Aptos Beaches Offer Quality Surfing Experiences

Aptos beaches are often looked at as a poor substitute for the consistent quality surfing of the near neighbor to the north at Santa Cruz, California.
So often quality surfing is overlooked and even not ridden in Aptos.
While it is true that beach break surfing is much less consistent and conditions have to be "just rite" for perfect waves, at times the surf here can be just as high quality and with few if anyone out taking advantage of what is there.

Dolphins cruise along. Sea elephants and seals pop up. There is the occasional manta ray, or at the more south beaches during late Summer a rarer great white shark.
More so during Winter and Spring and the further South also, the waves tend to break then reform until reaching the swift turning shore break.
Since there is no kelp, the waves tend to blow out on onshore wind conditions.
An offshore and side shore wind will hold up the facing wave curl. It takes wind from the west for offshore at Aptos beaches.
If the swell has push to it, the wave will hollow even more with the wind opposition.
The "surf junkie" only needs to know the specific beach's wave breaking characteristics and the required conditions, to make the perfect wave ride come true.

   Seasonal Considerations Show Their Style

January through March finds mostly large North swell conditions.
At Aptos beach break where most waves are peaks having a left and a right slide feature, more often than not the right wave ride will be better form on a North swell. The reason being the left sand bar edge is too directly facing the oncoming North swell waves. This reasoning may not apply with outside deep water sand bars.
The water is a few degrees colder during the Winter time.
Often overcast skies and no fog. Winds blow from out of the North, West, South, and also offshore. Sometimes there is no morning glass, or glassy all day.
Look for good big waves - but be wary of deceptively strong rip currents that are often running parallel to the beach, and could have an undertow at the more south beaches. The Santa Cruz peninsula knocks down the size of North swells.
Usually strong winds from storms out of the Sea of Alaska happen. On a huge north swell, the waves are unrideable unless you want to paddle nearly half a mile out, or at best work the channel in the event a predictable section will suit your fancy. Another exception is the inside cliff wall at New Brighton, where strong ground swell and current push in long lines of powerful sometimes spectacular North swell waves. Long makeable walls are lined up. Huge shorebreak makes it dangerous though.
These large swells do one good thing for the beaches... make sandbars.
Around March, all the usual sand bars are set up and waiting to be ridden on the correct tide and ground swell.

April through June is probably the best all-around season for surfing Aptos beaches. Mainly, because there are quality sandbars everywhere.
The swell is a more manageable size and yet very consistent, and the water is warming up with nice morning glassy conditions and sunny skies if a bit brisk out in the early morning.
Some beaches nearly always have their usual sand bar formations. Possibly because of underlying rock shelf formations shoaling sand flow predictably.

July through September the surf scene is mostly only at the southern beaches where remaining sand bars form closer to the beach, creating there an often more lined up wave with less reform... especially at Sunset Beach.
Probable morning Summer fog from Manresa and further South towards Moss Landing will in time make way for Indian Summer weather, bringing warm sun and often offshore wind directions.

October through December is a continuation of the offshore winds theme, and the Summer crowds are gone because nearly every surfer is hunting waves in town.
The southernmost surf spots produce some quality waves on the remaining sandbars that are now close to the beach.
Soon the big North swells hit, and everything changes.
Best surf action is mostly in Santa Cruz, and even Capitola for more protected wave boarding. These big swells close out on the Aptos beaches' sandbars that are almost gone from months of small waves.
The water gets cold again in November, partly due to the strong winds.

