Jetty to River Jetties) are wide, clean and soft. The bad news is, unless you arrive by bike or bus, you're not getting anywhere near them - parking is for experts and crack-o-dawners only. Across Coast Highway, there are a few greasy spoons, from burgers to pizza.

Moving south, there are many smaller jetties - labeled the groin field by locals - that create smaller pockets of crowded surf and provide near-death experiences for novice surfers on big days. Fifty-sixth Street is renowned for its reeling left off the end of the jetty, and for its territorial crowd, but other spots are open - if not exactly welcoming - to all. A boardwalk begins at 36th street and runs south and the peoplewatching only gets better as you approach Newport Pier, which lands at 20th Street.

The beach at the Pier is called Blackies and is home to an array of sights, from the historic to the colorful. Examples include the dory fishermen, whose members have been launching from the beach for over a century; the Bird Man, with his flock of parrots, and other "street entertainers," and bars from nice to naughty. The waves at Blackies, especially during the summer, are rated B, for beginner.

Balboa Peninsula ****
PRO soft sand, clear water and elbow room
CON traffic, few amenities

Moving south from the Newport Pier, the beaches get progressively more mellow, the sand less crowded, the boardwalk less frenetic - with the exception of the area surrounding the Balboa Pier. At the end of the pier is the original Ruby's Diner, which local businessman Doug Cavanough opened in the winter of 1982. Luckily for other locals, it survived that year's brutal El Nino storm waves. Across the Peninsula is the Fun Zone, with a Ferris Wheel and arcades, which, depending on your age, is a fun zone or just a loud and crowded zone that eats quarters.

While the beach gets mellower as you move south, the surf does not. A few spots in this run have actually attained world-renown. The first is The Point, which, depending on the sand movement, lands anywhere from 19th to 17th Streets. Here, on big south swells, the wave is Newport's answer to Pipeline, Hawaii. The crowds are just as notorious as well. Further south, through the teens, powerful waves break, culminating in the powerhouse of the coast, The Wedge.

The Wedge is so named for the A-frame wave that occurs when smaller waves rebound off the Newport West Jetty, collide with the next swell, doubling it in size and creating thundering surf. Mainly a bodysurfing and bodyboarding wave - thanks to the closeout death tube ending to virtually every ride yards from the sand, The Wedge attracts hundreds of spectators and many news crews every time a massive south swell hits. This is usually in the late summer or early fall. Like a NASCAR crowd, the people come for the crashes. And unfortunately, they get them. As of 2002, it was believed The Wedge had claimed six lives, paralyzed 30 people, and hospitalized thousands more. Not a place for the novice.

This crusher of a wave was formed in the late 1920s when Newport Harbor's west jetty was built (and extended to 2,830 feet in 1936). But it wasn't until the 1950s that bodysurfers dared try to ride the waves. Probably the best known Wedge rider was Fred Simpson, who was the first to use an arm-extended riding style (as opposed to piledriving face first). This became known as "The Fred."

Ironically, the boardwalk-free beach fronting The Wedge, and those just to the north, are probably the most empty in Newport. And while it can be a little slow getting down the Peninsula, once there, free parking is rarely a problem.

Big Corona ***
PRO great history
CON everyone knows about it

Probably no other Orange County beach has undergone such a dramatic change as has Big Corona. Today, on any given summer Sunday, you'd be hardpressed to find a local among the masses that visit this beach. Parking was $6 and is regularly filled. On a holiday, from the hill above, sand is almost not visible, thanks to the sea of umbrellas and towels. And unless a huge south swell is running, forming "foamers" off Newport Harbor's East Jetty, no stand-up surf exists. Bodysurfers and bodyboarders rule.

But long ago, when Newport and California surfing were in their toddling stages, Big Corona was the spot. During the 1920s and early '30s, the long, slow rollers coming across the sand bar of the harbor entrance and ending off Big Corona were considered among the best in California and attracted legends such as Californian Tom Blake and Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku. The Corona del Mar Surfboard Club was the mainland's first surf organization, formed in the '20s.

