Manresa State Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 2am
3–4 ft · sets to 5
Fair-GoodBest today 7am–1pm
Nothing is clearly limiting, but the swell is near, not in, its window and wind is tolerable.
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
- Swell2.6 ft · 14 s · WSWMakes the wave: 90% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind7 mph from the NCross-shore to a shoreline facing 237°Moderate
- Tide1.2 ft, risingNext high 4.1 ft at 7:44am · NAVD88, NOAA 9413450 observed
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 7 ft of water
- Energy126 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water65° · air 53° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best window7am–1pm
Against what Manresa 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 2amRio Del Mar, New Brighton and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand (seasonal bars)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand (seasonal bars)
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2023), 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 is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 2am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.6 ft at 14s 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 is neutral here
Kr 1.02 · 90% 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
1.2 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 cross-shore
7 mph from the N, against a shoreline facing 237°.
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 2 min, roughly 10 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 Manresa State Beach worksMiles of shifting sandbar peaks with far fewer people than the…
Miles of shifting sandbar peaks with far fewer people than the Santa Cruz points. Punchy when the bars are right, closed-out when they aren't.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellS–SW groundswell
- Suitsintermediate
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Manresa State Beach
- What is the best tide for Manresa State Beach?
- Manresa 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 Manresa State Beach?
- S–SW groundswell suits Manresa 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 Manresa State Beach good for beginners?
- Manresa State Beach suits intermediate 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 Manresa State Beach?
- sand (seasonal bars). 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 Manresa State Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.