Tennessee Cove Surf Report & Forecast
A hike-in cove in the Marin Headlands.
Current conditions
3-4 ftmax ~6 ft
Fair-Good · surging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 2.9 ft at 14s from the SSW
- Wind
- 9 mph W cross-shore
- Tide
- 2.6 ft
- Break depth
- 7 ft
- Power
- 6 kW/m
- Water
- 58°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 26, 12:40 AM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Tennessee Cove 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 Tennessee Cove, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Tennessee Cove looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
2.9 ft at 14s from the SSW carrying 93% of the energy, plus 0.8 ft at 4s from the W (7%).
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 0.86 · 82% 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
2.6 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
9 mph from the W, against a shoreline facing 224°.
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 →
Tennessee Cove surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~6.1 ft long-period groundswell from the SSW filling in Tue afternoon (+6.5 d, low confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-5 ft | 7am to 11amFair-Good | 3.0 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 | |
| 4-5 ft | 2pm to 7pmFair-Good | 3.1 ft at 14s SSW | 18 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 12pmLow 2.3 ft 5pmHigh 6.0 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 3.0 ft at 12s SSW | 10 mph cross-shore | Low 0.1 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.9 ft 6pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8am to 5pmFair-Good | 2.5 ft at 18s SW | 14 mph cross-shore | High 5.8 ft 12amLow 0.4 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 1pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8amFair-Good | 2.9 ft at 15s SW | 10 mph cross-shore | High 5.5 ft 1amLow 0.8 ft 7amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8am to 2pmFair | 3.1 ft at 14s SSW | 16 mph onshore | High 5.2 ft 2amLow 1.3 ft 7amHigh 5.9 ft 2pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm | |
| 4-6 ft | 8am to 2pmFair-Good | 4.0 ft at 14s SSW | 9 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 Tennessee Cove works
A narrow cove at the end of the Tennessee Valley trail — a two-mile walk each way, which is exactly why it is empty. Small, fickle, and beautiful.
- Bottom
- sand and cobble in a steep cove
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–SW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Tennessee Cove
- What is the best tide for Tennessee Cove?
- Tennessee Cove 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 Tennessee Cove?
- W–SW suits Tennessee Cove 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 Tennessee Cove good for beginners?
- Tennessee Cove suits intermediate surfers, over sand and cobble in a steep cove. 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 Tennessee Cove?
- sand and cobble in a steep 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 Tennessee Cove on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Muir Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Rodeo Beach surf report · 4-5 ft
- Stinson Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Bolinas (The Channel) surf report · 2 ft
- Fort Point surf report · 2-3 ft