Trestles
Trestles Beach is a collection of surfing spots at San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County, California. Trestles consists of, from north to south, Upper Trestles (Uppers), Lower Trestles (Lowers), and Middle Trestles (Middles). North of Upper Trestles is the surf spot called Cottons. South of Middles is the surf spot called The Church. It is named after Trestles Bridge, a wooden trestle bridge that surfers must walk under to reach the beach, replaced in 2012 by a concrete viaduct.
Lower Trestles
Lower Trestles consistently has the best waves of the group. There is an ASP World Tour surfing competition held at Lowers every year, as well as the NSSA National Championships.
Upper Trestles
Uppers is less consistent, but it has the potential to be a good wave with a long ride. North of Uppers is Cotton's Point, the location of former President Richard Nixon's home, La Casa Pacifica, aka "The Western White House", and the associated surfing spot of Cottons.
Access
Visitors can park and walk down an asphalt trail to Trestles from the trailhead at Cristianitos Road, near where Cristianitos crosses over the San Diego Freeway. Visitors can expect to see surf graffiti on the sidewalk, with such phrases as "no kooks", "surf hard", "you're going the wrong way", and "duckbutter".
There is a pay parking lot near the Carl’s Jr. restaurant on Coast Highway at Cristianitos, along with some public parking on streets near the restaurant. There is no fee to walk, skateboard, or bike into Trestles by means of this trail. Most visitors enter Trestle by this trail. It's about a 15-minute walk from the parking lot to the beach.
Visitors can park at San Onofre State Beach by exiting the San Diego Freeway at Basilone Road, then heading westerly from the freeway exit to the entrance to the portion of San Onofre State Beach named Surf Beach. The hike northwest to Trestles from Surf Beach at San Onofre State Beach is considerably longer than the hike southwest from the Cristianitos Road bridge and the San Diego Freeway. There is a fee to drive into the State Park at Surf Beach.
Super Quest
The Super Quest is a 47-mile (75.6 km) course and lifeguard biathlon challenge that runs from Trestles Beach to Seal Beach in Southern California.
