Venice Vlog - Surf, Skate and low-down with Jim Morrison

If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about Venice. Situated between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey, Venice brings a slice of Europe’s rad street vibes right into the heart of California. 

Canals, boats, footbridges, and waterways all lending to a mesmerizing illusion. And for many of us here at Huntington Beach, it’s like a second home. Throw all the surf and skate stuff in the minivan and you’re there in an hour.  

So, this summer we decided to hit up local skaters and surfers to get the lowdown on the best places to surf, skate eat, and play in Venice.

Sharing the good waves

“Don’t expect to catch your dream wave in Venice”. You’ll hear the friendly locals say even before you dip your feet in the water. But there’ plenty of fun to capture. We headed off to Breakwater, literally minutes from the famous Venice sign. 

This is the most popular surf spot in Venice. You get mostly W and NW swells that work better on a mid to high tide. 

Dance on Sunset. 

Into the flow of the winding Venice Boardwalk

We had little time to lose once we dried off. Venice is a dream spot for skaters. So, snag some quick donuts from Abbott Kinney Boulevard and head off to the iconic Venice Beach boardwalk for some 'pave surfing' time.

Cruising and weaving through tidal waves of men, women, kids, vendors, musicians, performers, skaters, freestylers (you name it) can be harder than you think. We knew there’ll be sharp bends to rip and carve, so hauled with us the Hamboards carve collection boards. 

You can watch us cruising the coastline and thrashing on our HHop, Biscuit, Fish (my favorite) and Pescadito. 

Boardwalk was just perfect. It seemed like floating on miles of oceanfront against a setting sun. At times, we paused to stand there just to gaze at the bright orange horizon. 

Cruising on Hamboards, you’ll always get plenty of attention (spoiler alert) from other skaters and passersby. This was fun as we board swapped with the locals and made new friends. Our American Venetians seemed to love the Huntington Hop and Fish. 

Eat and Drink when you’re in Venice

Spoiled rotten for choices, we ended up in Hinano, an iconic surf hangout ( Doors frontman Jim Morrison’s favorite Venice joint) and known as the best dive bar in the world. 

Wanna join us? 

Yay, we’d love to have you there. Simply visit our Instagram page and comment on any post with #hamboardsvenice. That’s it. And we’ll let you know when we ready to roll the barrels.