Rodeo Beach Surf Report & Forecast
SF's close-to-home beach break in the Marin Headlands.
Current conditions
4-5 ftmax ~6 ft
Fair-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
- 3.0 ft at 13s from the SW
- Wind
- 18 mph W cross-shore
- Tide
- 4.9 ft
- Break depth
- 8 ft
- Power
- 6 kW/m
- Water
- 60°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How Rodeo 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 Rodeo Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Rodeo Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
3.0 ft at 13s from the SW 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 spreads it
Kr 0.82 · 78% of modelled rays break.
Energy is fanning outwards over the bottom here, so the wave arrives smaller than the open-ocean swell height suggests. Nothing is wrong with the forecast. The seafloor took the difference. Why two breaks a mile apart differ →
Where it trips
4.9 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 8 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
18 mph from the W, against a shoreline facing 217°.
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 1 min, roughly 6 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 →
Rodeo Beach surf forecast, next 6 days
Building — ~5 ft mid-period swell from the W filling in Thu morning (+1.2 d, high confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-6 ft | 6am to 11amFair-Good | 3.4 ft at 13s WSW | 6 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 2.6 ft 5pmHigh 6.1 ft 11pm | |
| 4-6 ft | 6am to 7pmFair-Good | 3.9 ft at 13s WSW | 9 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 12pmLow 2.3 ft 5pmHigh 6.0 ft 11pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 5pm to 7pmFair-Good | 2.2 ft at 18s SSW | 16 mph cross-shore | Low 0.1 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.9 ft 6pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8am to 5pmFair-Good | 2.8 ft at 18s SSW | 13 mph cross-shore | High 5.8 ft 12amLow 0.4 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 1pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 4-6 ft | 8am to 5pmFair-Good | 3.5 ft at 15s SSW | 15 mph cross-shore | High 5.5 ft 1amLow 0.8 ft 7amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 4-6 ft | 8am to 2pmFair-Good | 3.6 ft at 14s SW | 16 mph cross-shore | High 5.2 ft 2amLow 1.3 ft 7amHigh 5.9 ft 2pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Rodeo Beach works
The closest ocean beach break to SF for S swell, and more wind-protected than Ocean Beach.
- Bottom
- sand/pebble over rock (cove)
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–SW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Rodeo Beach
- What is the best tide for Rodeo Beach?
- Rodeo 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 Rodeo Beach?
- W–SW suits Rodeo 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 Rodeo Beach good for beginners?
- Rodeo Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand/pebble over rock. 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 Rodeo Beach?
- sand/pebble over rock (cove). 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 Rodeo Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Tennessee Cove surf report · 3-4 ft
- Muir Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Stinson Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Bolinas (The Channel) surf report · 2 ft
- Fort Point surf report · 2-3 ft