What is the best tide for Cardiff Reef?

Cardiff Reef 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 Cardiff Reef?

W–NW or SW suits Cardiff Reef 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 Cardiff Reef good for beginners?

Cardiff Reef suits beginner-intermediate surfers, over reef and cobble at the rivermouth. 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 Cardiff Reef?

reef and cobble at the rivermouth. 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 Cardiff Reef on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Cardiff Reef Surf Report & Forecast

The friendliest reef in North County.

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: 1.5 ft at 15s from the WSW
Wind: 1 mph WNW cross-shore
Tide: 3.7 ft
Break depth: 5 ft
Power: 2 kW/m
Water: 77°F · trunks

Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated

How Cardiff Reef is breaking right now

Loading Cardiff Reef…

Live · Cardiff Reef, solving nowOpen Cardiff Reef on the map

Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell

What the seafloor does to this wave

A cut straight out from Cardiff Reef, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.

Why Cardiff Reef looks like this right now

The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.

Two swells at once
1.5 ft at 15s from the WSW carrying 84% of the energy, plus 0.7 ft at 6s from the W (16%).
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 0.94 · 86% 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
3.7 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 →
Barely any wind
1 mph from the WNW, against a shoreline facing 244°.
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 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 →

Cardiff Reef surf forecast, next seven days

Building — ~3.9 ft long-period groundswell from the WSW filling in Sun morning (+4.3 d, medium confidence)

Seven-day surf forecast for Cardiff Reef: wave height, best window, swell, wind and tide.
Day	Surf	Best window	Swell	Wind	Tide
Wed, Aug 26	2-3 ft	6am to 8amFair-Good	1.5 ft at 15s WSW	1 mph onshore	Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.7 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm
Thu, Aug 27	2-3 ft	6amGood	1.7 ft at 14s WSW	3 mph offshore	Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.3 ft 9amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm
Fri, Aug 28	2-4 ft	6am to 7amGood	1.9 ft at 13s WSW	2 mph cross-shore	Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 9pm
Sat, Aug 29	3-4 ft	8amFair-Good	2.2 ft at 17s WSW	3 mph onshore	Low -0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.8 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm
Sun, Aug 30	3-4 ft	8amFair-Good	2.1 ft at 15s WSW	6 mph onshore	Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.9 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm
Mon, Aug 31	2-3 ft	5pmFair	1.7 ft at 13s SW	8 mph onshore	Low 0.8 ft 5amHigh 5.2 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pmHigh 4.0 ft 11pm
Tue, Sep 1	3 ft	11amFair	1.9 ft at 13s SW	9 mph onshore	Low 1.3 ft 5amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 0.9 ft 7pm

Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.

How Cardiff Reef works

A soft, shouldery reef by the San Elijo rivermouth that takes almost any swell direction and stays forgiving — the longboard and learn-to-surf counterpart to Swamis up the road.

Bottom: reef and cobble at the rivermouth
Best tide: mid
Best swell: W–NW or SW
Suits: beginner-intermediate

Common questions about Cardiff Reef

What is the best tide for Cardiff Reef?: Cardiff Reef 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 Cardiff Reef?: W–NW or SW suits Cardiff Reef 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 Cardiff Reef good for beginners?: Cardiff Reef suits beginner-intermediate surfers, over reef and cobble at the rivermouth. 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 Cardiff Reef?: reef and cobble at the rivermouth. 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 Cardiff Reef on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Nearby breaks

Swamis surf report · 2-3 ft
Moonlight Beach surf report · 3 ft
Beacons surf report · 2-3 ft
Del Mar (15th Street) surf report · 2-3 ft
Grandview surf report · 2-3 ft