Mendocino County

Mendocino County surf travel guide

Not a stellar surfing destination, but even the Mendocino coast can have its day. Much of this stretch of coast is either inaccessible or unrideable, so don’t get your hopes set on finding a coldwater paradise. From Westport all the way south to Gualala, there are no world-class pointbreaks, reefs, or beachbreaks, but the spots Mendocino does have can get quite good on rare occasions, generally during autumn or on the smaller days of winter. Most popular North Mendocino spots are Virgin Creek and Chadbourne Gulch, and although there’s a lot of coast beyond those spots, for some reason surfers seem to flock together. North of Westport, the coast intensifies and morphs into the Lost Coast, a harshly forbidding stretch of cliff and rock remaining inaccessible and unridden. Wide open to swell and wind from all directions, this rugged coastline can play with a surfer’s degree of optimism, no matter what season it is.