Surf City USA® Culture

It's no wonder Huntington Beach is known as Surf City USA®, surfing is part of the very fabric of this community. With 8.5 miles of clean, sandy beaches – as well as a dependable, varied surf break – it draws surfers from around the world to compete, practice or simply catch some waves.

Whether it's summer or winter, a typically sunny California day or an early morning blanketed with marine-layer fog, you'll see hundreds of surfers performing amazing acrobatic feats upon the consistent breakers. The best places to watch are from the Huntington Beach Pier – which takes you so far out over the water you couldn't get any closer without being on a surfboard yourself – or by walking or biking 1.5 miles north of downtown along the paved path for a bird's eye view atop the bluffs at Dog Beach.

In Huntington Beach's misty early-morning hours, surfers line up like sentries on the sand to case the waves and scope out the action. It's a way of life for many and, for some, a mind-and-body religion much like yoga. Perhaps that's why the surfer mystique carries on from the '60s decade of Jan and Dean's "Surf City" to today's more sophisticated surf business culture.

Surfing is a sport of intense excitement and athleticism. The chance to dance with waves, propelled by a force of nature in a mad rush of water, attracts legions to HB each year. The lure of surfing also explains why companies such as Quiksilver, with a worldwide clothing brand and a reputation for adrenaline-charged living, are located in Huntington Beach. Two of the city's most popular surf shops – Jack's Surfboards and Huntington Surf & Sport – are legends in the surfing world.

Huntington Beach is also the national headquarters for Surfing America, the newly appointed National Governing Body for amateur and professional surfers in the United States. HB is the only place you'll find the International Surfing Museum, the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame, and the city hosts more than 36 surfing competitions each year, including the biggest surfing event in the world, the US Open of Surfing. During competitions, massive bleachers are erected on the sand and the town buzzes with the latest scores of competitors. Surfline.com, founded by renowned surf forecaster Sean Collins, is also based in Surf City USA®. Surfline.com is the most heavily trafficked surf website in the world and has several "live" cameras pointed at Huntington Beach locations.For more information about surfing events and sites, visit www.surfcityusa.com.

Surfers are known for their love of fresh, uncomplicated and easy-on-the-wallet cuisine, so if you really want to live the surfing lifestyle, there are plenty of affordable eating options in Surf City USA®. One of the best coffee joints is Java Point. Located just inside Huntington Surf and Sport on the south side of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway.  This is where surfers meet for a pre- or post-morning eye-opener.

Over at Java Jungle, two blocks north on Pacific Coast Highway at 6th Street, you can order up your latte, rent a board, buy some snacks and check your e-mail in one of the last true surfer shacks cum coffee shops. Almost a shrine in itself, surfers eat bacon, eggs and toast inside the homey Sugar Shack Café on Main Street, whose owner posts all the latest surf news in the window and organizes ceremonial "paddle outs" by the pier to memorialize surfers who pass away. Another favorite of surfers' is Pete's Mexican Café on 5th Street, prized for its economical huevos rancheros (eggs, tortillas, cheese, beans and salsa) and Dwight's concession stand right on the beach.