Surf: General: Flanked by an army training camp to the south, Virginia Beach’s Camp Pendleton offers a bit of a respite from the madness popping off on either side of Rudee Inlet — 1st Street Jetty and Croatan — but it gets crowded, too. A jetty-juiced beachbreak that’s capable of handling the bigger E, SE and S swells that come with hurricane season, Pendleton’s outside sandbars will sometimes even offer barrels — if the tide’s low, the wind’s offshore and the swell direction and period are just right. Pendleton has also been known to deliver some surprises during nameless NE windswells, but it’s generally not as dependable as its neighbors to the north and south, Croatan and Sandbridge. Plus, there’s that munitions thing. Tides: Low to mid tide Size: Chest high-overhead Wind: Southwest to West Swell: SE, NE Bottom: Sand Paddling: Normally not bad but hurricane swells and bigger southeast swells can make it a bit of work. Spot Rating: Restricted access but fairly similar to what you find in Croatan. Access: Restricted. Crowds: Crowd Factor: Uncrowded on the base but packed near the border with Croatan. Local Vibe: Minimal. Environment: Not bad. Hazards: Avoid getting mowed down by amphibious vehicles from the Marines. Season: Storm dependent: tropical cyclones in the late summer and fall with frontal activity and nor'easters in the late fall and winter.