Surf & SUP Lesson Locations
The Richard Schmidt Surf School operates year round in Santa Cruz at some of the best surf spots along the entire West Coast. The coastline is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which is an area of conservation and beauty, stretching from Santa Cruz, south to Big Sur.
We schedule around the ocean tide, swell and wind conditions in two primary locations: Cowell Beach and the Pleasure Point area. If the tide is low enough we teach the lessons at Cowell’s on the west side of Santa Cruz. If the swell is small and the tide is higher, we move the lessons over to the Pleasure Point area on the east side of Santa Cruz. However, the ocean can be fickle often. So we will move to other spots where the surf conditions are best for learning.
Cowell Beach
Located off West Cliff Drive in between the Municipal Wharf/Boardwalk, the Santa Cruz Dream Inn and the Lighthouse state landmark.
Pleasure Point area
Located off East Cliff Drive & 38th Avenue/41st Avenue. Just down the street from all the surf shops off 41st Avenue (& Portola Drive).
Click photo to enlarge
Here is a bird’s eye view of the Santa Cruz-Capitola region. For a better in-depth look at Cowell’s and the Pleasure Point area, visit the Surfline.com Travel section.
On the site, you’ll also see some of the other various surf spots we might go to for lessons — as well as our annual summer Santa Cruz Surf Camps.