Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum

Love , love, love, this place . Everyone has to go to this surf Museum. It was so interesting knowing about the Duke. And the history of Huntington Beach. The surf history. They have artwork as well for sale, beautiful. Everyone must go. I never want museums like this to go out of business. This museum is not just a museum. It has heart.

Janet was awesome. Shared her knowledge and positive energy! Left a note for all to see!!

Truly unique and quaint museum with lots of interesting information, surf history and original artwork! Donations only, no admittance fee but they have a cute gift shop area with local fare-books, t-shirts, coffee mugs and more. Definitely worth a look if you’re in HB. One block off Main Street at 6th & Olive. If you’re a surfer fan be sure to check it out.

This place is really cool! The guide answered my questions & told me some really cool stories. If you love surfing, art or even just history. It's worth the visit. They are right next to all the stuff that costs a lot of money but it's free. Donations are accepted. The public parking is free for 90 minutes. So it's actually cost effective and out of the weather. Go.. seriously it's awesome. They also sell prints of local surf artists paintings.

Nice place , help with your visit this place . Interesting history of the surf boards and you can see how over 60 people ride a surfboard for 12 seconds. Awesome place. Excellent attendance. Quick place. You don't have to expend a lot of time in there And your contribution help local

This place is nice and you can read and learn more about surfers and their boards but i think maybe some music? Great front desk lady. They only ask for donations, so you are not charged. Its very small but a place to relax while going to or from the beach. Its definitely a place to go if you're into surfing!

Awesome little museum. Free to visit. Lot of history in a small place. And putting in a whole section for Huntington Beach one day. Def enjoyed it.

In a word, "Epic". The vibe was chill, the information, deep, and the total experience, rad. A brief history not just of Surfing, but of Huntington Beach, and the players involved. Of particular interest was the OP Pro memorabilia, reminding me of a happy childhood spent in HB...

I've been going to Huntington Beach for years and just recently found out about this surf museum by watching a YouTube video about things to do in HB. We checked it out after having lunch on Main Street yesterday. Admission- free but please opt to put some $ in the donation box Staff- one gentleman named Terry who was incredibly friendly and informative to all who walked in while we were there...just a great guy! Exhibit- it changes every year or so and currently the emphasis was on the 40th anniversary of the OP Pro (US Open) annual surf competition that started in 1982. They have a video, surfboard examples, artwork, and other objects related to the history of surfing and the HB surf history Parking lot- make sure to check out the largest surfboard ever that is displayed...66 people rode it at once about 7 yrs ago. It is about 42 ft long

For those that love surf culture this is the place to be. Tucked away and full of knowledge. We came to visit the Op anniversary display and we loved all the items they had on display.

Sunday during the opening week of the us open of surfing stopped by the museum near / behind big Starbucks off Main Street. Many cool historic local surf memorabilia. Friendly folks " docents" & only costs 2$ a Gongas by Socl's standards! Check it out! ( free yelp check in sticker not available)

I've been to Huntington Beach a million times and only just discovered this. There are tons of surf artifacts and it's full of information, not to mention a surf board holding the world record for most people riding at once (66). The museum is free and is by donation only. The highlight of the trip was by far the persons there. They were the kind of people that are so genuine and kind. They made our day! Highly recommend a trip to this little gem.

The museum has a really nice combination of the roots of wave riding and surfing in and around Huntington Beach. The woman overseeing the museum was delightful.

Really interesting small museum with a 15-minute video. Memorabilia is attractively arranged, & it's easy to get up close. Good location just blocks from Huntington Beach, where there was plenty of action. "Surf City" was preparing for the Open just days away.

Small cute place. Yet disappointing and boring. This place could be so much more. It focuses on too many of the same things. It should be called the Eddie aikau museum. There is room to put more artifacts in here. Maybe a video too. Hang stuff from the ceiling. But for $2 you will learn a little about surfing.

