Nor Cal Surf Shop — Attraction in Pacifica

People new to surfing, taking lessons ... or those just easily impressed seem to think this is a great place. That's not me, so I see it has a standard place where its hard to get help, hard to find anything, and seems to hew pretty close to the basic shop. The merch here is stuff you can get anywhere. Mollusk or Traveler have a different take. Next door at Traveler the selection is thin... but it's nice stuff, and I get a very friendly "welcome in" when I enter. That different tone matters to me, bc I've surfed 40 yrs and hate the localism etc. If you want USA socks and the Norcal hoodie you know where to go. I do hear some of their instructors are nice. The one I usually see at docks seems ok but pretty inattentive. I am sure this place is fine but its status quo. I get my boards from local shapers direct, and my wax...

When I started my surfing journey, I kept to the calm waves in Linda Mar Cove (great for beginners). But where do you get a board?

This place.

I rented here for over a year. The staff was so helpful. Giving me great info on which kind of board to rent, helping me along my journey, and letting me keep my car keys there so I wouldn't worry about lost items.

Patty always asked after my sessions and encouraged me to keep learning.

If you are new to surfing in the bay area - start your journey here.

Park in the shopping center, rent a board (and a wetsuit / booties if you dont have them), then walk 7 min to Linda Mar cove.

After you finish you can rinse off in the back of the Surf shop after you return your...

We rented 2 boards and 2 wetsuits from Nor-Cal to surf in Pacifica with. The staff was friendly and helpful, but we almost didn't get boards because we were behind a large group and they didn't keep track of their inventory well. Both boards and wetsuits were in decent shape from what myself as a beginner could tell. The return process was easy and they have outdoor showers for you to rinse of in and outdoor dressing rooms as well. The shop itself seems well stocked although I didn't look around much.

If you plan on renting boards and wetsuits from these guys, my suggestion is to get there early because they rent on a first come first serve basis. We came on Sunday at noon and essentially took the last of...