Memorial Day weekend: 6 best beginner surf spots in Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, Stuart
Surf's up this Memorial Day weekend.
If you can find a wave during the flat days of summer in Florida, it's the best time of year to learn how to surf, or for beginner surfers to get better.
It's always best to avoid crowded locations with experienced surfers such as the Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce Inlet state parks.
Here are six of the best surfing spots for beginners from north to south on the Treasure Coast.
Location: North State Road A1A, 4 miles north of Fort Pierce Inlet State Park or 9 miles south of Vero Beach
Avalon is a good beach for beginning and intermediate surfers that's off the beaten path, but it's unguarded. The waves break outside and travel along a sandbar, making for a long ride. It's a good place for longboard and fun-shape boards. With a long stretch of beach available, surfers can spread out and find waves easily.
Location: 3302 N. State Road A1A, Fort Pierce
Pepper Park has a series of sandbars that creates a casual break. The beach's outer shoals prevent waves from getting too big. It has lifeguards who watch for bad weather conditions, rip currents and marine life, including sharks and Portuguese men-of-war.
Location: 10350 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
Waveland doesn't have an outside barrier reef to break down the waves when the swell gets big, but the beach typically has a soft wave during the summer. Plus, it has lifeguards. One additional benefit to surfers is that no fishing is allowed at this public beach access.
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Location: 9200 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
Dollman is good for beginners on small-wave days. It has small and big wave breaks that make it a great place to go during the summer. Catching waves at mid-tide — about two hours after dead low tide or two hours before full high tide — works best for all the St. Lucie County spots.
Location: 4191 N.E. Ocean Blvd., Jensen Beach
Jensen is used for surf for lessons, taking beginners to different parts of the beach, which has lifeguards. Near low tide, the sandbar is knee- to waist-deep, so it's perfect for smaller waves. That's when a little 1- to 2-foot wave can be found rolling through.
Location: 889 N.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart
Stuart is used for surf lessons, taking beginners to the south end near the dirt parking lot. It has a little break and isn't too deep, and the beach has lifeguards. Go just before or just after low tide — a two- to three-hour window. Otherwise, the water can be too deep for 1- to 2-foot waves to break over the sandbar.
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Memorial Day weekend: Best surfing Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, Stuart
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