Campus Point surf guide
Surf: Inconsistent right point next to UCSB requiring big W swell. Excellent quality when it breaks correctly. Handles as big a swell as the ocean can provide, the bigger the better. Fast, hollow sections and long rides when it’s on; mushy, slow, and weak when it’s not. The inner peak is called Poles and is popular with grommets and longboarders. Lower tides are generally best. Always crowded with students.
Environment: Access is by parking in the coin-metered lot adjacent to the point (make sure you have coins if you go).
Surf: General: The surf usually isn't the best here, but it does have its epic days and is considerably more consistent than the county's more southerly or easterly beachbreaks. Campus Point requires a pretty big swell to reach its potential, and those kinds of swells usually coincide with foul S winds and overall crummy conditions. Nevertheless, Campus Point is a long wave with several sections, including a zippy inside wall during low tide.
Tides: Low to medium
Size: chest-high to double overhead
Wind: N, NE
Swell: WSW, W, WNW... preferably a swell period less than 15 seconds
Bottom: Rock
Paddling: Mellow most days, a little extra work if it is solid.
Spot Rating: Soft, lined up pointbreak most days.
Access: All directions are oriented for northbound travelers. Exit 101 onto 217 and drive to the UCSB entrance gate. Hang a quick left and you'll eventually find the parking lot, which is across the street from the college dorms. There is a nominal fee to park here, and you can either pay at the entrance gate kiosk, or risk another parking ticket.
Crowds: Crowd Factor: The hordes flock to the surf spots of Isla Vista.
Local Vibe: Just a bunch of people (mostly students) enjoying the water and waves, little more.
Environment: Pretty clean unless it just rained.
Hazards: The UCSB crowd, getting run over.
Season: October-February