Zuma Beach Surf Report & Forecast
Malibu's open, powerful beach break.
Current conditions
4-6 ftmax ~7 ft
Good · plunging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 3.5 ft at 15s from the SSW
- Wind
- 5 mph ENE offshore
- Tide
- 0.3 ft
- Break depth
- 9 ft
- Power
- 10 kW/m
- Water
- 72°F · trunks
Updated Aug 26, 3:44 AM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Zuma Beach is breaking right now
Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell
What the seafloor does to this wave
A cut straight out from Zuma Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Zuma Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
3.5 ft at 15s from the SSW carrying 85% of the energy, plus 1.4 ft at 6s from the WSW (14%).
The long-period train is the one building your wave. It holds the most energy and reaches deepest. The shorter ones cross it, which is what makes the surface look busy and the takeoff shift around. Why period matters more than height →
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.96 · 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
0.3 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 9 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 →
Barely any wind
5 mph from the ENE, against a shoreline facing 222°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.
How the sets come
About one set every 2 min, roughly 7 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. Why period matters more than height →
Zuma Beach surf forecast, next seven days
Holding — 3.2–6.6 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-6 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 3.5 ft at 15s SSW | 5 mph offshore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.9 ft 8pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 3.3 ft at 13s SSW | 5 mph cross-shore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 2.0 ft at 17s SSW | 3 mph offshore | Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.3 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 10pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8amGood | 2.8 ft at 17s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.1 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8amGood | 3.2 ft at 15s SSW | 5 mph cross-shore | Low 0.3 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.9 ft 5pmHigh 4.7 ft 11pm | |
| 4-6 ft | 11amFair-Good | 3.1 ft at 14s SSW | 6 mph cross-shore | Low 0.8 ft 5amHigh 5.3 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pm | |
| 5-7 ft | 11amFair-Good | 4.5 ft at 13s SSW | 6 mph onshore | High 4.0 ft 12amLow 1.3 ft 5amHigh 5.4 ft 12pmLow 0.8 ft 7pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Zuma Beach works
Miles of steep, punchy sandbar peaks well clear of the points — Zuma picks up far more swell than Malibu around the corner and closes out just as readily when it gets big.
- Bottom
- steep sand (seasonal bars)
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–NW or S–SW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Zuma Beach
- What is the best tide for Zuma Beach?
- Zuma Beach works best on low to 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 Zuma Beach?
- W–NW or S–SW suits Zuma Beach 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 Zuma Beach good for beginners?
- Zuma Beach suits intermediate surfers, over steep sand. 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 Zuma Beach?
- steep sand (seasonal bars). 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 Zuma Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Nicholas Canyon (Zeros) surf report · 4-6 ft
- County Line (Leo Carrillo) surf report · 5-6 ft
- Malibu (First Point) surf report · 3 ft
- Topanga surf report · 3 ft
- Las Tunas surf report · 3-4 ft