LIFE at the Beach

Coastal Living and LIFE.com honor the iconic photographs from LIFE magazine that capture our longtime love affair with the sea.

Photographer Loomis Dean/LIFE magazine

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Wave Rider, 1950

Photographer Loomis Dean

Thanks to movies like Gidget and The Endless Summer,LIFE on a board is a romantic notion―all ukulele and no stress. Today’s surf culture wouldn’t be the same without pioneers like renowned surf and ski bums Warren Miller and Obert Rod, who put up tents and shacks around California beaches during the 1950s. Their passionate love of the coast is enviable―something to appreciate even if you don’t want to establish a semi-permanent residence on your nearest stretch of sand.―Kristen Shelton