Pico Creek is a fun right at the creekmouth just north of San Simeon, where a reef and sandbar combine to throw up a peak on the outside. From there it reforms into a speedy inside section that runs straight into a nasty shorepound, so pick your exit carefully. Just to the south sits a peaky beachbreak with scattered submerged rocks. Waves break both left and right over a mix of boulders and sand.
When It Works
The setup draws swell from south through west-southwest to northwest (S-WSW-NW), and it lines up best on a clean southwest (SW) swell. It's usable from 0.6 m / 2 ft to 2.4 m / 8 ft, so there's plenty of room between too small and too heavy. Both the creekmouth and the southern beachbreak come into their own on a clean southwest swell with a medium-to-high tide.
Wind and Tide
Look for northeast (NE) offshore wind to clean things up. Mid tide is the call here, and a rising tide is generally the better half of the cycle.
Access
There's free roadside parking, so getting in and out is easy.
