Live The Pit, United States

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Rancho Palos Verdes, 42 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Long Beach International Airport (LGB), 56 km.

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About Live The Pit

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces W (250°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (70°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 7). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 15°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 21°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually January, with about 3 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Rancho Palos Verdes, 42 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Long Beach International Airport (LGB), 56 km. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 20°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 7 h 20 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to Long Beach International Airport (LGB), direct.
See flights MDW → LGB · Skyscanner from about £215 returnAd
Getting there. 1 h 20 from the airport to Live The Pit.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Rancho Palos Verdes, 42 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Long Beach International Airport (LGB), 56 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Live The Pit · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Live The Pit · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Live The Pit on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

Live The Pit does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

The score for intermediates, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Live The Pit, each day
Day	Scorefor Intermediate	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Mon 19Oct	62, good	3 ft13 shollow	342kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 2 knots	25°C
Tue 20Oct	49, good	3 ft12 shollow	269kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 3 knots	23°C
Wed 21Oct	51, good	3 ft12 shollow	233kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 4 knots	20°C
Thu 22Oct	32, too small	3 ft11 shollow	150kJ	wind from the north-west, 3 knots	20°C
Fri 23Oct	54, good	4 ft6 shollow	105kJ	wind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore	21°C
Sat 24Oct	43, fair	3 ft6 shollow	68kJ	wind from the north-east, 4 knots, offshore	23°C
Sun 25Oct	27, too small	2 ft10 shollow	67kJ	wind from the north, 1 knot	24°C
Mon 26Oct	19, too small	2 ft11 shollow	50kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 3 knots	25°C
Tue 27Oct	16, too small	1 ft10 shollow	30kJ	wind from the north-west, 3 knots	24°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Tue 20 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

Tue 20 Oct
Travel out
Direct flight MDW to LGB, then 1h 20 by road. About 7h 20 door to door
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Live The Pit
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 3 ft at 12 s, wind 4 kn (7 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Live The Pit
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 3 ft at 11 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Live The Pit
Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 4 ft at 6 s, offshore wind.
Sat 24 Oct
Surf Live The Pit
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 3 ft at 6 s, offshore wind.
Sun 25 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 2 ft at best.
Mon 26 Oct
Travel home
Direct flight MDW to LGB, then 1h 20 by road. About 7h 20 door to door

Rough cost

About £740–£1,375 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return MDW to LGB, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag	£215–£450
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£115–£190
Food	7 days eating out	£260–£480
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£115–£190
Total		£740–£1,375

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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