Unique Places in Imperial Beach

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Actually, all of IB is 'off the beaten path' but here I show you a view from the south end of IB Beach looking towards the pier on a stormy day.

Storms are not frequent, and it is so rare to see any beach in San Diego with no one on the sand that I'm sharing this moment with you.

A long forgotten--by most outsiders--fact about this area of San Diego is the role this beach played in the creation of California's Surfing Culture that became popular in the early 1960's. This is not a flashy beach, such as Windansea, Corona del Mar, San Onofre, New Port Beach, or even Malibu.

It is, however, as good if not superior to any of these beaches as a testing ground for the serious and great surfers competing in Hawaii.

The awesome quality of The Sloughs didn't come into recognition until the late 1930's but it did attract some of the best surfers in the world. If you are a surfer, or interested in surfing history, this is a place not to miss.

The area near the IB Pier is actually an outdoor museum with plaques below each of the "surfboard" benches and a nice little Surfboard Museum at the Dempsey Holder Safety Center.