Asilomar State Beach Surf Report & Forecast
The Peninsula's consistent outer-coast beach and reef.
Current conditions
2-3 ftmax ~4 ft
Fair · plunging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 2.6 ft at 5s from the NW
- Wind
- 5 mph W onshore
- Tide
- 5.4 ft
- Break depth
- 4 ft
- Power
- 2 kW/m
- Water
- 59°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Asilomar State 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 Asilomar State Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Asilomar State Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
2.6 ft at 5s from the NW carrying 78% of the energy, plus 1.3 ft at 15s from the W (20%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height →
The seafloor spreads it
Kr 0.78 · 80% 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
5.4 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 4 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 W, against a shoreline facing 290°.
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 1 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 →
Asilomar State Beach surf forecast, next 6 days
Building — ~4.8 ft short-period windswell from the NW filling in Sat evening (+4.1 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-4 ft | 4pmFair-Good | 1.6 ft at 15s W | 7 mph onshore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 8amFair-Good | 3.1 ft at 7s NW | 7 mph onshore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.4 ft 11amLow 2.3 ft 4pmHigh 5.7 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 1pmFair | 3.7 ft at 7s WNW | 11 mph onshore | Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.0 ft 5pmHigh 5.5 ft 11pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 8am to 5pmFair | 2.4 ft at 18s W | 11 mph onshore | Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 1.7 ft 6pmHigh 5.1 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8am to 11amFair | 2.2 ft at 15s W | 10 mph onshore | Low 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 1.4 ft 6pm | |
| 3 ft | 8amFair | 2.9 ft at 7s WNW | 8 mph onshore | High 4.7 ft 12amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.4 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Asilomar State Beach works
Out on the open Pacific side of the Peninsula, so it picks up nearly everything Monterey Bay misses. Peaks shift between granite outcrops — some days a reef, some days a beach.
- Bottom
- sand between granite reef outcrops
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–NW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Asilomar State Beach
- What is the best tide for Asilomar State Beach?
- Asilomar State 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 Asilomar State Beach?
- W–NW suits Asilomar State 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 Asilomar State Beach good for beginners?
- Asilomar State Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand between granite reef outcrops. 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 Asilomar State Beach?
- sand between granite reef outcrops. 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 Asilomar State Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Carmel Beach surf report · 2 ft
- Monastery Beach surf report · 2 ft
- Marina State Beach surf report · 2 ft
- Moss Landing State Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Zmudowski State Beach surf report · shorebreak only