Hermosa Beach is arguably the most popular beach town in the South Bay region of Los Angeles. Located in-between Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach is home to about 2 miles of sandy shoreline. The downtown area where the pier is located is the most popular area in Hermosa and home to a large handful of bars and restaurants. Although this is not necessarily a surfing hotspot, Hermosa surf culture is very much alive and well here!
Ideal Conditions
When looking to surf Hermosa Beach, you will ideally want to paddle out at low tide. High tide in this region can cause some pretty gnarly shorebreak conditions. Unfortunately due to where Catalina island is located, Hermosa Beach does not have good access to most southern swell. Both short and long period swell from the W and NW regions tend to do the best here. On most evenings the onshore winds will blow causing conditions to become “blown-out”. However, on some lucky occasions you can find that perfect glassy evening! It’s safe to say that 70-ish percent of the waves here are closeouts. But don’t let that get you down when things line up just right, you can find some really nice little nuggets here, and when you do you will have them all to yourself.
Were Should I Paddle Out?
Hermosa Beach is pretty much split down the middle between the north side and south side. The south side is where the pier and downtown area is located, and the north side is mainly made up of residential areas. If you like to surf around piers south side is probably for you, but beware parking here can be challenging. If you don’t care to surf the pier and are just looking for a fun sandbar to play around on, the north end is probably more your speed. I personally prefer to surf around 26th street, I used to actually live in the neighborhood over there and parking is a lot easier to find.
The Experience
Unless the swells and tides happen to be aligned just perfectly, don’t expect to be amazed by the waves here. On occasion you can get lucky and score some really amazing waves, but it just doesn’t fire the way you want it to very often. However, the good thing about that is that it makes Hermosa a great place to check out if you are a beginner surfer. The crowd is almost never a factor in Hermosa Beach which makes this a great place to learn how to catch your first waves. Most waves caught will be closeouts, but this doesn’t really matter that much if you are just learning how to takeoff on a wave since most beginners ride straight into the beach. If you are lucky enough to catch a really good wave here, you will probably have it all to yourself!
After Your Surf
Good news is if you are looking for something to do after your Hermosa surf session, there are plenty of options. If you are looking for breakfast, I cannot recommend Martha’s Corner enough! Looking to catch a sports game with some friends? North End Bar and Grill is one of the coolest dive bars in the area, I used to hit this place up more than once a week when I lived in Hermosa. All of the bars and restaurants in the downtown area are a lot of fun and worth checking out! I will leave a short list of my favorites below.
- The Lighthouse Cafe – Bar and Live Music Venue
- Barnacles – Dive Bar
- Palmilla – Mexican Restaurant
- Tower 12 – Bar/Restaurant
- Vista – Bar/Restaurant
- American Junkie – Bar/Restaurant
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