No visit to Huntington Beach "Surf City" would be complete without a stop at the Interntional Surf Museum. It's a cozy little place just off Main Street; easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Come in and browse the cool surfing memorabilia for free, but keep in mind that the place runs on donations and sales of those surfing t-shirts you see stacked everywhere in the middle of the shop. Hey, if you're going to buy souvenirs and t-shirts anyway, might as well buy them here and support a great little treasure trove of local history. The owner is very friendly and loves to get signatures in his guest book.

The kindest group of people work here! Seriously got me so stoked to learn more about surfing and pick it up one day. So much cool information in there and an impressive collection of surfboards. Thanks for sharing the stoke!

A fun place to visit after lunch at Huntington Beach. lots of cool vintage surf boards and skateboards to check out. Don't forget to check out the largest surf board in the parking lot next door!

It's not the LACMA, Louvre or Met. It's not even close to the MOMA. But it's ours, a museum to document and memorialize California's surfing history in our very own "Surf City". With due respect to the "Godfather of surfing", Duke Kahanamoku, this small building does it's best to show the positive side of the "sport of kings"*. Highlighting all the uniqueness of surfing, the HB Surfing Museum takes us from it's roots to where it's going, from the musical influences of Dick Dale and the Del Tones, the Surfaris, Beach Boys and others, to Hollywood with production posters and an incredible life-sized Silver Surfer. A small screening room shows surfing flicks from the early black and white days before "The Endless Summer" to "Point Break" and beyond. Trophies, medals and sidewalk pavers from the Surfing Walk of Fame identify standouts, heavy wood boards show the creativity of early board makers and an incredible assortment of trinkets, baubles and medallions draw the inquisitive and make for a great hour (or more) of beach time. There's no entry fee but donations are gladly accepted. Donations keep the doors open. So enjoy yourself and see what makes surfers do the wild and crazy things they do even while being astronauts, physicists, doctors, lawyers, fighter pilots and bums like me. *In early Hawaiian lore, surfing was restricted to the royal family, under penalty of death. And when the Puritanical Lutheran ministers came in, they banned surfing altogether declaring it a lewd, lazy activity in the eyes of God! Current beliefs are that indeed, God was a surfer and damn the Puritans. They were ignorant.

If you go to Huntington Beach to check out the pier, enjoy the sand and sea, watch surfers, or shop and eat -- be sure to make a stop at the International Surfing Museum. This small, intensely focused museum is awesome -- and should be a required visit for anyone who spends any time whatsoever in Huntington Beach. The displays cover the development of surf boards and related gear, women who surf, the Surfing Walk of Fame, skateboarding's relationship to surfing, and other related topics. Over Labor Day weekend, there was an excellent special anniversary exhibit of the comic art of Bob Penuelas, whose Wilbur Kookmeyer strips have run in Surfer magazine for 20 years. The strip reminds me of the Radical Rick strips that used to run in BMX Plus magazine, and even though Penuelas' "Beach Towne" two-page spread is derivative of a piece by R. Crumb, his work is interesting enough that I wish a collection were available. The museum's small gift shop sports an impressive collection of independent and local surf music -- including the Insect Surfers. And be sure to use the restroom if you need to. It's clean, and the toilet flush lever is a nice touch. Seriously!

It's small, BUT packed full of surf history. Surf music, surf films, and just plane surfing. This museum has it all. It's literally a treasure trove of all things surfing. Stop by and and see for yourself.

This place was great - awesome little pit stop if you are in HB and want some quick history on surfing in general. Also, if you REALLY love the Beach Boys, this is the place to go. We got a nice rundown of the history of the surfboard and there is also a display of skateboarding and a special review of women in surfing. There is a whole wall dedicated to the Beach Boys...maybe not so relevant, but I'm sure the people who set it up would argue. :) Check it out if you have an extra 10-15 minutes.

