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Spot: Trestles, CA
33°22′53″N, 117°35′17″W
Places to stay
There is no camping on the beach at San Onofre State Beach which is day use only, but there is camping south of there, along the San Onofre Bluffs along a chain of surf spots called Trails.
There is also camping at the San Mateo campground, which is inland from San Onofre and pretty much in the path of the damned toll road.
San Clemente State Beach will put you halfway between T Street and Cottons and in the middle of the hottest couple hundred yards. There is surf right along the beach in front of the camp, or you can walk along the tracks to Trestles and risk your neck.
There are lots of hotels in San Clemente and a few of them will allow surfers to stay.
We don’t know which of these are closest to either of the two Pedro’s Tacos locations, but it’s worth looking into.
Doubletree-Doheny
Best Western Casablanca Inn
Capistrano Seaside Inn
San Clemente Beach Travelodge
Hampton Inn & Suites San Clemente, CA
Best Western Dana Point Inn by the Sea –
Sea Horse Resort-San Clemente
Comfort Suites
San Clemente Inn
Capistrano Beach Resort
The Beachcomber Motel is on the beach south of the pier, and very surfer-convenient.
Food
Two words: Pedro’s Tacos.
Say. No. More. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The people around you will regret it, but you won’t.
Parking
Parking is free up at the Jack in the Box parking lot. Parking costs $10 a day at San Onofre State Park but on a busy day it can take hours to get in there.
Access and Directions
There are three ways into the Trestle. Actually four, if you are in the military. Or five, if it’s during a contest.
Anyway, the first way is to park at San Onofre State Park and walk up. Stay below the high tide line along Camp Pendleton or you might be target practice for the Marines.
The second way is to park at the Jack in the Box parking lot and walk down. Which way is shorter? The eternal debate can be solved once and all using Google Earth. From the Jack in the Box parking lot to the beach at Upper is .71 mile, and then it’s another half a mile from the end of the trail down to Lowers – usually along the railroad tracks, which can be a very bad idea
Walking from the north end of the San Onofre parking lot to church is about half a mile, and then it’s another .7 of a mile to Lowers so we have a winner: The walk from the parking lot is shorter.
Those are two of the ways. The third way is to use the Mom Express: have a friend or a parent drop you off at the top of the trail along Christianitos and take the path down, along the railroad tracks and down to the beach. That walk is only a third of a mile, but watch out for rattlers..
The fourth way is to have a military ID which lets you drive onto the base and park in Camp Pendleton and make a shorter walk of about a half mile to Lowers.
The fifth way is to wait for the ASP event every September, where they open the gates and let people park in the big lot that used to be Highway One.
Actually there is a sixth way, the Mickey Munoz way, which entails sailing your catamaran down from Dana Point Harbor and anchoring between Lowers and Church.
Also there is a seventh way, which is to get a job as a State lifeguard or Ranger, and drive down.
You could also jump from a train or parachute, but whatever.
There it is, take it.
Surf Shops
The Rip Curl Surf Center is close to the parking area for Trestles and has everything you could possibly need for surfing – unless its an O’Neill Wetsuit.
Killer Dana Surf Shop is in Dana Point.
These are all the shops listed on eSanClemente.com
B.C. Surfing Design, 222 N. El Camino Real, 949-498-9085
Brad's Foam Shop, 209 Calle de los Molinos, 949-361-2203
Byrning Spears Surfboards, 1321 Calle Valle Suite A, 949-369-5739
Dev Surfboards, 207 Calle de los Molinos, 949-366-0703
Dewey Weber Surfboards, 1321 Calle Valle, 949-366-6398
Hobie, 151 Avenida Del Mar, 949-542-3400
Kaysen Surf Designs, 216 Calle de los Molinos, 949-492-4132
K O Surfboards Fiberglassing, 207 Calle de los Molinos, 949-492-4993
Killer Dana, 128 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente - 949-492-2305
Lost Surfboards, 147 Los Obreros Lane, 949-492-2566
Mc Elroy Surfboards, 136 1/2 Calle de los Molinos, 949-492-2253
Midget Smith, 209 Calle de los Molinos, 949-361-9283
Paskowitz Family Surf Camp, 164 W. Avenida Ramona, 949-361-9283
Rick James Surfboards, 1755 N. El Camino Real, 949-492-2566
Rip Curl Surf Center, 3801 S. El Camino Real, 949-498-4920
Rocky Surf and Sport, 100 S. El Camino Real, 949-361-2946
San Clemente Surf CO, 1755 N. El Camino Real, 949-4925721
San Clemente Surfboards, 2209 1/2 S. El Camino Real, 949-3615885
Terry Senate Surfboards.
Stewart Surfboard Manufacturer, 2102 S. El Camino Real, 949-492-1085
Surf More Products Manufacturing, 250 Calle Pintoresco, 949-492-0753
Surfboards by Travis, 1522 Calle Valle, 949-366-9262
T. Patterson Surfboards, 1425 Los Obreros Lane, 949-366-2022
Truth Industries, 1327 Calle Avanzado, 949-369-9474
Worldcore, 151 Avenida del Mar, 949-492-6355
Attractions
Want to be truly fascinated? Go take a tour of Surfer Magazine during working hours. It’s fascinating. Call 949-YAH-RIGHT.
Just kidding, but what is pretty fascinating is the Surfing Heritage Foundation, In the spring of 2005, the Surfing Heritage Foundation was established in the backhills of San Clemente, near The Surfer’s Journal. Founded by surfboard collectors Spencer Croul and Dick Metz, the Surfing Heritage Foundation is an ambitious, well-financed attempt to store all of surf culture under one roof. They were off to a good start in 2005, with an impressive collection of more than 300 surfboards ranging from Duke to Andy Irons. One of their first projects was to digitize all of Leroy Grannis’ photo files, with a lot of big plans down the road, including moving the entire collection to an even grander location. Private tours can be arranged but be warned: they will hit you up for donations, or your entire collection of Breakout Magazine.
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