Corona del Mar also held the first major surf competition in Mainland America: the Pacific Coast Surf Riding Championships in 1928. Organized by Blake through the Surfboard Club, the contest involved paddling and surfing skills. Contestants paddled 500 yards offshore, rounded a buoy and rode a wave back to shore, more of a race than a contest of style. There were 15 entrants and because the top-billed Duke Kahanamoku didn't show up, Blake was the odds-on favorite.

Blake not only won, he did it with a few surprises. At the start, he carried his 120-pound paddling/surfing board to water's edge, then as his competitor took off, Blake retrieved a smaller 9'6" board. He threw that on top of his paddleboard and climbed aboard. Once around the buoy, he discarded the paddleboard and surfed past the competition.

From 1934 to 1936, in order to make the entrance navigable for boaters, the harbor entrance was dredged to 25 feet and over 200,000 tons of rock were dropped at the entrance to extend the West and East Jetties. The East Jetty grew to its current 1,673 feet and, along with the removal of the entrance sand bar, killed the easy waves that had become so popular.

Little Corona and Pirate's Cove ***
PRO family fun
CON dirty water

These are the small coves on either side of Big Corona, and couldn't be more different. Pirate's Cove is, technically, part of Big Corona and is accessed by the same parking lot. Popular to families thanks to the gently undulating sandstone "cliffs" that surround it, this small bit of sand fronts the bay. A few small caves and the easy rockclimbing provide a world of fun for toddlers. Behind the rocks is a small park with barbecue grills.

Little Corona lies on the opposite end of Big Corona, to the south, and fronts the ocean. The beach here is small, and can fill up on a summer day. Surf can be tricky for swimmers thanks to submerged rocks, but there are tidepools to explore. The bad news is, after years of traffic, the tidepools are in poor shape. Taking, or even touching, anything from this beach is forbidden. Also, there is a stream of contaminated water from Buck Gully that empties at the head of the beach.

China Cove ***
PRO the spot for toddlers
CON bay water and a hill

So named for the "Chinese" themed home that has graced this small beach for decades, China Cove is actually two beaches, just inside the Newport Beach Harbor. The bigger of the two beaches is loved by families and volleyball players alike, while the smaller is baby-heaven. If mom and dad can put out of mind the fact that little Billy or Tina is swimming in bay water, with a storm drain emptying at the spot, toddlers can have a blast in the shallow, calm water. Bring the boogie board - when enough boats go by, surfs up! But China doesn't come cheap: no street parking is allowed, so it's a steep hike down - and more importantly, back up - the steps from the CdM cliffs above. Most drive down, load up and move out - to the disdain of China Cove's homeowners, whose abodes go for over $10 million.

Crystal Cove State Park Beaches ****
PRO a place to escape the madding crowd
CON that was before the parking lots

Known to long-time locals as Coves, this 3.5-mile stretch of beach, broken up by the jutting cliffline into semi-coves, is part of the Crystal Cove State Park. The land on the Coast Highway side - arguably some of the most desirable property in southern California - was purchased by the state in the late '70s from The Irvine Company for $36 million and made public. (The rest of Crystal Cove State Park was purchased in 1979.) Today, parking was $6 (unless you have a state park pass), there are paved trails throughout the blufftops, port-a-potties on the beaches, lifeguards in the summer, and a pack of surfers at every break.

But these are fairly recent developments. Any lifelong Newport or Laguna Beach resident old enough to remember a time without cell phones pines for the years when Coves meant desolate refuge. Aside from the horse-riding business on the northern blufftop, it was the beach to which high school kids fled on their ditch days. Parking was along the side of Coast Highway, in the dirt, and the 20-minute walk to one of the coves guaranteed privacy and empty surf (even if it was pretty poor quality). The choices ran from Right Rock to the north, just south of Cameo Shores, to Reef Point (or Scotchman's) in the south, just north of El Morro, with a half dozen breaks in between. The waters and tidepools are part of the Irvine Coast Marine Life Refuge, and taking specimens are strictly forbidden. Fishing is allowed, but only certain species at certain sizes. The area is patrolled.

The beach's few downfalls haven't changed however. The rocky shoreline that provides such beauty and tidepool wonders also takes its toll on the feet of unsuspecting swimmers in the shallows, kelp dots the sand, and fall and winter months see the disappearance of the sand.

