Lovers Point
Sheltered cove on the north side of Monterey, facing northeast inside the Monterey Bay shadow. A slow, small, infrequent wave that needs a deep northwest swell to wrap in.
Spot intel
Parking
Free and metered street parking along Ocean View Boulevard. Small public lot at the point. Walk-in access to the sand and the cove.
Crowd
Light to moderate. The wave only breaks on the right swell, which keeps the lineup thin. Water runs low-50s°F year-round — hooded full suits are standard.
Beginner-friendly?
Yes.
Sheltered cove with a slow wave shape and a forgiving sand-and-cobble bottom on the days it works. The catches are cold water, the kelp, and how rarely the swell window lines up — not the wave.
Lineup etiquette
Beachbreak priority is per-wave, not by lineup position. A wave already taken from the peak isn't open to paddle into.
When it's on
Deep west through northwest groundswell with enough size and period to wrap the Monterey headland, with light offshore from the south through southeast. Mid-tide window.
When beginners can paddle out
Knee-high to chest-high on a mid or higher tide with light wind, on the rare days the wrap reaches the cove.
Where it breaks
- Coordinates
- 36.6261, -121.9155
- Shore faces
- NNE
- Region
- Monterey, California
Launching summer 2026.
Six-tier verdicts for every California break, calibrated to swell, period, direction, tide, and wind. One email when Lovers Point ships in the app.
Other Monterey spots
- Carmel River Mouth · Famous + beginner-friendly