What is the best tide for Sunset Cliffs?

Sunset Cliffs 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 Sunset Cliffs?

W–NW groundswell suits Sunset Cliffs 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 Sunset Cliffs good for beginners?

Sunset Cliffs suits advanced surfers, over sandstone reef below the cliffs. 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 Sunset Cliffs?

sandstone reef below the cliffs. 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 Sunset Cliffs on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Sunset Cliffs surf report and forecast

Reef and sandSan Diego, CAForecast 12:46am

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 2am

4–5 ft · sets to 6

Fair-GoodBest today 6–10am

Nothing is clearly limiting, but the swell is near, not in, its window.

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 6:55 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Best

sunrise 6:55sunset 6:12

Model, not a camera ·Today 2am PDT

Open on the map

The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.

Loads when it comes into view.

The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.

This hour

The 2am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell3.0 ft · 17 s · WSWMakes the wave: 100% of the energy. Direction at the break.
Wind1 mph from the WOnshore to a shoreline facing 264°Light
Tide1.9 ft, risingNext high 3.4 ft at 7:17am · NAVD88, NOAA 9410170 observed
BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 8 ft of water
Energy230 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
Water73° · air 72° · UV 0

High confidence.

Best window6–10am

Against what Sunset Cliffs likesWhy it is Fair-Good, not Good

Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.

Nearby at 2amOcean Beach (San Diego), Mission Beach and 3 more

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The break

The seafloorSandstone reef below the cliffs

Loading the seafloor under Sunset Cliffs…

Open the seafloor on the map

Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.

Bottomsandstone reef below the cliffs
DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2022), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.

Why it breaks like thisOne swell, uncrossed, the seafloor focuses it, where it trips

Read from the current hour (today at 2am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

One swell, uncrossed
3.0 ft at 17s from the WSW 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 1.32 · 86% 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
1.9 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 8 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 W, against a shoreline facing 264°.
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 3 min, roughly 12 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.

How Sunset Cliffs worksReefs strung along the base of the Point Loma cliffs

Reefs strung along the base of the Point Loma cliffs — proper waves that get very good on a winter W/NW, with a cliff descent and a tide window that punish carelessness.

Best tidemid to high
Best swellW–NW groundswell
Suitsadvanced

1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about Sunset Cliffs

What is the best tide for Sunset Cliffs?: Sunset Cliffs 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 Sunset Cliffs?: W–NW groundswell suits Sunset Cliffs 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 Sunset Cliffs good for beginners?: Sunset Cliffs suits advanced surfers, over sandstone reef below the cliffs. 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 Sunset Cliffs?: sandstone reef below the cliffs. 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 Sunset Cliffs on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.