El Morro ****
PRO nice beach, clean water, can't get in
CON the hike in from Crystal Cove

This is the stretch of beach that runs from Reef Point, at Crystal Cove State Park, to the cliffs that form the north side of Irvine Cove. The public accesses this beach via the Crystal Cove parking lots ($6).

El Morro is home to 294 trailers, many of which line the beach. Some of the most desirable real estate along the coast, trailer owners pay from $400 to $1,000 per month each to lease the land, but this will change. The lease runs out in December, 2004, and after failed legal challenges and PR campaigns to get a lease extension, the El Morro Village Community residents will be forced to pull out in December, turning the use of the land back to the state. The state will then institute a $13 million campground and park project which will include 60 campsites for recreational vehicles and tents, a bluffside park, 200 parking spaces and restoration of El Morro Creek. Environmental groups, such as the Surfrider Foundation and Friends of the Newport Coast, supported the state in court.

As for the beach, El Morro is a nice patch of sand in the spring and summer (winter sees the disappearance of sand) that is frequented by the high school crowd. The wave off the cliff to the north is hollow, if not perfect. The cliff has produced more than a few injuries, not from waveriders colliding with it, but from daredevils jumping off 30-foot and higher plateaus, only to misjudge the depth of water.

Irvine Cove and Emerald Bay ***
PRO perfect coves
CON only millionaires allowed

These two idyllic beaches have no public access, unless you come by sea. Both grace the front of private, gate-guarded communities that were built before the stringent public access laws were enforced. If you can manage to phone a friend or bribe a guard, you will find two beautiful beaches with clear water in front. Perhaps this private bit of paradise is why homes fronting the water, or on the surrounding cliffs, are priced in the rarified $10 million-plus realm.

And if you're game, a legal way to enjoy these riches is to kayak in from El Morro to the north or Crescent Bay to the south. Call it Operation Beachy Freedom.

Crescent Bay ***
PRO beautiful cove, nice waves and diving
CON Fast Times at Ridgemont High on the sand

Crescent Bay, so named for its crescent moon shape, is a favored spot for a variety of ocean lovers, from middle school and high school kids (a bus stop is located at the top of the hill) to divers and diving classes to bodysurfers. It's located at Fairview Street in north Laguna.

There are bathrooms, a shower and lifeguards at Crescent, but no snack bars. And parking in the summer can be a challenge; it's rated in how many hills you have to walk. Get there early and it's one, down to the beach. But the later it gets, the higher you go, first to PCH, then into the hills across PCH.

As for the waves, depending on the swell, they can be powerful, or nonexistent. Bodysurfers love the spot for the crystalline tubes it serves up. But those same waves are a curse to divers, who routinely get knocked on their tanks entering and exiting (to the great delight of teenaged spectators). If they do get out, there is good diving on both sides of the bay, with sea lions frolicking around Seal Rock and the impressive Dead Man's reef 200 yards offshore.

The Marine Mammal Center, which rescues and rehabilitates sick and wounded sea lions, uses Crescent Bay to reintroduce recovered sea lions back into the sea. So, all in all, Crescent can provide a wild and fun beach day.

North Laguna ****
PRO perfect, private little coves
CON to get parking requires dawn patrol

Between Crescent Bay and Main Beach Laguna are four small coves, mainly used by divers for access to the reefs offshore. However, they do have sand - usually - and can provide a nice escape. On moderate or big south swells, they all can get a bit surge heavy, and are ringed with rocky points, so toddlers beware. Also, parking is catch as catch can in the residential streets above, so go early.

These waters are a marine refuge, established by Laguna Mayor Glenn Vedder in the 1960s, to protect the tidepools and marine life. But problems still exist, evidenced by the almost 20,000 citations Laguna lifeguards issue each year for everything from taking shells from tidepools to spearing the protected garibaldi fish and taking lobster out of season. Spearfishing and fishing is allowed, but only certain species, at acceptable size, is permitted. One stretch, between Bird Rock (just north of Main Beach) and Divers Cove, is a marine refuge, and no fishing is permitted.

