La Jolla Shores Surf Report & Forecast
San Diego's learner beach, in the lee of La Jolla point.
Current conditions
1 ft
Fair · spilling
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 0.8 ft at 6s from the W
- Wind
- 2 mph N cross-shore
- Tide
- 1.5 ft
- Break depth
- 2 ft
- Power
- 0 kW/m
- Water
- 77°F · trunks
Updated Aug 26, 3:44 AM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How La Jolla Shores 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 La Jolla Shores, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why La Jolla Shores looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
0.8 ft at 6s from the W 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 focuses it
Kr 1.07 · 49% of modelled rays break.
Contours underneath are bending wave energy together into a band. That concentration is the peak, and it's why this spot can be noticeably bigger than its neighbours on the same swell. Why two breaks a mile apart differ →
Where it trips
1.5 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 2 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
2 mph from the N, against a shoreline facing 299°.
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 9 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 →
La Jolla Shores surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~2.5 ft short-period windswell from the W filling in Sun morning (+4.2 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ft | 6am to 9amFair | 0.8 ft at 6s W | 2 mph offshore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.7 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 1 ft | 6am to 8amFair | 0.5 ft at 5s W | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.3 ft 9amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 1 ft | 6amFair | 0.7 ft at 9s W | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 9pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8am to 5pmPoor-Fair | 1.1 ft at 7s W | 3 mph onshore | Low -0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.8 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8am to 11amFair | 1.9 ft at 8s W | 6 mph cross-shore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.9 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 11am to 5pmPoor-Fair | 1.3 ft at 7s W | 8 mph onshore | Low 0.8 ft 5amHigh 5.2 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pmHigh 4.0 ft 11pm | |
| too much water on the bank | — | — | — | 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 La Jolla Shores works
Soft, forgiving peaks on a wide sand beach. Point La Jolla sits to the SOUTH, so the Shores is shadowed from S/SW swell and only sees the W/NW — which is why it stays small and why every San Diego surf school is here.
- Bottom
- sand (gentle, protected)
- Best tide
- mid to high
- Best swell
- W–NW (small)
- Suits
- beginner
Common questions about La Jolla Shores
- What is the best tide for La Jolla Shores?
- La Jolla Shores works best on mid to high 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 La Jolla Shores?
- W–NW (small) suits La Jolla Shores 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 La Jolla Shores good for beginners?
- La Jolla Shores 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 La Jolla Shores?
- sand (gentle, protected). 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 La Jolla Shores on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Scripps Pier surf report · 1 ft
- Boomer Beach (La Jolla Cove) surf report · 2-3 ft
- Black's Beach surf report · 2 ft
- Windansea surf report · 2-3 ft
- Bird Rock surf report · 2-3 ft