San Gregorio State Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 8am
5–7 ft · sets to 8
Fair-GoodBest today All day (8am–7pm)
Nothing is clearly limiting, but wind is tolerable and the tide is only near its band.
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
- Swell4.8 ft · 12 s · WMakes the wave: 68% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 2.7 ft · 6 s · WNWSecondary: 23% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.5 ft · 17 s · WSWSecondary: 7% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind7 mph from the NWCross-shore to a shoreline facing 274°Moderate
- Tide4.1 ft, fallingNext low 3.3 ft at 12:31pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9414131 predicted (no live sensor)
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 11 ft of water
- Energy411 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
- Water63° · air 52° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowAll day (8am–7pm)
Against what San Gregorio State Beach 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 8amTunitas Creek, Pomponio State Beach and 3 more
The break
The seafloorBeach + rivermouth (lagoon)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottombeach + rivermouth (lagoon)
- 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
4.8 ft at 12s from the W carrying 68% of the energy, plus 2.7 ft at 6s from the WNW (23%), plus 1.5 ft at 17s from the WSW (7%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 1.00 · 92% 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
4.1 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 11 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 cross-shore
7 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 274°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
How the sets come
About one set every 1 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 San Gregorio State Beach worksFairly consistent beach and rivermouth
Fairly consistent beach and rivermouth; the sandbar shifts with the creek.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellSW–W
- Suitsbeginner-intermediate
3 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about San Gregorio State Beach
- What is the best tide for San Gregorio State Beach?
- San Gregorio 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 San Gregorio State Beach?
- SW–W suits San Gregorio 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 San Gregorio State Beach good for beginners?
- San Gregorio State Beach suits beginner-intermediate surfers, over beach + 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 San Gregorio State Beach?
- beach + rivermouth (lagoon). 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 Gregorio State Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.