You’re never gonna believe this - it’s all Ronald Reagan’s fault. As then local governor, in 1971 he set aside the pristine natural surf region as State Park. A moment of sanity from a man not normally known for it. That’s right, Ronnie Ray-Gun, who later brought the world closer to Nuclear Armageddon than anyone else, said, upon cutting the ribbon, “Unless we protect the unspoiled areas which God has given us, we will have nothing to leave our children.”

The jewel in the San Onofre State Park is Trestles, a small spine of cobblestone jutting into the Pacific. When powerful Autumn swells break across its bow they form both a left and right zippering pointbreak. Dead-glass mornings in September further enhance Trestles as the most rippable/attackable wave on the planet. Based around the San Mateo creek system, with deeper water offshore, it is considered one of the most consistent waves in Southern California.

Was formerly military land, with surfers sneaking in post-WWII, hiding in the salt-brush and making a run for the shorebreak between armed jeepney patrols, dodging buckshot while carrying massive lumps of redwood. Surfers such as Whitey Harrison and Bob Simmons (the first man to invent surfboard rocker), and a very young Steve Pezman, now the sage-like publisher of The Surfer’s Journal, soon whiled away the days surfing Uppers, Lowers, Middles, Churches, and Old Man’s.

Trestles’ ramps have always been populated by a slew of futurists including the Fletcher family, Chris Ward, Dino Andino, Matt Archbold

Kelly Slater’s breakthrough performance in the Bud Tour final in 1991 was a famous benchmark; the stars on his boardshorts heading off into space as he hacked, slid and flew into history with one of the most revolutionary tournament moments in pro surfing history. Apart from previous winners (Kelly, Andy, Parko) it’s hard to pick surfers who are built to surf the wave, apart from local freak Chris Ward. It’s just so damn whackable that anyone on the 44 going through a patch of white-hot form could win this thing.

The eponymous Bob Hurley throws the feed to the hungry chickens at this event, as well as sponsoring the Hurley US Open of Surfing and the recent
WPS All Stars. A company intent on staking a claim in the future direction of surfing.
Former sponsors who've got behind surf battles at this pristine location include Boost Mobile, Billabong, and US kegger stalwarts, Budweiser.

Scenic bushwalks, roll a keg in and have a BBQ, while the more intrepid could wave anti-war placards in front of nearby Camp Pendleton. Budding paleontoligists can get their hammers dirty in a handful of archeological sites within the Park, one of which includes remnants of a native Juaneno Indian town.

This tiny tract is the last bastion of natural wilderness on the So-Cal coast. A 10 km stretch of point and beachbreaks in a reserve peppered with deers and wild cats. It’s a 10 minute jog to the point (if it’s pumping, you won’t be walking) yet despite this, is still crowded beyond belief. More dubious landmarks include a whopping great nuclear power plant nearby, and a railway track roaring through the middle of it all. Yet they’re probably safer places to be than the tiny nudist beach which abuts Camp Pendleton, where strange guys make their own crab-holes in the sand.