Surfer Magazine's Guide to Southern California Surf Spots (Paperback)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Surfer Magazine offers the ultimate guide to catching the best waves from the pristine points of Santa Barbara to the sunny beaches of San Diego. For more than 250 spots, this sturdy manual sporting a water-resistant cover delivers a clear assessment of wave quality, prime wave conditions, and local hazards (both natural and manmade). Informative text answers the burning questions that surfers often pose: What tide? What wind? What swell? How are the locals? Are they worse than the sharks -- or the traffic? With helpful maps, photos, and directions, this Surfer's Guides is sure to become the gold standard for anyone looking to score the perfect wave.

About the Author
Surfer Magazine is the world's largest and most influential surf magazine. Launched in 1960 by filmmaker and artist John Severson, Surfer is widely regarded as "the bible of the Sport."

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (May 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811850005
• ISBN-13: 978-0811850001
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,151 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the paper it's printed on, October 31, 2006

By	Anomaly (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews

This is a relatively comprehensive guide to Southern California surf spots. The book includes maps and descriptions of the ideal swell direction for each of the breaks it lists. Unlike other guides, however, it often omits crucial information about how tide levels affect many of the breaks it lists.

Although some will be upset by the editors' inclusion of "secret" spots like Hazard Canyon and the Indicator at Lunada Bay, the rest of us are smart enough to realize that these spots haven't been secret since about the time surfboards were carved out of balsa wood.

One of the best features of this book (and its companion guide to NorCal) is the waterproof paper it's printed on. All in all, this is a fine edition, and a slight but significant improvement over its predecessors.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The photos are pretty, September 11, 2007

By	Nancy In Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

If you saw a book on hiking trails or campsites that included the following directions, "Public access exists, but out of respect to the locals, you'll have to do some exploring your own damn self," would you purchase it? Probably not. But in the secretive and hostile world of surfing we don't have much choice. You'll have to put up with sardonic commentary, and contend with poor directions, but this is still the only up-to-date guide to surf spot still in print.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Explaining to the world how to get to everybody's local spots can't be good for surfer cred., September 13, 2008

By	BH (California) - See all my reviews

This is not a technical, step-by-step shop manual for California surfing: it is more of a field guide for your own surf exploration. If you want lil' matrices diagramming where and when to surf at any given moment, save up and get yourself a membership to a certain surf website.

All in all, the book is definitely useful when getting outside of your normal haunts. It demystifies the places you have heard about but never surfed, and provides enough practical information to get you there.

There is definitely a casual, caustic tone to the thing, which could possibly grate on some people. At the end of each section there are a few words about neat stuff and local histories or curiosities. At the very least, it's an interesting read for those who surf the California coast or dream of doing so.

Get the nor-cal guide too, even if you don't like Surfer Mag.