Lower Trestles

Not just for surf it is an awesome place to walk and just chill and of course watch the great waves. O

I’m a pro surfer but this placed sucked.
there is tons of rocks at the shore, be prepared.

Trestles is one of my usual spots. It sort of remote so it keeps the tourists away and the waves are A++. Great place to surf, great place to chill. make sure you pack out everything you bring in. Park on El Camino Real.
Five Stars.

Great place to come surf and chill. The breaks here are amazing and it’s one of the best surf spots in America

I’ve always loved this beach for many reasons. However parking is not one of them lol. The beach is somewhat private. A little difficult to see from the highway, but still worth it. Large expansive beach area for running, sunning or chilling. The Surfing competitions here are fierce and a blast to watch. Bring a picnic, bring your board this is the summer place to be!

After buying some new Rainbow Sandals after many years, I decided to finally find the infamous trestles beach to go surfing. Now for some 411.
Parking:
There is no parking lot next to the beach. You are about half a mile away and have two options
1) State Parking Lot
3965 S El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92 672
The first option is to park at the state lot near Carls Jr. If you have a CA State Parking pass it will work here. Otherwise there is a kiosk for $ 2/​hour or $ 15/​day
2) Street
South of the parking lot along El Camino Real and Cristianitos is street parking if you can nab some.
Getting there:
You have two walking routes:
See
1) From El Camino Real there is an opening where you can walk down into the trail. You will walk down from a hill where you hit a fork. You can turn right, go straight, or turn left. You want to keep going straight, pass the restrooms, and pass the trestles map. Keep walking and when you see train tracks, go UNDER them and you can access the beach
2) You can walk down Cristianitos Road, and then turn a left after the 5. When you hit a fork in the road make a right and follow the same directions from above.
Some people skate or bike down to the trail.
Amenities:
+ There are no rinse off areas
+ There is a restroom by the trail leading in
What to bring:
+ Your surfboard bag
+ Water
+ Towel
Most people there just put there stuff on the beach and then head into the water.

I love to surf, but I don’t surf here. I don’t feel like I’m good enough haha, but I love to come down here and watch the surfers and run/​walk.
It is a beautiful beach with great surf most of the time! There are a couple different points along Trestles (besides Lower). See the picture I posted that lists the different beaches. From North to South here are the breaks: Cottons, Uppers, Lowers, Middles, Churches. The picture I posted lists the experience level needed for each spot.
I love how it takes a little bit to get down to this spot. Makes it more exclusive for locals and surfers, and harder for tourists to come down! The beach is usually never crowded, which is awesome, unless there is a contest — which attracts more people.
It is also a good beach to exercise at besides surfing. I like to walk/​run the beach/​trail and I see people biking the trail as well.
Great spot!

Had the pleasure of surfing with some great people on Sunday. And look forward to many more great surf sessions with them. We actually surfed Church Beach which is between San Onofre and Lower Trestles. Parking here is restricted to Military and Government Employees and fortunately we have that covered in our Surf Club/​Team. The beach itself was very clean as would be expected. We arrived at about 7am and found only about 10 other surfers in the water. Throughout the morning it grew to about 30 surfers. Still the lineup was friendly, polite, and enjoying themselves.
The conditions were very nice, and consistent sets of 3 – 5 foot waves were common. Surfers should be warned though, entry and exit from the beach is challenging due to the large rocky area for about 25 meters from the shore to the open water. Bring and wear booties for sure here. Also dogs must be on a leash in the camping area only. Apparently, the fine is $ 500 for violation of this rule/​law. Also, the beach access is slightly changed, look online for how to enter the private camping/​parking area at Church Beach, as in the past you could access from the Camp Pendleton, San Onofre Gate entrance only, but due to construction, you now follow the same entrance to San Onofre State Beach and then break off to the right and enter Camp Pendleton.

Almost awesome!
my day started out very early with a cup of joe and some last minute loading with a lengthy drive. church can surprise you with its subtle break and today the shoulders were holding providing you with a section-​less down the line experience.
I paddled a lot this morning going in n out almost on clock work and got my share while trying to pump up friends so they could do the same. it is exclusive but not off limits if you have people that can gain access .To my Sunday Soul Surfer friends thank you for a memorable session followed by the Sugar Shack.

Surf was great today! I actually surfed Church which is the «exclusive» Lower Trestles as it’s reserved for military personnel only. Thankfully, I know someone who eradicates Middle Eastern terrorists and we got in just fine. You feel a sense of awe at Churches. The break is incredible and the waves are smooth rolling… One right after another. As you look to the left and see hundreds (yes… hundreds!) of surfers lined up at San Onofre, you realize how much of a dream Churches really is. I can’t wait to return to the wonder known as CHURCH!!!
Ps. No dogs allowed on the beach at Church. Head to San O if you bring Fido!

I’ve traveled around the world looking for a wave like Trestles, but there really is only one Lower Trestles. That being said, it’s almost always insanely crowded. Even if this exact wave were located in Iceland, I think it’d be crowded… it’s just a perfect A-​frame that is super consistent, super forgiving.
On a decent swell, the waves around trestles have this strange magic quality… something about the cobblestones, water texture and color, brings it all together. The crowds in the water kind of make it more stressful than it should be, but if you’re patient and know what you’re doing, you’ll get some waves. Due to the competitiveness in the water, it’s not a place for beginners (just walk to San O, it’s a short walk down the beach and one of the world’s greatest beginner zones).
It seems like surfers have kept this beach pretty clean. I guess the long walk, lack of facilities, and cobblestone beaches keep the non-​surfing population low.
I think every few years Trestles will be threatened with toll road proposals, developments, etc., but I think it’ll weather all these storms. It’d be tragic if it were any less preserved.

