Fort Lauderdale (my hometown) isn’t exactly known for its surf. In fact, it’s common to tell local residents you’re a surfer and they have a hard time believing it – many have spent their whole lives here without ever seeing someone catch a wave on their beach.
Like the rest of South Florida, this stretch of sand sits deep in the shadow of the Bahamas. On top of that, Fort Lauderdale lacks real surf-shaping structures: no jetties, no true shallow reefs (even though the snorkeling is beautiful), and very few natural contours to groom incoming swell. Despite all of that, Ft. Lauderdale can and does have extremely fun surf. Cold fronts, lingering high-pressure systems, hurricane swells, and big south-swell producers all supply the stoke Broward surfers thirst for. And any Florida surfer can appreciate the nostalgia of classic FTL wind-chop. Keep an eye on this spot during the right setup and you might score surprisingly fun — and often completely uncrowded — surf. If you’re in the area its worth checking Lauderdale-By-The-Sea 10 minutes north.
Surfing in Fort Lauderdale is only “officially allowed” between Lifeguard Towers 16 and 20, roughly from 14th Court to NE 18th Street. Be sure to pay for parking (FTL City Parking employees are the worst I’ve encountered)
PLEASE NOTE this Webcam is in Lauderdale By The Sea – directly north of Fort Lauderdale – while we work on fixing the FTL Beach Cam Stream. The Elbo Room FTL Beach Livestream is working. Thank you!