   Surf Locations Show Their Personality

NEW BRIGHTON: Board surfing only on very large swells. Usually a strong North, and an occasional Summer swell from a Central or South American storm. A strong beachward current on a big North swell deposits the wave into a thick shorebreak.
SEACLIFF: Winter and early Spring surfboarding on freshly formed sand bars. Large Winter swells create fun lined-up waves that are totally overlooked. Nice walls can be ridden, and while they are usually soft, they sometimes get hollow. At this locale waves nearly always break close to the beach, making for a good year round boogie boarding and skimboard surfing spot.
CEMENT BOAT: The cement boat sunk into the sand years ago, and it creates a great producer of sand bars with even an Ano Nuevo like wave rebound effect. Quality waves on the correct swell direction early in the year usually.
APTOS CREEK: Good sandbars forms as a result of huge Winter swells, or if the rivermouth is formed with a rideable shoulder. The Aptos Creek may travel a long ways south before it crosses over the sand into the sea. These waves break close in to the shore and can be hollow and quality. The surfboard season is over before Summertime.
BEACH DRIVE: Spring time sandbars produce regular waves at the same spots. About halfway along the main promenade the same channel in front of the same beach houses produces a fine left that breaks from outside nearly all the way in, and a right that breaks fast outside then has a slow wall.
PLATFORM: Spring and summer surf spot that has a variety of peaks. Pick em. Usually a lined-up right goes with a few takers. The waves vary greatly with swell and conditions. Very random by Summer's end. Club Ed teaches surfing here often during the Summer.
HIDDEN BEACH: Locals surf spot since access is hard to find. Mostly a Springtime wave, and some years' have a fine inside sandbar until early Summer. A good place to learn to surf.
BEER CAN: Named in honor of a college house that before Seascape was built, partied to-their-hearts-delight during several day camp outs every Summer vacation. Thus leaving hundreds and probably thousands of beer cans all over the beach. The waves break hard in Winter and Spring, and are often lined up in fast sometimes hollow makeable walls. Nearly every Spring there is a fine right sand bar at the south end of the seawall. Summer is good surfing at first, then the waves gets sloppy and not worth the time to go out by late Summer.
RESORT: Similar to surrounding waves, with the bonus of a small river and a more southern creek that have river mouth set-ups that are different every year. Other nearby sandbars are sometimes good and even better.
CAMP SAINT FRANCIS: Going further South, this seldom surfed beach for some reason marks an area of the bay where long waters' edge peninsula like points form from the Winter's churning of the sands. Sometimes a huge point will form a long consistent fine surf zone that could break in close to the sand or over the sand at high tide.
TWIN PEAKS: Two peaks formed by cliff erosion make good markers for take off points of these waves that generally start breaking pretty far out and in deeper water during early surf season.
TRESTLES: Here and further South, these beaches can sometimes take on Winter conditions where the waves break far outside, and if rideable they are only so by working the channel and during sets picking off a predictably repeating section then riding it inside. A stream forms a river mouth that breaks well into the year, and may have a nice wall.
MANRESA: State park parking lot is a great check out spot, above a river outlet that always has a right left combination after the rains. Although, each year is a different situation as far as quality is concerned. Outside sandbars along the beacfront usually have good waves to offer as they break into deep channels during Winter and Spring... A destination for traveling surfers looking for action at these makeable tubes of ten foot and larger. All the adventure is there for the taking. Then gone is Winter's deep water surf. Each Spring flows to Summer when the sandbars are closer to the beach. These more inside waves carry surfers trying to connect and change direction as far as possible along often steep walls and quick barrels. Later things begin to deteriorate as the Summer season wears on.
PLACE DE MER: Quality Winter and early Springtime surfing; when out beyond a steep drop off from the beach, thick fast moving swells find more than enough sandbar to make and hold a sometimes Hawaiian power surf session looking wave. The deep channels blend more into large shallow sand plateaus during the following smaller wave season, when on a building swell consistent tubes break where the plateau emerges. Usually several fun sandbars remain well into Summer along this strand of coastline... and not too crowded. These bars steadily soften; yet even inferior Autumn waves could be worthy given offshore winds.
SAND DOLLAR: Popular summer surf spot. Though less crowded than other nearby beaches just to the North. There are usually several great sandbars well into July or later. Very fun on an offshore Indian Summer afternoon.
ACADEMY: Rainbow Fins occupies the building where the first sailboard was built. Just inland from a dirt landing strip used by crop dusters. Early in the year the peaks break way out there, then reform along rangy large uncertain surf. That said, occasionally Springtime distant peaks break with strength and clarity. Making a good time out. Though generally the peaks are bouncy, and more effort than when sand has formed inside and the slope is rideable to the beach. The smaller swells allows the sand to settle in lines. So later in the year there's mostly better wave form. This seldom ridden locale is full of surprises.
SUNSET: Park has many camping sites and several main beach access paths. These waves are usually good size, and near the deep water trench below the middle of Monterey Bay. Respect the big peaks that powerfully lunge about with all kinds of reform action, and may have thick ledges during good surfing conditions. This often out of control surf generally is glassy early in the day, and long shoulders curl during the Spring and Summer. Sometimes there's a nice sand bar or so into Autumn. Especially so with offshore conditions, that can get going during Indian Summer. Most waves are unridden, since the surf here is too much effort if there are better waves elsewhere. Yet Sunset can surprise with great surf.