Surf: Crowded, consistent, good beachbreak barrels when it’s firing. Always bigger than the spots to the north and south. Several peaks up and down the beach. Can be good at all tides; handles up to a few feet overhead. Blows out easily. Environment: Easy parking, but bring your quarters for the meters. Poor water quality. Surf: General: Despite its many personalities, El Porto is not particularly known for outstanding wave quality. It is, however, a NW swell magnet and it's almost always bigger than any other spot in the South Bay during the winter months. The trick is to find the zone with the "holes," as the locals call them, referring to breaks in the relentless closeouts up and down the beach. With spring sandbars and/or a crossed-up swell, El Porto can get really good, and really crowded. In years past, the area has taken hits from beach nourishment programs, wherein tons of sand were trucked in, turning the place into walled-out closeouts. Nonetheless, El Porto does, at times, get machine-like. Tides: medium Size: chest-high to double overhead Wind: E, SE Swell: SW, WSW, W, WNW combo swells Bottom: Sand Paddling: Not bad when it is small, plenty of work to be had when it is pumping. Spot Rating: Typically a hopeless closeout but can be really good when the rest of SoCal struggles. Access: Parking lot at bottom of 45th Street. Crowds: Crowd Factor: Heavy when it's firing, desolate when it's not. Local Vibe: Minimal. Environment: It's the middle of LA. Hazards: It's LA... Season: October-April