San Clemente Pier Surf Report & Forecast
The town pier beach break.
Current conditions
3-4 ftmax ~5 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
- 2.9 ft at 13s from the SSW
- Wind
- 3 mph SSE cross-shore
- Tide
- 3.4 ft
- Break depth
- 7 ft
- Power
- 5 kW/m
- Water
- 72°F · trunks
Updated Aug 26, 3:44 AM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How San Clemente Pier 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 San Clemente Pier, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why San Clemente Pier looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.9 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 0.95 · 84% 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
3.4 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 →
Barely any wind
3 mph from the SSE, against a shoreline facing 238°.
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 →
San Clemente Pier surf forecast, next seven days
Holding — 2.9–4.7 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 2.9 ft at 13s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 2.2 ft at 10s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 9am to 10amFair-Good | 1.6 ft at 17s SW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.4 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8am to 11amFair-Good | 2.4 ft at 18s SW | 3 mph onshore | Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8amFair-Good | 2.7 ft at 15s SW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 11amFair | 2.6 ft at 14s SW | 7 mph onshore | Low 0.7 ft 5amHigh 5.3 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 11amFair | 3.1 ft at 13s SSW | 7 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 San Clemente Pier works
Sandbars either side of the San Clemente pier — the most accessible peak in town and a reliable fallback when T-Street is packed.
- Bottom
- sand either side of the pier
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- S–SW or W
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about San Clemente Pier
- What is the best tide for San Clemente Pier?
- San Clemente Pier works best on 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 San Clemente Pier?
- S–SW or W suits San Clemente Pier 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 San Clemente Pier good for beginners?
- San Clemente Pier suits intermediate surfers, over sand either side of the pier. 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 San Clemente Pier?
- sand either side of the pier. 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 San Clemente Pier on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- T-Street (San Clemente) surf report · 3-4 ft
- Doheny surf report · 4-5 ft
- Salt Creek surf report · 4-5 ft
- Brooks Street (Laguna) surf report · 4-5 ft
- Blackies (Newport) surf report · 2 ft