Surf Forecast  Cottons Point

Cottons Point surfspot characteristics

More about Cottons Point surfspot

Excellent lefthand walls off the backside of San Mateo Point can get sizeable during solid S and SW swells. A great cobblestone summer wave. Can be fast and somewhat hollow; crowded when it’s on. Needs a larger swell to work, and the wave ends in gnarly shorepound. Medium tide preferred. An easy paddling channel follows the northern breakline.

General: Cottons Point, the lefthander at the north end of the Trestles beaches, is a long, often-fat left that breaks further off the beach than any of the other nearby spots. Depending on sand buildup and the tide, the wave typically offers a rather flat face that's perfect for cutbacks. However, if there's a large, long-period, southerly swell and a minus low tide, Cottons turns into a quality high-performance wave, complete with a crackable lip-line and multiple barrel sections before unloading into the menacing shorebreak. Cottons is a pretty cool novelty wave, as well as a welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of Uppers and Lowers. Tides: low Size: shoulder high to double overhead Wind: E, ESE Swell: S, SW Bottom: Sand and cobblestone Paddling: Pretty mellow but the paddle back up the point gets long on a solid S swell. Spot Rating: Wobbly, sectiony, cutback city most swells, but with a solid S swell and negative low tide it can get pretty good.

Average

Access is by walking north from Trestles or south from San Clemente State Park.

San Onofre State Park; or walk, run, crawl, roll, bike, e-bike, skate, back flip down the trail after parking off the Cristianitos exit.

Best March-October, but it works year-round .

Crowd Factor: Generally packed, especially on weekends. Local Vibe: Hungry with insatiable longboarders, but overall, mostly cordial.

Located in front of President Nixon’s old estate. Access is by walking north from Trestles or south from San Clemente State Park.

Typically ok but gets dicey after a rain.

Car rip-offs, beach backpack rip-offs, getting caught by a speeding train on the trestle, rattlesnakes in the lineup after a rain.