Aliso Creek Spot Guide

Aliso Creek isn’t really a surf spot most of the year — just your basic, bottomless shorepound that bodyboarders and skimboarders frequent — it tends to get overlooked by surfers. A stealthy crew of local surfers have cracked the code and know when Aliso Creek is actually worth checking, but those days are few and far between — maybe a handful of decent, surfable days a year. It enjoyed a bit of a heyday when the pier was still in place, but ever since it was removed the bottom got trenched-out and deep. S swells get into the zone but don’t really have a dependable bottom to break on until they hit the shore. There are moments — with the right tide and swell angle and a little sandbar luck — but Aliso Creek is hardly a dependable, go-to surf spot.