From the north, and starting just south of Crescent Bay, they are: Shaw's Cove, Fisherman's Cove, Divers Cove, Heisler Park. Except for Heisler Park, none of these has amenities. At Heisler Park, you will find a wonderful coastal walking path along the cliff, plenty of grassy areas - bring some change for the homeless residents of the park - picnic tables and telescopes. At the south end of Heisler is Las Brisas restaurant and if you are extremely lucky you will find an empty table from which to watch a sunset and have a margarita. But don't count on it.

These coves all have signs at the entrance to their access steps, but can be tricky to find. A great resource is the dive shop Laguna Sea Sports' website, which gives detailed directions, along with pictures: www.scuba-superstore.com.

Main Beach, Laguna ***
PRO everything is right here
CON you don't want that much

Main Beach has it all, from street basketball to pick-up chess matches. The beach is wide, but busy, and good luck on parking. A nice wooden walkway meanders along the beach, put in place after major flooding destroyed the area in the mid-90s.

Main Beach is more of a daytripper's journey than a beach bum's relaxation spot. Cafes, art galleries, sundry shopping, street performers, they're all within walking distance.

The Laguna Strip South ****
PRO the best diving and mellowest spots along the coast
CON the most stressful, packed parking along the coast

South of Main Beach is a long stretch of beach that for the most part is broken up in name only according to the street name it fronts. Running from the north you'll find: Sleepy Hollow, Cleo, Thalia, Anita, Oak, Brooks, Cress, Mountain, Woods Cove, Moss Street. The northern of these beaches are accessible from Main Beach, but all have their own access stairs. Parking, however, will probably determine which beach you visit. Meters are generally a dollar an hour, with a two-hour max, so get ready to do the "quarter"-mile dash a few times. The nice thing about these beaches is the hotels and restaurants that back them, from the Hotel Laguna near Main to the Surf and Sand further south. A nice break.

Each spot does have something unique to offer, however. Sleepy Hollow has a nice reef just offshore for divers, Cleo has a wreck, the Foss 125, or Cleo Street Barge to locals.

Thalia Street to Brooks Street is surfer haven, with many rock reefs and plenty of waves that stay glassy longer than most due to the kelp beds offshore, which cuts down the wind-generated chop. Brooks is the best spot on big swells and can see very thick crowds. For beachgoers, this stretch of beach is less attractive, as, depending on surf and tide, the beach can become very narrow or even non-existent. Many a towel has been washed away here.

Cress and Mountain Streets offer a large, exposed reef close to shore which is shallow enough for the novice snorkler to enjoy - 15 to 25 feet. The reef is very exposed to surf, however, so it's best to go on days when there is none. The visibility will be much better as well. Moss Street is better for divers than beachgoers as well, as its beach is very small, especially with swell and high tides combining forces. For divers, or snorklers, it is one of Laguna's best, however. Just pray for no surf.

Further south, you'll find Victoria Beach, which is a beautiful stretch of soft sand fronted by sometimes-powerful shorebreak that attracts the best skimboarders. (Laguna's best known skimboard company is named Victoria Skimboards.) Victoria Beach is accessed by stairs at Victoria and sunset and has zero facilities. Enjoy.

Again, a great resource of information on these streets is www.scuba-superstore.com.

Aliso Beach ***
PRO beautiful, white sand
CON go near the water, get body slammed

This large patch of white sand, located in south Laguna, has abundant metered parking and clear waters, but if there is any swell running, it can be a dangerous spot for bathers. Powerful, hollow waves pound the shoreline, making it one of the best spots along the coast for skimboarders. The most respected skimboarding contest, the Victoria Skimboards Pro/Am is held here every summer.

But Aliso is better known now for what it is lacking than for what it has: the 660-foot concrete pier with a diamond-shaped end. The Aliso Pier was built in 1971 and more than once took a beating in El Nino years. First in 1983, then 1986, leading to a $1.2 million reconstruction. But the 1997 event proved the most overwhelming, damaging a fourth of the concrete pilings and forcing the removal of the pier.

Estimates to build a new pier soared past $5 million and county officials took a hard look at whether the pier was worth it. In order to combat the powerful waves that are generated at Aliso due to an unusual bottom contour, massive sequoia tree trunks - in excess of 100 feet - would be required. The wood pilings, as opposed to concrete or steel, bends and holds up better to storm batterings. Another factor was that local residents actually preferred the view without the pier - and in Laguna, view issues rank supreme.

