Natural Bridges surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 2am
4–5 ft · sets to 6
GoodBest today All day (7am–7pm)
The swell is the limiting factor.
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
- Swell3.1 ft · 15 s · SSWMakes the wave: 94% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind10 mph from the NWOffshore to a shoreline facing 178°Moderate
- Tide1.2 ft, risingNext high 4.1 ft at 7:44am · NAVD88, NOAA 9413450 observed
- BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 8 ft of water
- Energy206 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
- Water65° · air 57° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowAll day (7am–7pm)
Against what Natural Bridges 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 2amMitchell's Cove, Stockton Avenue and 3 more
The break
The seafloorRock reef at the west end of the westside
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomrock reef at the west end of the westside
- 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
3.1 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 is neutral here
Kr 1.02 · 88% 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 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
Wind is offshore
10 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 178°.
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 1 min, roughly 4 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 Natural Bridges worksA reef peak off the state beach at the top of the westside
A reef peak off the state beach at the top of the westside — more exposed than the Lane and considerably less crowded, with a walk to keep it that way.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellW–NW
- Suitsintermediate
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Natural Bridges
- What is the best tide for Natural Bridges?
- Natural Bridges 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 Natural Bridges?
- W–NW suits Natural Bridges 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 Natural Bridges good for beginners?
- Natural Bridges suits intermediate surfers, over rock reef at the west end of the westside. 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 Natural Bridges?
- rock reef at the west end of the westside. 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 Natural Bridges on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.