Surf: Decent sandbar peaks up and down the beach, as far as you want to go. Can get hollow. High tides best with smaller, peaky swells from any direction. Tucked ever so slightly into the shelter of Pt San Luis, a NE wind is offshore. Consistent and surfed regularly, particularly close to the pier where there’s a little more shape. Environment: With its quarter-mile-long illuminated pier and array of shops and restaurants, Pismo is a very popular tourist town during the summer, so expect crowds. Surf: General: One of the more consistent and shapely of all Central Coast beachbreaks, the Pismo Beach Pier is the hub of South County surfing. At 1,250 feet long, the pier itself is lit at night, meaning full-moon sessions are a possibility. Cradled in the lee of Point San Luis and San Luis Obispo Bay, the Pier is in a slight northwest swell shadow, so it's usually smaller and less windy than the more exposed sandbars down around Oceano, but bigger than the Avila Beach area to the north.

Pismo's south side is usually better than the north. Surfers are liberated to snuff out several miles' worth of white-sand beachbreak guaranteed to be devoid of others, but the pier vicinity is the hotbed. Juicy rights sometimes form off the south side, but it can be more walled. Bigger, solid groundswells are especially shapeless, so it's best to show up during a peaky windswell or a small groundswell in times of light wind and high tide. Since the beach faces southwest, playful summertime swells are desired. The beach slopes gently out from the water's edge, which also means the waves are much softer than, say, Jalama Beach or Morro Rock. Tides: Low to medium Size: Waist high-overhead Wind: E, NE or glassy Swell: Combo swell, Shorter-period W or NW swell or long-period SW swell Bottom: Sand Paddling: Not too bad. Spot Rating: Kinda fun. Access: Coming from the south, exit 101 at Price Street, go under the highway and hang a left onto Price Canyon Road, which becomes Hinds Avenue. Take the road to its end and find the paved pier parking lot, where you'll see the wide stairway leading down to the sand. Crowds: Crowd Factor: The pier’s south side does get congested with all sorts of boards and ability levels, but it’s never a problem finding a solo peak down the beach. Local Vibe: Friendly and casual. Environment: Clean. Hazards: Depression at the sheer number of closeouts. Season: April-October