Surfside Ave, Seal Beach

If it hadn’t been for a wrong turn we made off of the Pacific Coast Highway, we might never have discovered the bucolic little beach community of Surfside in Seal Beach. Just like the magical town of Brigadoon, this peaceful little town seemed to just appear out of nowhere. We really wanted to take a look inside so, when we reached the guarded gate we took a shot at the possibility that there was a house on the market and told the guard we were there to see it.

Once inside we drove through the rows of houses which, were simply named A, B, and C. Row A are the houses that sit right on the beach. Even rows B and C are within a short stone’s throw. We estimated that there were about 400 homes.

The little community has no store or commercial facility. It does have a post office which we thought was interesting. We learned that all of the mail is delivered to the post office and picked up there by the residents
.
The houses were of all varieties – small to large, single story and triple story, cottage style and beach mansion contemporary. It appeared that several of the houses were being rented out for the summer. We also spoke with some people who have lived there for many years.

Once we had our bearings we realized that Surfside is just a short drive up and down PCH to the shopping and dining locations of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.

We were able to spend some time gazing out at the Pacific from the beach that had a crystal clear view of Catalina Island. We counted at least four major naval vessels cruising by as they entered or departed the nearby Naval Station.