1,000 Steps ****
PRO quiet, beautiful, clear water
CON the name says it all

Though it feels like a thousand steps - or more - after a long day at this white sand beach, the access stairway to 1,000 Steps has 284 steps. But many find the beach worth the climb. The waters are clear, the beach big enough, yet with an ambiance of seclusion, there is a bathroom and shower, and some good snorkeling and diving is right offshore.

Thousand Steps is not easy to find, however. It is just past the hospital in south Laguna, directly across PCH from 9th Street. A small sign announces the access point. Parking is very limited, so go early.

Salt Creek ****
PRO big, nice park, good waves
CON the secret has been out for decades

"Where Mission Viejo goes to the beach," is how one frustrated surfer put it. Salt Creek can get crowded thanks to its ease of access - there is a large metered parking lot - and good waves. But good is synonymous with packed in SoCal and the Creek is usually rail-to-rail at the south end's reef. As for the beach, it is large, with plenty of amenities and the nice, if steeply angled, Bluff Park with picnic tables. The crowd thins out the further north you go; the waves become more powerful, however. On a big day, it can get dangerous for the novice.

Overlooking Salt Creek is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and just on the other side of PCH is the St. Regis Resort and Spa, ensuring that the beach gets its share of out-of-town visitors as well. The St. Regis also maintains a private Beach Club in the northern portion of the beach.

Salt Creek has had growing water quality issues thanks to a watershed that dumps Laguna Niguel's urban runoff onto its sand. It has gotten so bad that a multi-million dollar effort is underway to build a small water-sanitation facility at the beach (see Interview on page 28).

Doheny *
PRO uhhhÉthe water's cleaner now?
CON no waves, lots of people, still unsure about the water

Located just south of Dana Point Harbor, Doheny has become synonymous among surfers for beginner wave. Even on big days, the waves are manageable for almost all. But that hasn't stopped a group of regulars from frequenting the spot - though they themselves admit that many days they do more reminiscing than riding waves.

Aside from being known for its soft surf, Doheny has become equally notorious for its contaminated water, thanks to a watershed that dumps urban runoff at the head of the beach. It pools in what locals have labeled Polio Pond, which floods into the ocean with rain or extreme high tides. Last year, a group called Miocean, along with the city of Dana Point addressed the problem (see Interview on page 28).

Before the Harbor was built in 1966 (it opened in 1971 with space for 2,500 pleasure boats), Doheny used to be only the tail end of a long stretch which ran to the Dana Point Headlands a mile north, frequented by beachgoers and surfers. There were a half dozen surf spots, but the best was at the headland: Killer Dana. It was a hollow right that was revered for pumping out some of SoCal's biggest waves - 12 foot-plus - on big south swells. Surfers started surfing Killer Dana in the 1930s, and in 1953, legend Phil Edwards made his name here. But it was not to last. When construction began on Dana Point Harbor, death came to Killer Dana. Doheny, and Baby Beach, below the headlands near the Ocean Institute, are the only reminders. Today, Dana Point Harbor attracts over 100,000 visitors a year and is undergoing a $75 million renovation.

San Clemente ****
PRO a lot of variety for family or surfer
CON basically, a big sand strip

South of Doheny, you'll find Capistrano Beach, a nice stretch that usually has more action out of the water than in: competitive beach volleyball is big here. Further south, past the thin stretch of sand that fronts the exclusive Beach Road community, lies Poche, a popular surfing spot. Parking is at meters on the street, and beach access is via an underground tunnel.

Poche also has the dubious honor of being the burial ground for the carcass of a 35-foot, 12-ton California gray whale that washed up on the beach in 1991. County workers buried the animal deep in the sand at low tide.

Next is North Beach, which is a great family beach, another nice stretch called Linda Lane and then the San Clemente Municipal Pier. The pier attracts surfers, but they are restricted to a small zone north of the pier and further south, so kids can always find safe water. Further south is San Clemente's T-Street (named because it is off Trafalgar Street), a well known surf break that has produced such stars as Matt Archibald and Gavin and Shane Beschen (Shane was ranked second in the world for a time). There are a few other spots further south, Las Wins and Riviera, which are also localized.

