San Onofre (Old Man's) Surf Report & Forecast
The friendliest longboard point in California.
Current conditions
3-4 ftmax ~5 ft
Fair-Good · spilling
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 15s from the SSW
- Wind
- 0 mph SSE cross-shore
- Tide
- 3.7 ft
- Break depth
- 7 ft
- Power
- 5 kW/m
- Water
- 77°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How San Onofre (Old Man's) 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 Onofre (Old Man's), solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why San Onofre (Old Man's) looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.6 ft at 15s 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 focuses it
Kr 1.21 · 76% 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
3.7 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
0 mph from the SSE, against a shoreline facing 217°.
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 2 min, roughly 8 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 Onofre (Old Man's) surf forecast, next seven days
Holding — 3–5.2 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-5 ft | 6am to 9amFair-Good | 3.1 ft at 13s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.7 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 9amFair | 2.3 ft at 10s SSW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.4 ft 3amHigh 4.3 ft 9amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 2-4 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 1.8 ft at 20s SW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 9pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8am to 5pmFair | 3.3 ft at 17s SW | 8 mph cross-shore | Low -0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.8 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8amFair | 3.3 ft at 15s SSW | 5 mph cross-shore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.9 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 11am to 5pmFair | 3.2 ft at 13s SSW | 8 mph onshore | Low 0.8 ft 5amHigh 5.2 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pmHigh 4.0 ft 11pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 11amFair | 3.4 ft at 13s SSW | 8 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 San Onofre (Old Man's) works
Slow, shouldery, forgiving peaks over a gentle cobble reef — the closest thing California has to Waikiki, and a longboard institution since the 1930s.
- Bottom
- cobble reef, gently sloping
- Best tide
- all tides
- Best swell
- S–SW
- Suits
- beginner
Common questions about San Onofre (Old Man's)
- What is the best tide for San Onofre (Old Man's)?
- San Onofre (Old Man's) works best on all tides 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 Onofre (Old Man's)?
- S–SW suits San Onofre (Old Man's) 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 Onofre (Old Man's) good for beginners?
- San Onofre (Old Man's) suits beginner surfers, over cobble reef, gently sloping. 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 Onofre (Old Man's)?
- cobble reef, gently sloping. 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 Onofre (Old Man's) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Church surf report · 3-4 ft
- Lower Trestles surf report · 3-4 ft
- Upper Trestles surf report · 3-4 ft
- Oceanside Pier surf report · 3-4 ft
- Ponto (South Carlsbad) surf report · 3-4 ft