Malibu is the only city in the world whose name doubles as the name of a wave. The twenty-one miles of coastline between Sunset Mesa and the Ventura County line hold more quality surf breaks than almost any comparable stretch in the United States, and the reason is geography. The coast here runs nearly east to west, so the points and reefs face south into the long-period swells that arrive from the Southern Hemisphere each summer, while the western beaches sit exposed to the north and west swells that roll down from the Gulf of Alaska in winter. The result is a coastline that never really goes flat. It simply changes shape with the calendar. Below is a guide to where to paddle out in each season, what kind of wave to expect, and a little about the neighborhoods that sit above each break.
Summer Spots
Summer in Malibu belongs to the south swell. From May through September, storms off New Zealand and the South Pacific send long, orderly lines of swell that wrap around the points and peel for hundreds of yards. Water temperatures climb into the high sixties, the mornings are glassy, and the right-hand point breaks that made the town famous come alive.
First Point, Surfrider Beach
This is the wave. First Point is the cobblestone right that breaks beside the Malibu Pier, in front of the 1929 Adamson House and the Malibu Lagoon, and it is where modern California surf culture was more or less invented. Gidget was written here in 1957, Miki Dora ruled the lineup for a generation, and in 2010 Surfrider became the first World Surfing Reserve on earth. On a clean south swell the wave is a long, walling right that peels for two hundred yards or more with a mechanical consistency that has made it the most famous longboard wave in the world. It is also one of the most crowded, and etiquette matters. Second Point, just up the beach, is faster and steeper and draws the shortboard crowd, while Third Point is the outermost and most exposed of the three. The Malibu Colony sits directly to the west, and the pier, Malibu Farm, and the lagoon boardwalk make this the natural center of a surf day.
Topanga
At the mouth of Topanga Canyon, where the creek meets the ocean at Topanga State Beach, a right-hand point break peels over cobblestones and sand toward a shallow inside section. Topanga is a shorter wave than First Point but often a more rideable one, working on south swells in summer and west swells in winter, which gives it one of the longest seasons on the coast. It is a longboard and mid-length wave at heart, forgiving and fun, with a lineup that skews local. The canyon behind it leads up into Topanga State Park and the village of Topanga itself, a community of artists and musicians that has kept its character for sixty years. Sunset Mesa and the Getty Villa are a few minutes east along Pacific Coast Highway.
Latigo Point
Latigo is a summer-only wave, and it needs a genuine south swell to show up at all. When it does, the reward is one of the longest rights in Los Angeles County, a rolling point wave that begins off the tip of Latigo Point and runs toward the sand in a series of connected sections. The beach below Latigo Shore Drive is one of the quieter stretches of central Malibu, and because the break only works a handful of days each summer, the crowd is smaller and more experienced than at Surfrider. Escondido Beach and Paradise Cove lie just to the west, and Corral Canyon and the Malibu Seafood stand are the landmarks to the east.
Little Dume
On the eastern flank of the Point Dume promontory, facing toward Paradise Cove, Little Dume is a right-hand point that breaks over rock and sand on south and southwest swells. The wave is playful and peaky rather than long, with a steep takeoff and a fast inside section, and on the right day it is as good as anything in Malibu. Access has always been part of the story. The beach sits below the Point Dume neighborhood, one of the most private residential enclaves on the coast, and most surfers arrive by walking around from Westward Beach at low tide. The Point Dume State Preserve, the headland trail, and the winter whale-watching platform are all a short walk away.
Zuma Beach
Zuma is Malibu's beach break, nearly two miles of open sand between Point Dume and Broad Beach, and one of the largest beaches in Los Angeles County. It works year-round, but summer south swells give it a punchy, hollow character that shortboarders love, with peaks scattered up and down the beach and plenty of room to spread out. It is the most accessible surf in Malibu, with lifeguards, a wide parking lot, and the easy energy of a public beach. The Malibu Park and Zuma Canyon neighborhoods sit on the bluffs above it, and Westward Beach at the southern end offers a slightly more sheltered alternative when the main beach is closing out.
