What is the best tide for Topanga?

Topanga works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.

What swell direction is best for Topanga?

S–SW suits Topanga best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.

Is Topanga good for beginners?

Topanga suits intermediate surfers, over cobble point at a creek mouth. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.

What is the bottom like at Topanga?

cobble point at a creek mouth. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Topanga on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Topanga surf report and forecast

Cobble pointMalibu, Los Angeles, CAForecast 6:47pm

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 8pm

3–4 ft · sets to 5

GoodNo window today · next tomorrow 7–11am

Nothing is clearly limiting, but wind is tolerable and it is modest in size.

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 7:02 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Model, not a camera ·Today 8pm PDT

Open on the map

The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.

Loads when it comes into view.

The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.

This hour

The 8pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell2.5 ft · 15 s · SSWMakes the wave: 100% of the energy. Direction at the break.
Wind7 mph from the WNWCross-shore to a shoreline facing 175°Moderate
Tide2.2 ft, fallingNext low 0.6 ft at 11:38pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9410840 observed
BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 7 ft of water
Energy129 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
Water72° · air 71° · UV 0

High confidence.

Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow 7–11am

No usable window in daylight today.

Against what Topanga likesWhy it is Good, not Epic

Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.

Nearby at 8pmLas Tunas, Big Rock and 3 more

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The break

The seafloorCobble point at a creek mouth

Loading the seafloor under Topanga…

Open the seafloor on the map

Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.

Bottomcobble point at a creek mouth
DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2022), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.

Why it breaks like thisOne swell, uncrossed, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips

Read from the current hour (today at 8pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

One swell, uncrossed
2.5 ft at 15s from the SSW and nothing significant crossing it.
A single train is the cleanest case there is: the sets arrive from one angle, so the peak should sit in the same place each time instead of wandering. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.92 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
Where it trips
2.2 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 7 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break
Wind is cross-shore
7 mph from the WNW, against a shoreline facing 175°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
How the sets come
About one set every 3 min, roughly 11 waves in it.
Swell arrives in groups, not evenly. That spacing is what you are really timing your paddle-out to, and it's why the lineup can look flat for minutes and then produce five waves at once.

How Topanga worksA cobble point where Topanga Creek meets the sea

A cobble point where Topanga Creek meets the sea — faster and more walled than Malibu, and it holds a bigger south. Small, tight, and well defended by regulars.

Best tidemid
Best swellS–SW
Suitsintermediate

1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about Topanga

What is the best tide for Topanga?: Topanga works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
What swell direction is best for Topanga?: S–SW suits Topanga best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
Is Topanga good for beginners?: Topanga suits intermediate surfers, over cobble point at a creek mouth. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
What is the bottom like at Topanga?: cobble point at a creek mouth. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Topanga on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.