Windansea Beach, Protected beach area in La Jolla, United States.

Windansea Beach is a protected coastal area in La Jolla featuring rocky formations that extend into the water and create a distinctive shoreline. Tides and underwater reefs generate powerful waves that break directly onto the beach, producing rough conditions for any water-based activity.

The palm-covered shack at Windansea was built in 1947 by Woody Ekstrom, Fred Kenyon, Don Okey and others as shade for surfers' boards and families. It was designated San Diego Historical Landmark 358 on May 27, 1998, destroyed by a storm in 2003, rebuilt, knocked down again on December 24, 2015, and rebuilt by locals in June 2016.

The name comes from the 1909 Strand Hotel, renamed Windansea in 1919 after owner Arthur Snell held a naming contest. The Windansea Surf Club was founded by Chuck Hasley in summer 1963, with Mike Hynson and Skip Frye among its founding members. In 1963 Michael Dormer and Lee Teacher placed a six-foot, 400-pound cement Hot Curl statue on the rocks, holding a beer and scanning the ocean; it appeared in the 1964 film Muscle Beach Party.

Visitors should exercise extreme caution when entering or leaving the water due to heavy shore breaks and rocky formations that pose serious hazards. It is wise to visit during calmer conditions or observe from a safe vantage point if you lack experience with challenging ocean environments.

The palm-covered shack near the sand is not original fabric throughout: it was rebuilt after storms in 2003, 2015 and 2016, and moved about two feet inland in 2003. A 2022 plaque calls it the oldest continuously used shelter of its kind on the West Coast.