Trestles (Uppers)
San Clemente (San Onofre State Beach) · near San Clemente · San Diego
Surfing
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Best season
- Year-round · South swells (summer) and NW (winter) both work — the most dependable wave in California
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Surfing detail
- Nickname
- The Olympic Wave
- Break types
- point · reef
- Swell
- S and NW · 2–10ft · Cobblestone bottom forges consistent, high-performance waves
- Tide
- Works across tides · Mid tide most consistent
- Wind
- Morning offshore ideal · The wave holds shape better than most in wind
- Crowd
- Fierce competition when it's firing — scores of experts and pros. A long hike in from the parking lot. Impeccable surf etiquette required.
- Board
- High-performance shortboard · The wave rewards technical surfing
- Wetsuit
- 3/2mm most of the year · 4/3mm mid-winter · Water 60–68°F
- Intl tip
- The hike to Trestles from the San Onofre parking area takes 15–20 minutes each way — bring only what you can carry. The neighboring Old Man's / San Onofre (in this guide) is the mellow beginner alternative in the same state park when Trestles is too competitive.
The guide
Trestles is the most dependable wave in California and one of the most coveted in the world — a cobblestone-bottomed point brea…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Trestles (Uppers) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.3855, -117.589