Montara State Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 8am
3–4 ft · sets to 6
GoodBest today 9am–2pm
Swell lines up; it is modest in size.
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 8am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell2.8 ft · 13 s · WMakes the wave: 76% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.3 ft · 5 s · WNWSecondary: 16% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 0.8 ft · 8 s · WNWSecondary: 7% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind9 mph from the ENEOffshore to a shoreline facing 285°Moderate
- Tide3.4 ft, risingNext high 5.0 ft at 2:03pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9414131 predicted (no live sensor)
- BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 7 ft of water
- Energy143 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water59° · air 60° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best window9am–2pm
Against what Montara State Beach likesWhy it is Good, not Epic
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 8amGray Whale Cove, Ross's Cove and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand (exposed)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand (exposed)
- 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 this3 swells at once, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 8am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
3 swells at once
2.8 ft at 13s from the W carrying 76% of the energy, plus 1.3 ft at 5s from the WNW (16%), plus 0.8 ft at 8s from the WNW (7%).
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 0.86 · 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
3.4 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
Wind is offshore
9 mph from the ENE, against a shoreline facing 285°.
Blowing from the land into the face, holding the wave up as it stands. That is what grooms it and gives you the clean, hollow version of this spot.
How the sets come
About one set every 2 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.
How Montara State Beach worksPowerful and often close-out
Powerful and often close-out; the best peak is up the north end by the stairs. Experienced only.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellWSW
- Suitsintermediate-expert
3 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Montara State Beach
- What is the best tide for Montara State Beach?
- Montara State Beach works best on low to 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 Montara State Beach?
- WSW suits Montara State Beach 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 Montara State Beach good for beginners?
- Montara State Beach suits intermediate-expert 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 Montara State Beach?
- sand (exposed). 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 Montara State Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.