Lowers
Cobblestone A-frame at the mouth of San Mateo Creek in San Onofre State Park. Lefts and rights. Walk-in only.
Spot intel
Parking
$15 day-use at the Cristianitos Road entrance to San Onofre State Park. About 0.8 miles down the dirt trail along the rail tracks — 15-20 minutes on foot with a board.
Crowd
Maxed on south-swell days. Lineup runs at pro level. Peak rotates locally; the shoulder absorbs the rest.
Beginner-friendly?
No.
The wave shape is approachable. The lineup is not — priority is contested at pro level and the wave count per visiting surfer is low.
Lineup etiquette
Contest-break priority at contest-break density. Dropping in on a wave already taken from the peak is the standard call-out.
When it's on
Long-period south or southwest groundswell with light morning offshore from the northeast through east. Mid-tide window.
Where it breaks
- Coordinates
- 33.3850, -117.5910
- Shore faces
- SW
- Region
- South OC, California
Launching summer 2026 — get notified.
Ghost Fingers is the California-built surf forecast that reads the buoys, the nearshore wave model, and the wind grid honestly. One email when Lowers goes live in the app.
Other South OC spots
- Doheny · Famous + beginner-friendly
- San Onofre · Famous + beginner-friendly
- T-Street · Famous spot
- Salt Creek · Famous spot