Hossegor – La Nord

Soorts-Hossegor · Landes · France

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La Nord, a few hundred metres north of Hossegor's central beach, is the big-wave beach break of the region. The Gouf de Capbreton, a submarine canyon that lets swell arrive with little loss of energy, focuses it onto this sandbar, so La Nord holds shape up to about 6 m when almost everything else on the coast is closed out. It is mostly heavy, fast rights with occasional lefts, breaking on a shallow bar. This is a wave for experienced big-wave surfers only.

Level
Experts only
Break
Beach break, sand
Waves
Lefts and rights
Crowd
Crowded
Season
autumn, winter
Boards
A step-up or semi-gun when it is on.

When it works

✓ A long-period west-northwest groundswell of 2.5–5 m with a light east to southeast wind; locals favour lower tides.

When it doesn't

✕ Small swells, since it hardly breaks under about 2 m, or any onshore wind.

Watch out for

  • currents
  • rips
  • shorebreak
  • crowds

Best months

January, February, October, November, December

Local tips

The paddle out is long and the currents are strong, so time it between sets and be honest with yourself about the size before going. Bring a proper gun or step-up. Bigger days draw a crowd of spectators and photographers to the dune.

Getting there

Park on boulevard de la Dune near Hossegor's Plage Centrale (it fills fast) and walk a few minutes north along the beach; town parking is paid in summer.

History

La Nord has hosted a paddle-in big-wave event, the Rip Curl Challenge La Nord.

Travel notes

How often it works
La Nord sits just north of the Gouf de Capbreton, a deep undersea canyon. The canyon lets swell reach the beach with little loss of power, so La Nord holds big swells better than most of the coast. Wannasurf counts about 150 working days a year, but it only shows its real size on a large swell.
Crowd and vibe
Weekdays see few surfers and weekends are crowded. On big days only a small group of strong surfers and pros paddle out, while people watch from the dune.
Camping and vans
Camping du Lac is on the far side of the Hossegor lake, roughly 2 km away. Hossegor's town motorhome aire, run by Camping-Car Park, is on the route des Lacs. It has 84 places for vehicles under 7.5 m. Nearest campsite about 2 km away.
Facilities
La Nord is a short walk from the Hossegor seafront, with toilets, showers, cafés, restaurants, surf shops and lifeguards in summer.
Water quality
All seven of Soorts-Hossegor's bathing sites are rated excellent in the official French rating (national open data, 2022).

Ideal conditions

Swell
W–NW best, WSW–NNW works
Size
2.5–4.5 m offshore swell; starts at 1.8 m, holds to 6 m
Period
11 s minimum, best from 15 s
Wind
Offshore NE–SE; handles onshore up to 10 km/h
Tide
mid best
Faces
W (271°)

Live cam

No cam at this spot yet: the forecast and the guide are on the map.

In the guides

Nearby spots

All spots in Landes · All spots

Sources