Linda Mar / Pacifica Guía

Linda Mar is a mile-long stretch of beach between the north point and Pedro Point. Because this place is somewhat protected from swell and wind, it is mostly a beginner to intermediate wave.

Linda Mar has its epic days, but for the most part, the surf ranges from poor to so-so, and the water is crowded with beginners and intermediate surfers. "It's the poor person's Cowell's," as one local surfer described it.

Linda Mar has a reputation for being gray and gloomy, but even in the thick of the region's summer fog season, there's often an inexplicable donut of sunshine beating down on the place. Linda Mar is at the end of a big valley that funnels south and southwest winds into offshores, and the surf can be cranking there during the winter, when the rest of the coast is blown out. The same condition can exist in the summer, when that valley will turn the onshore fog winds into offshores. Linda Mar can be sunny and nice when Ocean Beach is like Moscow in winter.

From north to south, the first spot at Linda Mar is called Round House. Next is Wander Inn, named for a bar that thrived in the '60s. South of Wander Inn, there is a parking lot and showers. This area is called State Park or the Pump House. South of that is The Creek, where a small, possibly toxic creek comes out to sea. At the south end of Linda Mar, The Boat Docks are lefts that break along the point in front of Dick Keating's timeless house.