Cotton’s Reef is the far outside peak wave break on the biggest swells along Cotton’s Point.
It’s a great surfing destination just northwest of the San Onofre Trestles area line in San Clemente Southern California.
On this July 4th 2020 a very memorable day for sure as conditions and swell came together, just right for scoring some awesome rides along with excellent weather!
Interesting included in this upload is video from 1997 starting approx 1:07:45 ,notice all that sand and beach!
Unlike this more current video, with a high tide that occurred 10:14 a.m. of only 3.8 feet the ocean water level was all the way up to the boulders of the train track!
Water temperature was 68 degrees, morning low air temp about 65 and an afternoon high upper 70’s with mostly clear skies.
The wind dawn patrol was very light offshore from the north, then turning southerly mid morning til noon.
Almost all beaches from Los Angeles through Orange County were closed due to the world wide pandemic of Covid-19.
Trestles area however was open with a long period SSW swell of 18 secs arriving right on time!
The San Mateo Point surfing break and Reef was named after Hamilton H. Cotton who was one of the founding financiers of the city of San Clemente.
He built a home up top the bluff in 1926,
Then much later bought by President Richard Nixon in 1969, he called the hideaway La Casa Pacifica which soon after became the more well known Western White House.
At that time access to surf anywhere in the Trestles area especially Cotton’s was virtually impossible and very well guarded by the military!
Now the floods gates are open, this area remains one of the best for wave shape and consistency in Southern California.
When many other areas can not hold the large swells and side currents, Cotton’s Point and Reef just gets better..

For more beach and surf videos mostly Southern California, visit my home You Tube channel: “henryssurfshowcase”
Hit that ( Subscribe ) button and ( Bell icon) to be notified when more videos are uploaded!
Here’s the link in blue..
   / surfingsoutherncalif