Surfing
Surfing
6 truths that tell you this year's Lexus Trestles Pro is not to be missed
It's been eight years since the capital of American competitive surfing last hosted a regular season Championship Tour event and the 2025 edition promises to be one of the best yet.
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A staple on the WSL Championship Tour since 2000, Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, has been the spiritual home of American professional surfing since the 1980s. Kelly Slater claimed his first ever professional win at the Body Glove Surf Bout at Lowers way back in 1990 and 35 years later he returns as an event wildcard at the scene of some of his greatest performances.
After hosting 16 Championship Tour events, the last four years have seen world titles handed out over surfing's most famous cobblestones as Lowers played home to the WSL Finals. This year however the full WSL cast and crew are back as, much to the delight of surf fans, the Lexus Trestles Pro returns to regular CT programming. Ahead of this year’s event let's take a look at the colourful role that the eighth stop on this year’s Championship Tour plays in surfing’s vibrant tapestry.
Train lines and swell lines
© Ryan Miller
01
A historic surfing sanctuary
Lower Trestles isn't just another stop on the Championship Tour, it's a hallowed piece of surfing history found over a freeway and a train line within a State Park, just up the road from a military base.
The Lower Trestles lowdown
© California State Parks
Nestled within San Onofre State Beach on the border of San Diego and Orange County, Trestles offers a dreamy combination of high-performance waves and natural beauty. Its consistent, perfectly-shaped walls have earned it a reputation as one of the best waves on the planet for progressive surfing, serving up sections that look purpose built for sizzling rail work, huge airs and combinations of the lot worthy of any local burger restaurant.
Beyond the waves, there's a deeper story. From the 1970s, the area has been threatened by coastal development, including plans for a nuclear power plant and building toll roads. Thanks to fierce local activism and historical protections – including legislation implemented by President Richard Nixon, President Ronald Reagan and, more recently, State Governor Gavin Newsom, Trestles has been preserved. It remains a sacred surfing territory, accessed on foot or by bike, offering a rare retreat from California's heavily commercialised coastline.
Caity Simmers carves her name in a Trestles wall and onto the title trophy
© Tony Heff/World Surf League
Trestles has hosted pro events since the early '80s and has been the site of memorable performances by many of the sport's legends, including Californian world champions Tom Curren and Caitlin Simmers, and world title-winning Floridians-turned-Californian residents Lisa Andersen, Kelly Slater and Caroline Marks.
02
A Championship Tour favourite returns in full glory
From 2021 to 2024, Trestles served exclusively as the one-day, winner-takes-all venue for the WSL Finals, but in 2025 the world's best surfers are returning to Lower Trestles for a regular season Championship Tour event, the Lexus Trestles Pro.
Jordy Smith resplendent in the yellow jersey, at Trestles in 2017
© Kenneth Morris/World Surf League
Trestles last featured as a regular CT stop in 2017, when Jordy Smith and Tyler Wright took top honours. Smith was in the yellow jersey then, much like he is this year after his recent win in Margaret River.
As the eighth stop on this year's schedule, Trestles is the first after the 2025 mid-year cut and will play a crucial role in shaping the world title race, with only four events left before the WSL Finals. The return marks a nostalgic moment for longtime fans and a chance for newer converts to see what makes this cobblestone pointbreak so loved.
19 min
WSL Finals week at Lowers
Go behind the scenes as the world’s best surfers prepare for the 2021 Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles.
While in recent times Lower Trestles has taken a backseat to the drama of the world title showdown, this year's longer format event, with a wider range of surfers' skills being put to the test over multiple days, will be a far greater showcase of the wave itself. As for the surfers, roughly half, including hometown hero Griffin Colapinto, have never surfed a regular Championship Tour event at Lowers.
03
The Lowers lowdown
From May to October, spring to fall in the local vernacular, Trestles is a reliable swell magnet, turning long-range Southern Hemisphere energy into long-running left and rights that break across the famed cobblestone bottom with a predictable rhythm that allows for all manner of unpredictable surfing.
4 min
Down The Line – Griffin Colapinto
Griffin Colapinto talks us through four minutes of firing waves, at home in California.
