Stinson Beach Surf Report & Forecast
Mellow, consistent beginner beach in Marin.
Current conditions
2-3 ftmax ~4 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
- 1.8 ft at 13s from the SSW
- Wind
- 9 mph NW cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.9 ft
- Break depth
- 5 ft
- Power
- 2 kW/m
- Water
- 59°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How Stinson 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 Stinson Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Stinson Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
1.8 ft at 13s 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 0.97 · 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
5.9 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 5 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
9 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 208°.
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 5 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 →
Stinson Beach surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~5 ft long-period groundswell from the SSW filling in Tue afternoon (+6.5 d, low confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 12pmGood | 2.0 ft at 13s SSW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 2.6 ft 5pmHigh 6.1 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 2.5 ft at 13s SSW | 9 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 12pmLow 2.3 ft 5pmHigh 6.0 ft 11pm | |
| 2-4 ft | 6am to 11amGood | 2.6 ft at 12s SSW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low 0.1 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.9 ft 6pm | |
| 2 ft | 8amFair-Good | 1.5 ft at 9s SW | 9 mph cross-shore | High 5.8 ft 12amLow 0.4 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 1pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8am to 11amFair-Good | 1.3 ft at 15s SSW | 10 mph cross-shore | High 5.5 ft 1amLow 0.8 ft 7amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 11am to 5pmFair-Good | 2.4 ft at 14s SSW | 13 mph cross-shore | High 5.2 ft 2amLow 1.3 ft 7amHigh 5.9 ft 2pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 11amFair-Good | 3.4 ft at 14s SSW | 8 mph cross-shore | High 4.8 ft 2amLow 1.9 ft 8amHigh 6.1 ft 2pmLow 0.7 ft 9pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Stinson Beach works
Mellow and consistent — the Marin beginner/surf-school beach. Shadowed from NW swell.
- Bottom
- sand (W/NW shadowed by Pt Reyes/Duxbury)
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- SW
- Suits
- beginner
Common questions about Stinson Beach
- What is the best tide for Stinson Beach?
- Stinson 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 Stinson Beach?
- SW suits Stinson 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 Stinson Beach good for beginners?
- Stinson Beach suits beginner surfers, over 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 Stinson Beach?
- sand (W/NW shadowed by Pt Reyes/Duxbury). 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 Stinson Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Bolinas (The Channel) surf report · 2 ft
- Muir Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Tennessee Cove surf report · 4-5 ft
- Rodeo Beach surf report · 4-5 ft
- Ocean Beach — Kelly's Cove surf report · 3 ft