Sand Dollar

Surf Guide

Three miles up Highway 1 from Willow Creek is the beguiling Sand Dollar Beach, a glistening crescent of pure, white sand yawning into a horseshoe cove of shifty sandbars. Sheltered from north and south wind, Sand Dollar endures severe crowding during blustery, sunny, small-swell weekend afternoons, when, no matter how wretched the surf may be, guys will paddle out in order to terminate their week-long (or month-long) dry spells. Rather user-friendly, Sand Dollar is a delightful pocket for just about anybody, thanks to the gently undulating beach and forgiving whitewater rollers on the inside. The south end of the beach is usually a long, mushy left which dissolves into the channel in the middle of the cove. The rights are speedier, shallower, shorter, bowlier and much more walled. The cove's north end is predominantly a right that also fades into the channel, but it's usually larger and not as shapely as the south peak. The waves here are not as thick and beefy as those found down at Willow Creek, but that's not to insinuate an air of carelessness out here. Deep respect is required at all Big Sur beaches.