Sidebar: Surfing the Sloughs

Fourteen miles south of San Diego and five miles north of the land where Tequila pours like honey is the surfing Mecca known as Imperial Beach, known locally as "IB."

With 3.5 miles of mostly undeveloped coastline and the presence of the Tijuana Sloughs, three offshore reefs that create consistently large waves, it's little surprise that IB’s Boca Rio Beach became a notable training ground for serious enthusiasts and professional competitors despite the stingrays, sharks and killer whales. A walkable Surfboard Museum, a series of upright surfboard silhouettes with identifying plaques, commemorates 25 legendary Slough Riders that put this puny place on the map, including Dempsey Holder and Bob Simmons. IB was the setting for surf noir classic, Tapping the Source, and holds claim to the most southwesterly saloon in the nation.