How I love this place, so California-​classic, so rich in surf, so effing crowded. When Lowers is firing, it’s hard to find a better wave in the whole state. And it seems every young gun knows it, thanks to
. Last time I surfed it, I was so frustrated with everybody and their mothers taking off, jockeying for position and snaking the rider, I moved my talent over a notch to Church. It’s slower there, but kinder. For the young aggro, surf Nazi or traveling pro, Lowers is the spot to test your mettle. Just please, please, show some respect, a little common courtesy!
I still love it, even though I don’t surf there anymore. It’s like my ex who I still love; we had some great times together, memorable times, but we both know we’re better off apart. Such is life, such is Lowers.
P. S., no John M, this is not the place to hang 10. That’d be over at San-​O.

World famous surf spot. If you have a mountain bike with a board rack, I’d recommend bringing that because it’s a 30 minute walk (I timed it) from where you park to get to the surf spot.
How to get there on foot:
Park by the Carls Jr/​Hwy 5 overpass. It’s free to park on the street but there’s a paid lot too (I think it was $ 5)
Don’t change into your wetsuit because you’ll be walking a mile (some of it hilly) in it.
Start by going through the opening in the fence, and you’ll be walking on a gravely dirt road toward the ocean (go right)
The rest is pretty self explanatory — just follow the path, and you’ll reach train tracks that are raised. GO UNDER THE TRACKS for your own safety.
Right where you pop out to the beach is UPPER TRESTLES. If you walk south 10 more minutes there’s LOWER TRESTLES.
Change into your wetsuit and surf on!
TIPS: Bring water and towels. There’s no shower to rinse off and no drinking fountain. There are a few porta potties though.

This is the place to hang 10 or 11 if you have an extra toe!

Famous surf zone in Southern California. Named for the train trestles. If you surf, you will kick yourself for not checking this place out.

Everybody to the beach, everybody to the beach…
Probably the most crowded surf break in Southern California with wanna-​bees, burn-​outs, little kids and everyone in between. But its still so worth it. The wave is machine like and it consistently spits out incredibly fun peaks that teach you to do new maneuvers. The level of surfing out there is really high, so scoring a set wave is going to be tough if you are not in fighting-​shape. That’s ok though; there are LOTS of waves in the vicinity, and this place picks up lots of swell in the summer time.

On weekends and what I assume to be good surf days, this stretch of beach gets packed… a good indicator that it’s a great spot. Despite the heavy foot traffic and popularity, it is pretty clean and well maintained. Been here several times in the past few months, and so far all of the patrons here have been friendly and I’ve never had any trouble. I take my metal detector down and get a lot of curious folks talking to me about it. Haven’t been at night yet, but it seems like there’s a good nightlife. I’ve seen bonfires and campouts early in the morning.

If you are a surfer– it’s a 5 star
If you are a tourist– it’s a 2 star.
I visited Trestles as a tourist– wanting to experience the myth and the legends of the surfing beach. There’s parking near Carl’s and on Cristianos Way. Then there’s about a half mile walk over the freeway, through the jungle, and over the train tracks. Along the way, you’ll see threatening looking signs scribbled on the path «Speak english», «Go back», «RIP» and various lude symbols. The path has rusted out barbed wire on either side. There were threatening looking surfers too. It feels as if you’re on uncharted territory or someone’s claimed surfing turf. This beach is not meant for beach goers– there’s no restrooms, water facilities, lifegaurd stands– nada. There’s frequent helecopters from the Camp Pendelton above and there’s the San Onofre powerplant not too far away.
Then I saw the water and I understood. The waves break really far out and you get a nice long ride. It’s peaceful. There’s good swells. The water looked relatively clear. If you go on a Winter’s afternoon like I did on a Tuesday– you won’t have as much competition for waves. The sand was pebbley and rocky in some areas– so watch out for that. Overall, go if you are a surfer and you will enjoy.

Let’s keep this between you and I alright? We don’t need more people jamming the peaks.
Lower Trestles has been described as «one-​and-​a-​half miles of God’s country» for a reason. There are no parking lots or coastal view restaurants at this surf spot. Just you, the railroad tracks, sand and ocean. Trestles makes you feel like you’ve discovered a hidden gem (if you can ignore the other 50 surfers fighting for waves).
Prepare yourself for perfectly formed long lefts and rights that’ll have you happy you made the 15-​minute walk down the dirt trail with your gear. You won’t find this spot on streaming video with a swell update (locals are tough!) but it’ll make the highlight reel of and home video or competition clip. There is an annual event held here once a year by the ASP, otherwise you’ll just find locals tearing it up.
Trestles is a crowded spot from trying to find parking at the Carl’s Jr. to the sets. With the rest of the breaks around like Uppers, Cotton’s, Church you still find yourself avoiding rails on the drop.
Still, there’s a sense of magic at this break that is worth the walk, the paddle battles and dodging bobcat or deer on the trail.

one of VERY few world class waves in california and therefore among the most crowded waves in the continuous united states. on a good day expect upwards of 100 bros in the lineup, with at least 20 mouth breathers scratching like hell to catch every set wave.
the lefts are punchier but the rights are a thing of beauty. if ever a wave was shaped like a video game skate park, lowers is it. navigate the drop, drive thru your bottom turn, hit the lip, and pump/​punt/​float/​slash all the way down the line.
8÷27÷10 will go down as an all time session in my book. i caught three consecutive set waves that felt like they connected all the way to middles.
NO LONGBOARDS