These vintage photos capture the sun-soaked beaches and towering waves of the 1960s and 1970s, a time when surf culture wasn’t just a pastime but a way of life.
From California’s shimmering coastline to the shores of Australia and New Zealand, surfing wasn’t just about riding waves; it was an attitude, a fashion statement, and a soundtrack to a generation searching for freedom.
Surf fever swept through America in the 1960s, embedding itself in music, art, and style. California, in particular, became the epicenter of the craze, where sun-bleached hair, board shorts, and the unmistakable sounds of surf rock created an unmistakable identity.
Yet, the sport’s roots stretched back much further. Hawaiian pioneers George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku had already introduced the thrill of wave-riding to the U.S. in the early 1900s, drawing fascinated crowds with their surfing exhibitions along the California coast.
What had once been a niche activity embraced by a dedicated few transformed into a cultural phenomenon by the mid-20th century.
Though some initially dismissed surfers as carefree “beach bums,” that image soon faded as the counterculture of the era embraced the easygoing, rebellious spirit of the surf scene.
Surfing made its way to the United States in July 1885, when three Hawaiian princes, David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliʻiahonui, and Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole, rode the waves at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz.
Using custom-shaped redwood boards, they introduced California to a sport that had been central to Hawaiian culture for centuries.
A few decades later, in 1907, George Freeth performed a surfing demonstration at Venice Beach as part of a publicity stunt for Abbot Kinney’s Venice of America resort, further cementing interest in the sport along the West Coast.
While surfing gained traction in California, the East Coast also had its early pioneers. In 1909, Burke Haywood Bridgers introduced the sport to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
Initially struggling with lightweight juniper boards, he sought guidance from Alexander Hume Ford and Hawaiian newspapers to refine board designs and surfing techniques.
Determined to spread the sport in North Carolina, Bridgers continued shaping his own surfboards and promoting the activity along the Atlantic coast.
Around the same time, Duke Kahanamoku, widely regarded as the father of modern surfing, showed his skills to New Yorkers at Rockaway Beach in 1912 while traveling to the Stockholm Olympic Games, introducing the thrill of wave-riding to the East Coast’s urban audience.
Six young women are ready with their surf boards on a beach in southern California, circa late 1920s/early 1930s.
Surfing’s popularity surged after World War II, fueled by the postwar economic boom and the growing middle class. By the 1950s, beach culture flourished as more Americans sought leisure by the ocean.
What started as a niche sport evolved into a full-fledged cultural movement, influencing music, fashion, literature, and film.
Hollywood played a significant role in this transformation, particularly with the release of Gidget in 1959, which romanticized the surf lifestyle and inspired a wave of new enthusiasts.
Women surfboarders form a star as they lie on their huge hollow surfboards on Santa Monica beach, circa 1935.
By the 1960s, surfing had become deeply embedded in American youth culture, accompanied by iconic elements such as Woodie station wagons, bikinis, board shorts, and the rise of surf music, epitomized by The Beach Boys’ 1962 hit Surfin’ Safari.
The sport’s growing influence also led to the rise of major surf brands that shaped the industry. In California, Jack O’Neill founded O’Neill in 1952, pioneering wetsuit technology.
Other companies followed, including Vans in 1966, Channel Islands Surfboards in 1969, and Dakine in 1979, all of which became synonymous with surf culture and performance gear. However, as surfing’s popularity soared, so did territorial disputes.
In areas with dense populations and sought-after surf breaks, local surfers began asserting control over their home beaches.
These tensions gave rise to informal surf gangs, who sought to protect their favorite spots from the influx of seasonal tourists, creating an undercurrent of rivalry within an otherwise laid-back culture.
Three surfing girls (left to right, Marilyn Ridge, Lyn Connelly, Dee Delaney) prepare to ride the swell and maybe catch a tube or two down on Newquay beach, Cornwall, 1955.
16 yr. old surfer Kathy (Gidget) Kohner on the beach with her surfboard, 1957.
Two women carrying their surfboards at the beach, 1960.
Members of the North Bay surfing club upload their surf boards from a station wagon at Malibu Beach, Calif. on July 12, 1961.
Maureen Horsley, 18, of Sydney, Australia, left, and American champion Linda Benson, 20, of the Encinitas Club of California, prepare for a dip in the Australian surf on May 16, 1964, in a warm-up for the World Surfboard Riding Championships at Sydney’s Manly Beach.
A woman carries her surf board down to the water on a beach near Sydney, Australia, circa 1965.
Sally Field from the television series, ‘Gidget,’ posing in a swimsuit with a surfboard on the beach, circa 1965. (
Water ski champions demonstrating their skills as they ride the wake of the waves without the use of a tow-line, at Cypress Gardens in Florida, 1965.
US surfer, Kathie Lacroix, during the Woman’s World Surfing Championships, 1966.
A woman in a checkered bikini leaning on a surf board Circa 1967 in Los Angeles.
(Photo credit: LIFE Magazine via Google Books / Flickr / Wikimedia Commons / RHP).