There are bathrooms and concession stands at the pier and T-Street, and parking is the usual SoCal challenge. Bring quarters.

Trestles ****
PRO perfect waves, undeveloped, lots of sand
CON waaay crowded, long hike

If you don't surf, you've probably never been to Trestles: it's a long hike down from the parking lot. If you are a surfer, chances are you rode your best wave here. So named because of the pair of wooden train trestles that border the area, Trestles is known world-wide as a perfect wave. Trestles is located at the northwest end of the 125,000-acre Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base and is actually many peaks, varying in degree of perfection and able to accept almost any swell direction, resulting in one of the most consistent spots along the coast. From the north, the breaks are Cotton's Point (the official southern border of Orange County beaches), Upper Trestles, Lower Trestles (the best), and Church.

The beach at Trestles is accessed either by parking off the Cristianitos Road exit of the 405 (free) and walking a mile down a paved path or by parking at San Onofre State Beach ($6) and walking a mile north on the sand. Once there, you'll find a nice wide beach, with no tourist attractions - or bathrooms. Also, the sand stops at water's edge, cobblestones line the bottom offshore.

Trestles became known in the summer of 1951, when legendary surfers Mickey Dora and Phil Edwards - then just teens - walked north from San Onofre. Soon, it was a favored spot. But getting in was tricky: Trestles was off limits until 1971, with marines patrolling the area. The "game" of getting in built in intensity as the number of surfers increased. Surfboards were confiscated by Marines, surfers plotted covert trails through the marshland reeds. At its worst, shots were fired over the heads of surfing infiltrators and a Coast Guard cutter was positioned offshore. But the want for waves was strong and, as San Diego surfer Chuck Hasley once said, "Trestles was one beachhead the Marines could never hold."

In 1971, with public access awarded, this all stopped, and surfers faced another, more potent enemy: themselves. Trestles became some of the most crowded surf along the coast, and still is; on a good day there are dozens of surfers in the lineup by dawn. Most crowded is the natural point named Lowers, where one peak can see crowds in the triple digits. Indeed, the only days it is uncrowded is for the many surf contests that stage their each year.

San Onofre ****
PRO fun atmosphere, fun waves, fun, fun, fun
CON not officially in The OC. Oh, and the nuclear thing

All of San Onofre State Park's two miles of beachfront is officially in San Diego County. But it's roots are so closely tied to Orange County surfers that we have awarded it an honorary OC induction - in other words, we're claiming it, SD guys.

Surprisingly, San Onofre went unridden until 1933, when Californian Bob Sides noticed the break on a drive south and showed it to fellow Corona del Mar Surfboard Club members. Soon, they were making camping trips to the then-totally-undeveloped spot. When the Big Corona wave was shut down with the extension of Newport Harbor's West Jetty in 1936, San Onofre fast became the SoCal surfer's Mecca.

After World War II, San Onofre was almost lost to the U.S. Marines, who were granted hundreds of square miles of adjacent land. Word got out that they planned to close the waters to surfers, so Orange County surfer Barney Wilkes led a charge in 1952 to found the San Onofre Surfing Club. They erected a palm-frond shack on the beach and by 1965 there were 800 members.

San Onofre - which most believe was named after desert-dwelling hermit Saint Onuphrius - finally opened to the public in 1973, when it became part of California's state park system. The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station had opened in 1968. Still, the vibe on the beach at San Onofre has changed little. "Graybeards" and families are still the largest demographic, ukulele playing is encouraged, as is wave sharing - by most, anyway.

There are two main breaks at San Onofre, Old Man's and the Point, further north. Old Man's, as the name implies, is a long slow roller, which demands a long board and mellow attitude. The Point is slightly faster, but nothing threatening. In fact, the toughest maneuver at San Onofre is getting in. Park rangers limit the number of cars at any given time, due to the shortage of beachfront; unpaved parking, so unless you go on a weekday or very early, expect to wait in a line: one car out, one car in. Parking for the day was $6, unless you have a State Parks Pass.