Surf: General: With only about 50 miles of swell exposure and shallow sand flats hampering swell production — Alabama beachbreaks are abominably fickle and require a significant amount of local S-SE windswell or, more ideally, a strong tropical system to produce rideable waves. With its breakwater/seawall setup and assortment of jetties/groins, Alabama Point at Orange Beach often makes the most sense of any available energy from the Gulf, capable of holding up to six-foot faces during bigger SE swells, making it one of the best options on the Alabama mainland. Tides: If you catch a swell in Alabama, surf it into the ground. Tide be damned. Size: Knee-high to overhead. Wind: N Swell: SE Bottom: Sand. Paddling: It’s shallow, there’s structures — piece of cake. Spot Rating: Manmade structures make this one of Alabama’s most dependable surf zones. But it’s still Alabama. Access: Free parking. Crowds: Crowd Factor: A big, moody swell might summon the odd ripper from the Panhandle, but there’s always more than enough to go around. Local Vibe: Alabamians are perhaps the friendliest surfers in the country. Both of them. Environment: Silt from the Mississippi and a history of oil spills is the reality in the Gulf of Mexico. Historically failed to meet water quality standards, less than 60% of the time. Hazards: Sharks, jellyfish, pollution. Season: September-March