Surfing is as much a part of Oceanside life as the pier, the endless sunshine and the city’s 3.5 miles of coast, where sweet, sweet waves lap at the shore just across the street from Mission Pacific. From sunrise to the unparalleled California sunsets, you can bet you’ll spot surfers up and down the shoreline.
Some of the more popular surf breaks can be found around the city’s most famous landmark, Oceanside Pier (just across from Mission Pacific and the longest pier on the West Coast at almost 2,000 feet) and the jetties of Oceanside Harbor, about a mile-and-a-half to the north. Peak surf season is August through November, but whenever swells come from the southwest, surfers from all over San Diego County make a beeline for Oceanside’s beaches, angled just right to catch those perfect waves. No wonder the U.S. Olympic surfing team is based here.
Speaking of competitive surfing, Oceanside hosts competitions throughout the year: USA Championships and Team Trials, World Bodysurfing Championships, Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club Contest, and even the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships.
One of the biggest of them all returns for its 14th annual run this September. The Nissan Super Girl Surf Pro Competition, which bills itself as “the world’s largest women’s surf event and music festival,” takes place September 16-18, 2022, headquartered at — where else? — the iconic pier.
Super Girl Surf Pro lets you cheer up close and personal for dozens of competitors, including legends like Coco Ho, young phenom Caroline Marks, Zoë McDougall, Carissa Moore (the country’s first Olympic gold medalist in women’s surfing), and Tatiana Weston-Webb. Also competing: Bethany Hamilton, whose story of determination and continuing to surf even after losing an arm in a shark attack at age 13 was the subject of the 2018 documentary Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable.
Speaking of entertainment, the Super Girl schedule includes some 18 performances in the Nissan Concert Series headlined by Plain White T’s, Maggie Lindemann, and Austin Mahone. Super Girl Sound Session is a competition for women DJs, to see who can get the crowd dancing and spirits soaring.
2022 is also the fifth year of the Super Girl Gamer Pro video game tournament. Its mission is to “develop a platform for female gamers and to help inspire women to take a larger role within esports.” (If you can’t attend live, Super Girl Gamer Pro will livestream via Twitch.)
The tournament and festival’s location on and around the pier means that staying at Mission Pacific gives you a front seat to all the action.
Your go-to spot for prime viewing — or prime partying — is the Rooftop Bar, six stories up and just off the resort’s pool deck. Lounge on a sofa or deck chair, and enjoy specialty cocktails, wines and beers, and cuisine. If you order the Jetty cocktail (mixed rums, mezcal, and bitters), a portion of the purchase price is donated to USA Surfing.
Downstairs facing Pacific Street and all the festivities, High/Low is the place to fuel up after competing, or cheering on the surfers, with hearty breakfasts and lunch favorites that celebrate California’s local bounty paired with fresh-squeezed juices and craft coffee.
Of course, if you want to try out surfing yourself or catch some waves while you’re in Oceanside, you can do that too.
READY TO SURF IN OCEANSIDE?
