Overview
PV Cove is a fun, user-friendly reef break on the Palos Verdes coast, with the surfing centered on a section known as Middles. It serves up playful lefts and rights that suit longboards and funboards most of the time, while the inside Boneyard offers a shallow lefthander that can turn hollow and pack a punch when everything lines up. The cove sits inside a protected marine preserve, and the offshore kelp beds help keep conditions clean and glassy.
When It Works
The break draws swell from west-southwest to west (WSW-W) and is usable from 1.2 m / 4 ft to 2.4 m / 8 ft. On smaller days it stays cruisey and forgiving, but as a solid swell fills in the waves get more challenging, and the paddle out, already a fair way offshore, takes more work. Summer and autumn are the prime seasons, when solid groundswells make the most of the reef.
Wind and Tide
Look for southeast (SE) offshore wind, with a workable window running from east to south (E-S). A little water over the rock reef makes a big difference, so the wave favors mid to high tide, and a rising tide is generally the better call. That mid-tide push especially helps when the swell is small, since the wave can drain out and get too shallow at low.
Local Tips
Everything from shortboards and fish to funboards and longboards works here depending on the day, and it rewards intermediate through expert surfers. Expect a busy but friendly lineup when it turns on.
Access
Getting in is via a dirt footpath at Flat Rock Point.
