Redondo Beach

Surf Guide

A fast, walled left that breaks across the front of the King Harbor breakwall on north and west swells bigger than 6 feet. It's said to hold up to 20 feet, long after the crowd has thinned. The wave refracts and is amplified off of the jetty, spinning out long, fast lefts that end in a sucker-punch shorebreak. Perched on top of the breakwall are a parking lot and several restaurants where you can take in the action over lobster bisque. But beware: on more than one occasion, huge swells have pushed whitewater right through the windows of the eateries -- talk about fresh seafood. To that end, an Army Corps of Engineers project in 1997 moved some new rocks out onto the bend in the wall, and that, combined with the ongoing loss of sand, is costing the spot some of its former glory. According to regulars, the peak has moved closer to the beach, and the wave doesn't wedge off the jetty as well. It very well could be the slow demise of one of L.A.'s few big-wave spots.