What spots are the best spots to surf In the Bay Area?


Surfing in San Francisco can be challenging. It's cold, rocky and the conditions are often unforgiving. That doesn't mean there isn't great surf in the area. Here are a few fun spots.  
Starting in Marin County, you can’t ignore a small town called Bolinas. Bolinas has prided itself on its efforts to stay off the grid. Unfortunately, COVID has brought a lot more people out of the city and bolinas isn’t the secret spot it used to be.  Bolinas is a coastal town in West Marin that has managed to protect itself from big city life. The locals there love keeping Bolinas off the grid. Traveling to Bolinas feels like you’ve went back in time 50 years. In a good way. Bolinas offers a few spots to surf but is generally a longboard wave and is best on incoming mid to high tide. Be respectful of the locals there and the life they’ve carved out for themselves. 

After Bolinas you can head south and just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ft Cronkite is a nestled in the Marin Headlands. The beach there is called Rodeo Beach. There is a small parking lot at the beach which hosts many hikers and cyclists as well. The beach is a little cove that is generally protected from the wind. So, when other surf spots in the area may be messy and wind blown, Ft Cron could be clean and protected. This wave is finicky though. It is a bit hit or miss and is a tough wave to surf. I would categorize it for the intermediate to advanced surfer and you need to catch it at mid to high tide.

The next spot to go is Ft. Point. Head south over the Golden Gate Bridge. Surfing Ft. Point is really a novalty. It is a left that is tucked under the Golden Gate Bridge. It rarely breaks big enough to surf, but when it does, it is worth paddling out just to say you surfed under the Golden Gate. If you're lucky enough to enjoy this wave when it's breaking be sure to get some photos to prove it. 

Just south a few minutes from Ft. Point is Ocean Beach. Ocean Beach is a large beach break where the city of San Francisco hits the Pacific Ocean. This wave is documented as one of the roughest beach breaks to surf. The paddle out is long. Ocean Beach is not for the faint of heart. The current is strong. When Ocean Beach is going well (generally in the winter), it gets really good. Double overhead barrels good. 

If Ocean Beach is a bit too heavy for you, it's easy to head south a tad to Pacifica State Beach at Linda Mar. Linda Mar is a little beach break that is learner and local friendly. The crowds can get big here because there are so many beginner surfers at this spot. 

There are plenty more spots to surf in the Bay Area. These are just a few of the best spots to go. Enjoy the Bay Area surfing.