Looking for a cheap option to get a lil culture while trying to beat your taco coma? Look no further than the Surf Museum. Located next to the Starbucks off Main and Olive, it's got some super cool features. It's not a long and involved process... you could probably do a full sweep of the place in 25-30 mins, including the video. For the $3 donation, it's pretty interesting and worth a drop-in. Judy (aka Luki) was a great hostess and gave us some great insight into the working of the place and some of the highlights.

Admission is 2 dollars. A great place to go if you are a surfer and are interested in the history of surfing. It is a pretty small museum.

I'm not really sure how this place has such a high rating. To be fair, I'm not a surfer. I got dragged here by my dad. It's very small. They have a few cool artifacts, like the Silver Surfer and Duke's hood ornament. But there were quite a few things that didn't seem to belong. There was a glass cabinet with different surf figurines. They had the old California Rasin guys and even a Disney character. And a whole display of someone's surf paintings and ocean-themed art. Sections of the museum seemed like they ran out of stuff, so they just threw in things that were just remotely surf-themed. The museum is pretty small, but it's free. That's a plus. The store section is pretty nice. They had a ton of shirts (up to a 3X), stickers and pins. They also carry St. Christopher's necklaces. Those were pretty. Make sure to get an Endless Summer poster signed by all three of the guys from the movie. They're $50 for posters with all three signatures. I suggest getting a poster tube from UPS across the street ($6). If you're a surfer, you'll love the museum.

Just an absolutely epic experience. So many good exhibits and memorabilia to see and history to read up on. An awesome video in which a Guinness World Record was broken with biggest surfboard and most surfers to actually surf on the board. For only $2, you should definitely stop in.

My surf class professor recommended our class to come to this museum as part of a project we are doing. There is a gigantic surfboard outside that is insane! The inside is covered in artifacts and surfboards and really fosters a sense of local pride. HB is such a Mecca of surfboarding and it's awesome to see all of it laid out in front of you. Check it out and Go CSUF Titans!

Loved this very small but interesting museum. The lady who was manning the place was so sweet and informative and totally excited to share her knowledge of local surf culture. For 2 bucks we got to see cool artifacts, cool videos, and she also gave me and my friends plumeria blooms to put in our hair!

Very cool little museum. Free to enter. A shrine to "Duke" the Hawaiian that brought the sport to the main land. A lot of boards from famous surfers. Many guitars from famous surf guitarist like the awesome Dick Dale. They had "Endless Summer" playing in a little theater, it was a cool movie. A must see if you are in Huntington Beach. I hear they have surf guitar bands there sometimes.

This is a very small museum, but worth a visit when coming to town. Huntington Beach is known as "Surf City", surfing plays a huge part in local culture. It doesn't take long to walk through the exhibit - and it is interesting and educational to see the history of surfing. It's crazy to see the evolution of the boards themselves. Located right in the heart of downtown, it's worth a trip. There is no fee, but donations are appreciated.

Loved this museum! Tina was very nice and showed me around the museum, while telling me about the history of surfing. I learned so much and will definitely be returning to check out events and new exhibits!

Our daughter Kristi was one of the original employees at the museum. She spent a lot of time helping to get the museum set up. She was luck to meet a lot of the living legends at its grand opening. When you visit H.B. one of the must see's is this museum. Great place, lots of info, yes it may be small, but it sure is mighty.

THE INTERNATIONAL SURFING MUSEUM IN HUNTINGTON BEACH............ is a cool little FREE museum, in HUNTINGTON BEACH, right when you enter you see a kinda shrine to DUKE KAHANAMAKU a famous surfer from hawaii who pretty much made surfing popular. it has a bunch of surfing memorabilia, famous surf boards, stuff about some of our most famous surf legends. it has stuff about the musicuians that made surf music popular. you can see surf movies there. i personallylike seeing stuff about huntington beach from the 60's and 70's. it is a great little place to take the family to learn a little history about SURF CITY'S FAMOUS SPORT........ SURFING!

Love the museum and the Staff...but Bruce is a rude ass...on two different occasions...just blown off...screw that guy...

I liked this place! It's different and interesting. I have more respect for bodyboarding!