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Thickening pine forest and cushy homes mark the south line of Cambria, a tourism-geared township of about 6,000. An artist colony saturated with B and Bs, art galleries, sophisticated restaurants and trinket stores, custom-built for starry-eyed honeymooners and the visitor who flaunts cold, hard cash. The place lies within relatively easy striking distance from Los Angeles, so Cambria's avenues and endless beachside hotels are often jammed with Nikon-wielding humans who obviously don't get outdoors enough. To give you an idea of Cambria's urbanite appeal, here's what some Los Angeles Times dude gushed about the joint: "Cambria is a poem of pine-covered hills and crashing surf, of velvet headlands and peaceful pasturelands -- a symphony of sights and scent and ocean rumblings."
Yeah, whatever.
It's also been said that Cambria is an "artist colony" in the eyes of those who really don't know what the term implies. The town's principal industry is tourism, thus realtors and antique dealers take turns fleecing the uninitiated L.A. city dweller of their savings. A few of Cambria's actual year-round residents are surfers, who, sadly, don't have much to look forward to in terms of roping pointbreak walls.
The pebbly sand surrounding the mouth of Santa Rosa Creek fronts the main surf spot in Cambria, running about a half-mile along Moonstone Beach Drive. It's a bowly, peaky, juicy beachbreak with a scattering of boulders -- short, sectiony rides with a few gems thrown in for interest. Not quite a primo surfing destination (the water's cold enough to make you sterile for life), though a reliable source for finding something ridable if the Cayucos Pier sucks, or if the San Simeon area is too funky. There's also plenty of room, but that doesn't necessarily translate into popping peaks up and down the beach. Much of it is a shorebreak-type setup when the swell's small, and it can get pretty heavy if the swell is big enough and hitting just right.
-- Mike Kew
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low
NW, W, SW
waist-high to a foot or two overhead
E, NE
3
sand with some rock
intermediate
shortboard or bodyboard, 4/3mm fullsuit with booties (the water is often colder than Northern California in the Cambria/Big Sur area).
fall
From the north or south, exit Highway 1 onto Moonstone Beach Drive and pull into the signed asphalt parking lot for Santa Rosa Creek at the southern end of the road.
popular but polite
It can be a little competitive.
3
2
Shallow shorebreak, sharks
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Some of the highest-quality seafood you can stuff your face with in California is right here at the Sea Chest Restaurant and Oyster Bar (6216 Moonstone Beach Dr., 805-927-4514), with a homely little game room and an impressive offering of Central Coast wines. The place often generates standing-room-only crowds. The Brambles Dinner House (4005 Burton Dr., 805-927-4716) is also of supreme quality (try the rack of lamb). Another popular Cambrian hangout is the Sow's Ear (2248 Main St., 805-927-4865), dishing up contemporary and American cuisine. The Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill is a rather trendy outfit with a heated outdoor patio. Seafood, salads and sandwiches are its forte. The Main Street Grill (805-927-3194) grills up some cheap but epic diner-style meat dishes. For award-winning breakfasts and California-style Mexican food, poke your head into Creekside Gardens Cafe (2114 Main St., 805-927-8646). Everything from Asian curries to pastas to seafood and Mexican fare can be ordered at Robin's Restaurant (4095 Burton Dr., 805-927-5007). You can find more eatery listings at www.cambriasbest.com/dining.
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As for anywhere on the Central Coast, make reservations well in advance during holidays and the summer months. Basically all of Cambria's lodging choices are stiffly priced, so if you're on a somewhat tight budget, your best bet would be to nab one of the 201 campsites in the San Simeon State Beach Campground (805-927-2020), just up San Simeon Creek Road past the north end of town. The campground nearest to the park's entrance is your standard state park deal, while the Washburn Campground is a bit more primitive though far less private (no trees).
For places with roofs and sweet views of the Pacific along crowded Moonstone Beach Drive, there's the Moonstone Inn (5860 Moonstone Beach Dr., 805-927-4815 or 800-927-4815) and The Beach House (6360 Moonstone Dr., 805-927-3136). A "perfect romantic getaway" can be found at the Fog Catcher Inn (400 Moonstone Beach Dr., 805-927-1400 or 800-425-4121). The J. Patrick House (2990 Burton Drive, 800-341-5258 or 805-927-3812) is a woodsy log home that will appeal to those with beaucoup bucks and little desire to see the ocean from their rooms. Cambria Landing Inn (6530 Moonstone Beach Dr., 805-927-1619) is also cool and spendy. The Sea Otter Inn (6656 Moonstone Beach Dr., 805-927-5888 or 800-965-8347) is one of the more unpretentious establishments, also with a dynamite ocean view. You'll find more hotel and vacation rental listings at http://new.cambria-online.com/lodging/index.asp and www.cambriasbest.com/lodging
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If your girlfriend or boyfriend is with you, window-shopping can become a reluctant pastime during windblown afternoons or plagues of flatness. Feel free to break out the blanket for a picnic at Leffingwell Landing, where you can longingly gaze upon the perfect right-point setup just offshore (it breaks but a handful of times each year). There's a ramp here for car-top boat launching, bluff top hiking trails and great tidepools during low tide. Watch for sea otters. If you've got kids, they might take a liking to the playground at Shamel County Park ( www.slocountyparks.com/fishing/shamel.html), south of Santa Rosa Creek. There's also a summertime swimming pool and a grassy playing field.
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Westside Surf and Skate (800 Main St., 805-924-1803) is the only surf shop.
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