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General information
Thirty years ago, a jetty and harbor transformed summer's Orange County answer to Rincon (500-yard right-hand walls on big south swells) to a polluted children's wave. Faithful old-timers still paddle out to catch its meager remnants, but they're left pining for the past.
If you aren't aware of what existed before it, Doheny is an ideal beginner's wave. Swells slip past the swell-choking jetty, break softly over a bed of cobblestones and form into slow shoulders. A few hundred yards north, by the San Juan Creek, there's a sandbar and reef that break better on stronger swells. During the winter of 1993 and the El Nino winter of 1998, perfect sandbars formed near the rivermouth and produced hollow freight-train rights. If you can withstand the sky-high fecal counts, it's these types of bars that'll quench the thirst for days past. Those days are all too rare, though, so Doheny, if anything, will serve as great place to introduce your child to his/her first wave.
For many years Doheny has been ranked at or near the top of lists of the most polluted beaches in southern California. Orange County Health Care Agency's 2003 Ocean and Bay Water Quality Report indicates that Doheny had the most "Beach Mile Days" of water quality standards violations of any beach in Orange County. Heal the Bay's 2003-2004 Beach Report Card listed Doheny as their #1 Beach Bummer, consistently earning "F" grades for water quality, especially during wet weather. Although a sewage treatment plant exists alongside San Juan Creek just up from the beach, this plant has had a good operating record in recent years. Doheny's high bacteria counts are likely due to a combination of factors, including urban runoff from the 134 square mile San Juan Creek watershed, pollution from boats in Dana Point Harbor, large flocks of seagulls that poop in the creek water near the creek mouth, and poor water circulation at Doheny which has been a problem ever since Dana Point Harbor was constructed.
If you live or work in Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita or San Juan Capistrano, you could be part of the problem or part of the solution. Surfrider Foundation reminds you not to litter, to pick up after your dog, not to over-irrigate your lawn, don't hose off your sidewalk or driveway, and take your car to a car wash rather than washing it at home. And stay out of the water at Doheny and at other surf spots near creek mouths and major storm drains for up to 72 hours after a rain.
Access
$15 fee for state park parking. There is a smaller hour pay lot close by.
Level
Beginner to expert. If you are good, you can catch really nice waves here, thought they are slow, they have enough punch for lots of sprays. Since most of the people surfing here are beginners, you will catch alot as they fall off alot.
Crowd
Mix of beginners, families, and lots of guys that can really ride.
Hazards
Reef. Big rock right in the middle of the lineup on low tide.
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