Located off Highway 1 a few miles past Devils Slide when you get out of Pacifica. Parking is on the side of the road in the dirt lots on the cliffs. It can be difficult to find a spot when it's good.
Park on the cliff lot and walk down the side. If parking is tough, there's a Chart House at the end of the beach with parking in a dirt lot on the south side. This place is known as the mini-mavericks when it gets big. It's only a few miles from the real thing and can be heavy. If you're out of shape and try to surf this place over 8ft, you'll probably drown. Also, there's been plenty of white shark sitings at this break. The place is sharky. The local vibe is mellow, but heavy if you drop in on people. Overall, if you're out when it's firing people treat you like a commrade. Good Luck. You'll need it!!!
Oh Montara
I have a love hate relationship with Montara. I really enjoy it on 4' to 6' days. Any bigger the paddle sucks but is makeable. Can be very clean fun and barreling but very rare. The local vibe is not bad the way I put it is im glad to see others out so that the whiteshark hanging right off shore gets them first and not me. I prefer the north side never seen a shark but I can tell you that they are for sure lurking around out there.
comment by 8IGHTY7, 2007-05-12 01:40:29
definitly worth it if your not an idiot
Honestly, this place is one of the best. but the catch, is that you gotta know what your doing. just getting in and out has a trick to it. and i have seen people get sucked by the undertows within 5 seconds of entering... no joke. but if you have respect, and dont mind the rick of dying or taking a hard ass beating for some good waves, then montara is good. I am a bodyboarder and montara has some of the best surf, and all the surfers there are pretty chill. but you get the occasional idiots on either bodyboards or surfboards that dont know what a rip is, or how to use it, or how to dive which gets hella annoying. but nevertheless, i guess all i am saying is this place is nice. never seen a shark yet out of the 5 years i have been boarding there, and im ok with that. it has been known to kill people, do your research, and when you hit under from my main experiences, the sand on the ground is softer than snow.
comment by Greybeard., 2007-05-04 00:20:45
It gets BIG
I got stuffed in a crack there back in the 80s on a huge swell. I almost didn't make it out. It's really an scary place when it fires. Dark and powerful. Those rocks have deep crevices under there, and you can get stuck. Make sure you have a quick release on your leash.
comment by RedTriangleSurf , 2008-07-29 22:45:56