50 of California’s Best Waves: Westward Ho!

This is a little wave near my house. It's always the first place I check in the morning. From there I can usually base where to go. Most of the time I'll drive around and end up right back where I started. Photo: Andy Bowlin

Lost in light. Josh Mulcoy. Northern California. Photo:Colin Nearman

MALIBU, California, The locals! Photo: Lucia Griggi

Central California is a land of opportunity. Photo: Sardelis.com/HBSurfShot.Blogspot.com

The Central Coast of California is an incredible place to live, i'm constantly blown away by how this place never manages to disappoint. This is Chad Jackson on a nugget, Thanksgiving day 2012. Photo: Dylan Gordon

Empty, hollow northern California. Photo: Matt O'Brien

Central California perfection. Photo: Paul Greene

A sunrise freight train rolls through the a lonely Central California coastline. Photo: Jean Paul Molyneux

California isn't such a bad place to call home. Photo: Dylan Gordon

With brilliant winter light and cooperative winds, Blacks and other Southern Californian gems produced perfect surf for nearly two weeks. Well-groomed sandbars from the recent torrential downpours didn't hurt either. Photo: Chuck Schmid/Surf-Shot.com

A mid winter pulse producing some clean lines. Cayucos California. Photo:Colin Nearman

This is Sepp Bruhwiler macking a solid air on the Central Coast of California. November 2012. Photo: Dylan Gordon

Rincon. Santa Barbara, California. Photo: Joe Curren

Huge North Swell in Northern California, they shut down the pier. This spot is rarly surfed, but often surfable. Image: Ferraris

Wintertime in Southern California, high-pressure conditions, still and beautiful. Image: Roche

Northern California picked up some perfect swell. Photo: Matt O'Brien

Southern California. Photo: Paul Greene

A small cove up North in California. This wave is rarely actually rideable. This was one of those peaky days you're hoping for as you walk down. Image: Matthews

Justin Wood racing down the line on an epic day in Southern California. Photo: Gage Hingeley.

A transplant from Michigan, Tatar shows some California love. Photo: Ryan Tatar.

Moments you realize that less is more. Christian Ramirez, Northern California. Photo:Colin Nearman

Cardiff Reef on a classic California winter day, with the Santa Ana winds. film capture 1990's. Image: Roche

Carmel California, Sunset just passed and the sky was still bright enough to capture the reflections off the sand. Image: Croman

If you know where to look, you can find some unridden gems. Even in Southern California. Photo: Matt Aden

While Pipe was firing, Southern California was certainly doing something. Tayor Curren can attest. Photo: Paul Greene

Moments like these, California feels like a great place to be. Photo: Paul Greene

Ventura county was just one small place on California's coast that lit up. Photo: Miles Jackler

I love going out and exploring. Shortly after moving to California I came across this wave, then a few yeas later made the trek back to shoot it from some new and creative angles. Photo: Ben Ginsberg

Surfer Bobby Okvist deep in this incredibly hollow, squared off barrel in California. Photo: Ben Ginsberg

California Gold in Huntington Beach. Photo: Sardelis.com/HBSurfShot.Blogspot.com

I shot this with film, back when I was staying in California for a while, and was pointing my camera more at mountain bikers than I was at surfers, due to the fact I would rather surf than miss out while taking pictures of everyone else enjoying the waves. It was a heavy day at The Wedge, with Kelly Slater, Christen Fletcher, Danny Kwock, and Strider out. I like this image from that day because it focuses on the bodyboarder, and the body surfer on the edge of this monster that demands respect from anyone who challenges it.

Tyler Fox isn't just about huge waves. He's also about doing massive functional floaters during golden hour. He stuck this. Photo: Robb Wilson

We made it somewhere very very high above the Central California coast. Photo: Robb Wilson

California dreamin'. Photo: Paul Greene

Anyone from California will tell you that last winter (2009/2010) was about as good as it gets. Photo: KevinVPhotos.com

Ocean Beach, California. Photo: Paul Greene

California juice with style. Photo: Jared Aufrichitg

Sepp Bruhwiler doing his best to stand out in front of another California sunset. Photo: Jean Paul Molyneux

The drive from Canada all the way down to Central California pays off as Sepp Bruhwiler takes flight amidst perfect fall conditions. Photo: Jean Paul Molyneux

Matt McCabe standing tall in a perfect California tube. Photo: Paul Greene

Landscape Al puro estilo californiano. Californian Landscape. Image: Tozzi

An unknown surfer enjoying a quality wave on a quality morning in Orange County, California. Photo: Maxx Buchanan

One of many waves going unridden this last week on the central coast. Photo:Colin Nearman

This is Kauai boy Dylan Goodale doing some sun salutations on a beautiful California day. Photo: Robb Wilson

Eddie Lester, California, make or break. He made this one... Photo: Jeff Farsai

The coast of Sonoma, Sonoma is the most raw coast in California, rocky deep water that is most often windswept and cold, but every dog has its day. I've only scored good waves there a few times, I though this trip was going to be another failed mission, until I pulled into this little cove and found this. Image: Ferraris

This wave is about 5 minutes away from my parents house in Northern California. Not one soul surfed this wave that day! Image: Street

December 2009. This is the break closest to home - about a mile down my street. I rarely shoot there and almost never get anything. Brad Ettinger surfed the same spot this day at sunset and said he caught two of the best waves he's caught in California, and he's caught a lot of good waves. Photo: Chuck Schmid/Surf-Shot.com

The good thing about winter in Southern California? There are always a few lumps on the horizon. Sunset at Uppers. Photo: Chuck Schmid/Surf-Shot.com