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The sun beats down on the hard bodies and Coppertone covered faces of surfers and swimmers who lay resting on the sand of the beach. Waves rise, crest, and roll forward in an explosion of power and whitewash. The warm water caresses those who frolic in it. Sounds like paradise doesn't it?
On hundreds of beaches across the coast of Southern California, this paradise is available to mere mortals. However, its even more enjoyable when the beach you go to isn't stuffed with five people per square yard and you can't even find room to throw down a blanket and absorb some friendly rays. You got to know where to look if you want to find fun and tranquility.

Down south, north of San Diego near Encinitas, is a famous surf beach called Swamii's. With high cliffs and limited beach area, this locale is preferred by surfers and often has less people crowding the sand than at other near-by beaches like Moonlight or Solana.
The steep cliffs and staircase make it slightly more of a hassle to bring your board down to the water's edge, especially if you are a long boarder like me. However, the often-excellent quality waves, and limited number of beach-goers makes it more than worthwhile.
Up north a few miles you will find the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. Near it is the San Onofre state campsite, which is settled on the Bluffs. Now, the biggest problem with this beach is the insane difficulty of getting down the face of the bluffs to the ocean.
There are a limited number of trails, and most of them are incredibly long, paved with loose soil, and painfully steep. If you do manage to get your board down them, however, you will be rewarded with a sparsely populated beach and decent waves. The water is also very warm because of the excess steam shot out of the power plants. Unfortunately, this warm water has also been known to attract sharks, so keep an eye out to make sure you keep you arms on. Also, enjoy going back up those evil trails.
North of Los Angeles is another little gem known as Country Line. You won't get the nice, quiet beach feel here, but the real attraction to County Line is, in fact, across the street from the beach. It is the surfer and biker icon restaurant known as Neptune's Net. With nothing but greasy food, lots of beer, and incredibly fresh seafood, it is a place that all surfers must make pilgrimage to.
A couple miles away from Country Line is a beach called Leo Carrillo. Again, Leo Carrillo can be very crowded because is it attached, by a tunnel-like structure, to a state park of the same name. All the campers come to the beach to tan and make sand castles and body surf.
The surf at Leo Carrillo, however, is very enjoyable. Rarely large, the waves are very good for long boards and nice, relaxing rides that are unfortunately short. The giant tower of rock that juts up from the middle of the ocean creates an obstacle that can prove intimidating for the inexperienced rider, but is easy to avoid if you keep to one side or the other.
The farthest North I usually go, due to time limitations, is Rincon in Ventura County. Rincon is the epitome of the classic surf beach. The waves are amazing, often they are better in winter though, but the real attraction of the beach is the attitude.
Since its popularity in the 50s and 60s, there has always been some form of the Rincon shack. I have spent many relaxing hours in it myself. It is a wood and palm frawn structure that has seen more parties than I can even imagine, and is a chill-out Mecca for surfers, across the globe, who subscribe to the mind over matter philosophy; "I don't mind, and it doesn't matter."

Learn more about this author, Zach Seemayer.
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