We know, we know-shorter days and a sudden reliance on your sweater drawer don't exactly make you think of surfing. After all, what does a typical Google search for surfing destinations yield? Surfing in Santa Cruz ... surfing in Maui ... surfing in Indonesia ... surfing in ... Alaska? [Ed note: say whaaa?] While surfing is generally thought of as a warm weather sport reserved for tropical locales like Hawaii or Southern California, in reality you can surf anywhere in any part of the world provided there's a decent swell and you have a good wetsuit. Even here, in Northern California near San Francisco, people surf in the chilly Pacific Ocean almost year round.
So why not take your skills to other places where you'd never think surfing would actually exist? You might even find a few hidden gems devoid of aggressive locals trying to protect their turf. While some of these places are for hardcore athletes, we've also rounded out the list to include some places where beginners can go to experience uncrowded waves. So pack up your wetsuit, your rashguard, and your board, and get going!
Alaska
Thirty-four thousand miles: that's the amount of coastline Alaska has to offer. Somewhere, there's gotta be a mile or two of pristine beach that's perfect for surfing, right? Of course, most of Alaska is bitterly cold for much of the year, but the two best places with decent surf are reportedly Southern Alaska near Kodiak Island and the fjords along the Canadian border.
In fact, one of the most unlikely surf shops in the world is in Haines, Alaska, which is located deep inside the Alaska Panhandle and only reachable by ferry from Juneau, Alaska's capital. If you head up to Haines to surf the fjords, be sure to get a hoodie or T-shirt from the Lost Coast Surf Shop. This way you can say you surfed Alaska-you'll get tons of gnarly cred among your most adventurous friends.
Falkland Islands
Over twenty-eight years ago, this archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean was the flashpoint for a bitter territorial dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The Falklands War was a seventy-four-day-long conflict over who really owned the islands; it culminated with an Argentinean invasion in April, followed by the Argentineans' being summarily booted out by the Brits in June. Since the war, tourism has steadily increased, with cruise ships visiting the port of Stanley on a regular basis and wildlife enthusiasts landing to view penguins, sea lions, and seals.
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