Famous Sunset Boulevard continues west from Hollywood all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Take a left on Pacific Coast Highway (famous as “PCH”) and you can park on the side of the road to view the surf or go into the surf and surf.

There are big rocks that descend to the the beach. The really big ones can be sat upon. As you get closer to the beach, the rocks get smaller, but remain sturdy and regular–offering steady and fast access to the water (no wobbly wobbly skip and stop). At lower tide, there’s always more exposed rocks. But low tide is good. It means the waves won’t smash you into the rocks unless you’re really trying. Even at lower tides, the waves break pretty darn close to shore, making it a shore break. Only because the waves break as “rights” parallel to the shore line is the spot surfable.

I’m goofy footed, which means I put my right foot first. I’m a “righty”and I think goofy is consistent with being righty. Dominant hand or feet should go in front. For the same reason, I shoot pool as a lefty, because it’s natural to put right hand towards the cue tip.  Anyway, since I’m really a righty, as a goofy foot, I prefer rights, even though it means I’m going “backside” – as I ride the wave my back faces the wave. Usually people prefer going frontside. 

You can surf Sunset at night time. There’s no law against it; only a no-parking after 10pm rule. There are nights when the moon and the lights from the PCH provide enough visibility to chase waves. I recommend doing so when the waves make it worth your while. Check surfline.com for forecasts. Because the waves tend to be mushy, you want to see word of a swell and sizes of at least 4 feet.

I spoke to a guy there, and he mentioned the possibility of a 400 yard long right starting out way out to sea. He said a Japanese guy does it regularly because he “pumps hard” to get through the initial slow downs…

My cousin and I surfed it on a night a few weeks ago. It was just us two, and few people watching from the road. I was a bit worried about being ambushed coming up the path, but it didn’t happen. The water was and remains filthy. But a strong half moon brought us light and some fun sets of waves. Nearby Topanga Beach has stronger waves and no threat of crashing into rocks (unless you try REALLY hard). But if you go to Sunset after sunset, then you can tell people you are hip to Sunset after Sunset. And that Route 66 aka Sunset Blvd goes all the way to the PCH aka Route 1.