Entry No. 8 — the San Diego file — filed under: outdoor

Cardiff Kook ("Magic Carpet Ride")

A $120,000 bronze surfer that local surfers decided looked so wrong — feet backwards, hands claw-like — that they nicknamed it "the Kook" and started dressing it in costumes almost weekly: Zorro capes, a 15-foot papier-mâché shark head swallowing it whole, Santa suits, breast-cancer-awareness pink. The sculptor hates the tradition; the town has built its identity around it anyway.

The move: Drive up Coast Hwy 101 at sunset, see what the Kook is wearing today (check @cardiffkook social accounts beforehand to know what to expect), then walk onto San Elijo State Beach right behind it for the cliffs-and-tide-pools view that made this stretch famous before the statue did.

• 📍 Cardiff-by-the-Sea (Encinitas)
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Chesterfield Dr & Coast Hwy 101 (San Elijo State Beach entrance), Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007

Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · weirdca.com

last checked: 2026-07-19