Monuments

Surf Guide

Back in the old days -- like 20 years ago -- the whole coastal zone just east of Cabo San Lucas was just one little road leading to quickly maturing San Jose Del Cabo. From the road, going for a surf meant strolling across a bunch of dirt hills leading down to the water's edge. On one particular brown, barren elbow of coast, here was a decaying concrete block by the side of the road marking the turn off to a wave that looked kinda like, well, a monument. The name stuck for this super fun left pointbreak, and today it is a must-do spot for any surfer exploring the southern tip of Baja. There is a deepwater canyon just offshore -- the same one that made Cabo San Lucas a natural, deepwater harbor, in fact -- which funnels long-interval west and southwest groundswells into steep, spinning lefts that reel along the headland and into a small, rocky bay. On a 17-second swell, for example, Monuments can be double overhead while Costa Azul just down the road is barely pushing head high. The Monuments takeoff zone is pretty tight, unfortunately, and the crowd can be pretty hungry and oftentimes made up of mostly skilled surfers. And if the crowd doesn't bite, than the robust urchin colony on the shallow rocks on the inside will. Such hazards can be frustrating for any surfer, but may make for a downright foul experience for the beginning surfer, who should focus his or her energy elsewhere on the wave-rich Cabo coastline. Afternoon west winds often blow the spot out as well. Click here to download Surfline's Cabo Surf Guide pdf.