What to do in Pacifica
The best beach town south of San Francisco. Taco Bell Beach, formally Linda Mar beach, is an iconic hangout for visitors from The City and the most popular surf spot in Pacifica.
Home to the locally famous “Taco Bell Beach” (really called Linda Mar beach), Pacifica has become a popular hangout for people from San Francisco to spend their weekends.
Surfing Linda Mar
The waves at Linda Mar are consistently in the poor to the fair range but offer the ideal consistency for beginners. With a beach that stretches almost a mile long, there are plenty of peaks to find solitude away from crowds. The middle of Linda Mar Beach is where most beginners will start and is a friendly sand bottom wave. The south end has a rock reef that provides more shape and appeals to advanced surfers. Extreme locals will paddle out to Pedro Point on the south end when the surf is big to enjoy crowd-free overhead waves. This is an expert-only wave, so know your ability and visualize positive and negative outcomes before paddling out.
The north end of the beach can also provide a more challenging experience and typically has a better shape than the breaks in the middle of the bay.
While there are a few surf shops in the area, there is only one you should go to, Nor Cal Surf Shop. Located at the south end of Linda Mar beach, Nor Cal surf shop is the “O.G” shop in the area and has the best selection of surfboards, wetsuits, rentals, accessories, and clothing.
Running Trails in Pacifica
The southern end of Pacifica has lush forests that make for amazing trail running. At the end of Shamrock Road is the trailhead for a super fun 5.6-mile loop that climbs to over 1,000′ elevation and winds through a wooded forest. Cutting under Highway 1, this loop provides views of Devil’s Slide and has multiple cut-offs where you can shorten or lengthen the run.
