Go to Hope Ranch, which is in Santa Barbara. Drive south on Las Palmas until you come to Las Olas Dr. You will come to a gate. And you need a card to get in because it is private.
The left(south) side of the beach has more lefts. The right (north) side has better rights. The middle section is left and right. However, during the summer the middle is divided with bouyes and its for spongers only. Park in the lot. It's just a 30 second walk down to the beach.
Overview
Atmosphere
During the big NW winter swells it gets big but it just closed out. In the summer when the sand shifts, it becomes a fun, short little wave. It works best on a S or SW swell. The biggest I've ever seen it was in the winter when it was about 15ft. There is a group of intense locals that hang out at the beach. They are called the Hope Ranch Locals. "HRL" They are pretty good surfers too, they can really rip. There are also a lot of beginners that surf there too. People of all ages. I know tons of people that wish they had access to this beach because it is so nice. It is a great beach and a fun atmosphere.
General
It is just an Okay surf spot, but the beach is epic. And its in one of the nicest areas in Santa Barbara.
response 4
dude i have been living in so cal for a while but only in sb for about....5 or 6 years. before we lived in carp. I am 16, just a grom. We used to live in the bay area but I like it down here way better. We have been having some decent swell lately. But if wander up to north into the nude beach, some of those seals get territorail. oje time we surfed a mediocre peak on a mediocre day there and thissela was just wathcing us and inching closer. It was crazy, so we surfed a diff peak. but yeha, good times at hope ranch, cause alot of people underestimate the amount of waves there. it definately can get good.
comment by sharkgifts@hotmail.com, 2004-12-21 21:33:00
Response three
Yeah I know that dock/platform well. I actually swam it out there a few times with the life guards at the beginning of some summers because they needed some people to help take it out and ancour it. Every now and then a seal would pop up on it and the lifegaurds jokingly would give up a broom and tell us to swim out there and push it off the dock. Every now and then we would dare each other to jump off it and swim down to the bottom and bring up some sand. It was only about 15 feet or so deep but I remember freaking out sometimes while down there because when you open your eyes its just wide open ocean/darkness. I had super good times as a kid there. Thats to bad its lost.
comment by sharkgifts@hotmail.com, 2004-12-21 21:24:34
Response 3
No, I've never walked north of the nude beach. As a kid/teen I just stayed mostly down at hope ranch chasing the peaks. Thats crazy though about those leopard sharks. I have seen a couple surfing hope ranch but I was never worried about them. Must have been quite a sight. Hold long have you been in S.B.? How old? Although i've been gone for 8 years we probably know similar people.
comment by sb loke, 2005-01-01 19:52:05