While the right has earned top billing, on certain swell directions the left is comfortably its equal and the smooth, well-paced walls are perfect for linking together multiple manoeuvres, allowing surfers to use every tool at their disposal. For the world's best it's a dream canvas; a wave that reveals the sharpest edges of form, flow and flair - surfing's version of a perfectly groomed skatepark.
Like most waves, Trestles loves early morning offshore (north-east) winds, though light onshores are fine with aerialists. The Trestles tides play to form as well: too low and sections can break too quickly, too high and the waves can fill up and lose their punch.
Griffin Colapinto, up close and personal in San Clemente
© Tony Heff/World Surf League
04
San Clemente's surfing legacy
San Clemente isn't just the home of Lower Trestles, it's a hotbed of surfing talent that continues to punch above its weight. Over the years, the town has produced an impressive array of surfers and attracted many more from around the country. It’s not all about Lower Trestles either. San Clemente boasts fun waves at the Pier and T-Street in town, while the Beach Park includes Upper and Lower Trestles, Cottons, Chuches and the much loved San O, every old guy, hipster and logger's favourite wave and hangout.
A Photo We Love: Kolohe Andino
© Jerimiah Klein/Surfline.com
Kolohe Andino was the longtime standout local, but Griffin Colapinto has more recently stamped his name as the king of San Clemente, climbing the rankings and winning fans with his flair in the tube and above the lip. In 2023, Colapinto narrowly missed a world title, finishing third in the WSL Finals held at Lower Trestles.
Griffin Colapinto feels the love of his hometown crowd
© Tony Heff/World Surf League
Joining Colapinto on the CT this year are younger brother Crosby and Sawyer Lindblad on the women’s side, while the Challenger Series is stacked with talent ready to take the next step. The future is bright in San Clemente and with the CT returning to Trestles, the next generation will have no shortage of inspiration to keep them on track to follow in their heroes' footsteps.
05
The return of King Kelly Slater
At 53, Kelly Slater continues to defy time and expectations. For the first time since the season opening Pipe Pro, the 11-time world champion will return to the Championship Tour at the Lexus Trestles Pro. If you know much about the undisputed greatest surfer of all time, you'll know he won't be turning up for just a token cameo.
Six-time Trestles winner Kelly Slater and his iconic statue turn
© Sean Rowland/World Surf League
Slater has an extraordinary connection to Trestles. He claimed his first professional win at Lowers in 1990 and claimed a record six CT victories at the break in a blistering eight year run from 2005 to 2012.
Slater's return isn't a nostalgic novelty act. Expect a mix of old-school mastery and modern flair from the Floridian, who studies his younger peers more closely than you'd imagine and who never shows up without intending to win. While Slater's legacy is already set in stone, anytime he hits the water, buoyed by the energy of his supporters, he sees an opportunity to add to his Hall Of Fame highlight reel, which is a win for surfing fans the world over.
06
Performances to soar as the title comes into view
After seven of 11 events, the 2025 ratings are starting to shape up. The pressure of the mid-year cut is past and for some that means relief, for others, with sights on a title, the hard work has just begun. Jordy Smith and Gabriela Bryan are in the yellow jerseys, but Italo Ferreira and Caity Simmers are breathing down their necks.
Italo Ferreira's 2024 WSL Finals run was the stuff of legend
© Tony Heff/World Surf League
World champions Filipe Toledo, Caroline Marks and Tyler Wright are all hovering, Kanoa Igarashi and Yago Dora are sitting in wait, ready to strike, while Leonardo Fioravanti could easily claim to be the in-form, but unluckiest surfer on either tour this year. Molly Picklum and Jack Robinson are the two wildcards in their respective packs, capable of huge results and deadly in the powerful waves of Fiji, where this year's title will be decided. They just need to ensure they make the Final 5.
Expect Erin Brooks's backhand to be a major threat at Lowers
© Ed Sloane/World Surf League
Want a real long shot? Erin Brooks is currently sitting 10th after avoiding the cut by one spot. If the Canadian rookie can figure a way to make the leap up into the Final 5, there’s nobody better in Fiji. Will she do it? Stay tuned to the Lexus Trestles Pro this week as the race for the 2025 world title heats up in California.
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