Sunset Point
At the eastern gateway to Malibu, where Sunset Boulevard meets the coast, Sunset Point is a soft, rolling right-hander over rock and sand that is ideal for longboards and beginners. The wave picks up both south and west swell but rarely gets big, and the lineup is welcoming in a way that the more famous points are not. It is the wave to bring a first-timer to. Sunset Mesa rises directly above it, and Will Rogers State Beach stretches east toward Santa Monica.
Winter Spots
From November through March, the swell direction swings around. Storms in the North Pacific send powerful west and northwest swells down the coast, and the breaks that were dormant all summer wake up. Winter surf in Malibu is bigger, colder, and more consequential, and the action moves west toward the county line, where the coast turns to meet the swell head-on.
County Line
Officially Yerba Buena Beach, County Line sits exactly on the boundary between Los Angeles and Ventura counties and is the most consistent wave in the greater Malibu area. It is a mix of reef and beach break with a well-defined right off the point and several peaks to the south, and it handles winter west and northwest swells with size and power that the eastern breaks cannot. On a big day the point can hold well overhead. Across the highway, Neptune's Net has served surfers and Pacific Coast Highway motorcyclists since 1958, and the Santa Monica Mountains rise straight up behind the parking lot. This is the wild, rural end of Malibu, with large ranch parcels and canyon estates in place of beachfront lots.
Zeros, Nicholas Canyon
Nicholas Canyon County Beach is home to Zeros, one of the few left-hand point breaks in Southern California and a genuinely special wave when it works. It needs a clean northwest swell and a west or northwest wind, and when those line up the wave peels left off the point in long, fast, tapering walls. It is fickle and it is closely watched by locals, but the setting alone is worth the drive. The beach sits at the foot of a steep canyon with almost no development around it, and the water is often the clearest in Malibu. Leo Carrillo State Park is next door to the west.
Leo Carrillo
Named for the actor and conservationist, Leo Carrillo State Park offers a mile and a half of beach, sea caves, tide pools, and a campground set back among the sycamores. The surf breaks off Sequit Point at the northern end, a right-hand point and reef that comes alive on winter west swells, with a beach break to the south that picks up almost anything. Leo is less crowded than the central Malibu points and more forgiving than County Line, and it is one of the best all-around winter sessions on the coast. The Arroyo Sequit trail runs into the mountains behind the campground, and the drive along Pacific Coast Highway from here east to Trancas passes some of the most unspoiled coastline in Los Angeles County.
El Matador
The westernmost of the three coves that make up Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, El Matador is the most photographed beach in Malibu, with sea stacks, arches, and caves scattered across the sand at the foot of a tall bluff. The surf is a beach break that works best on winter northwest swells, when the peaks between the rocks become steep, hollow, and short. It is a wave for experienced surfers who know how to read a changing sandbar, and it is at its best at mid tide with a light offshore wind. El Pescador and La Piedra, the neighboring coves, offer similar setups with even fewer people. The bluffs above the three beaches hold some of the most private estate parcels in western Malibu.
Big Rock
Back in eastern Malibu, Big Rock is a reef break that sits beneath the neighborhood of the same name, on land William Randolph Hearst purchased in 1936. The wave is a fast, hollow right over shallow rock that only breaks on solid winter west and northwest swells, and it demands respect: the reef is unforgiving and the takeoff is steep. When it is on, it is one of the best-quality waves in Los Angeles, a short, intense ride that rewards a committed drop and a quick bottom turn. Las Flores, just to the west, is a similar reef setup with a slightly longer wall. The homes along this stretch of Pacific Coast Highway sit directly above the water, with the wave breaking in view of the living room.
Broad Beach
Between Zuma and Trancas Canyon, Broad Beach is a long, straight beach break in front of one of the most storied residential rows in Malibu. The surf is at its best in winter, when northwest swells produce fast, shifting peaks up and down the beach and the crowds thin out in the cooler water. It is an uncomplicated wave, mostly closeouts and quick rights and lefts, but on a clean morning with a north wind it delivers a proper session with the Santa Monica Mountains glowing behind you. Trancas Country Market, with its shops and cafés, is a short walk up the road, and the Malibu West and Trancas neighborhoods sit just inland.
Whether the calendar says summer or winter, there is a wave breaking somewhere in Malibu, and the neighborhoods above those waves are as varied as the breaks themselves. If living within a short walk of one of these lineups is part of the plan, our team knows every stretch of this coastline and would be glad to help you find the right home along it.