What is the best tide for Three Mile?

Three Mile 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 Three Mile?

W–SW suits Three Mile 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 Three Mile good for beginners?

Three Mile suits intermediate surfers, over beach + reef. 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 Three Mile?

beach + reef. 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 Three Mile on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Three Mile surf report and forecast

Reef breakSanta Cruz, CAForecast 6:47am

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 8am

4–6 ft · sets to 7

GoodBest today All day (8am–7pm)

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

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 7:20 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Best

sunset 6:26

Model, not a camera ·Today 8am 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 8am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell3.3 ft · 15 s · SSWMakes the wave: 60% of the energy. Direction at the break.
2.4 ft · 13 s · SWSecondary: 32% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 11° from WSW in deep water.
Wind9 mph from the NNWCross-shore to a shoreline facing 218°Moderate
Tide4.1 ft, fallingNext low 3.3 ft at 12:28pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9413450 observed
BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 9 ft of water
Energy370 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
Water65° · air 55° · UV 0

High confidence.

Best windowAll day (8am–7pm)

Against what Three Mile 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 8amFour Mile, Natural Bridges and 3 more

Compare on the map

The break

The seafloorBeach + reef

Loading the seafloor under Three Mile…

Open the seafloor on the map

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

Bottombeach + reef
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 thisTwo swells at once, the seafloor focuses it, where it trips

Read from the current hour (today at 8am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

Two swells at once
3.3 ft at 15s from the SSW carrying 60% of the energy, plus 2.4 ft at 13s from the SW (32%).
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 focuses it
Kr 1.12 · 82% 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
4.1 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 9 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
9 mph from the NNW, against a shoreline facing 218°.
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 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 Three Mile worksRights and lefts a notch quieter than Four Mile

Rights and lefts a notch quieter than Four Mile; a hike keeps the crowd down.

Best tidelow to mid
Best swellW–SW
Suitsintermediate

2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about Three Mile

What is the best tide for Three Mile?: Three Mile 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 Three Mile?: W–SW suits Three Mile 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 Three Mile good for beginners?: Three Mile suits intermediate surfers, over beach + reef. 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 Three Mile?: beach + reef. 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 Three Mile on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.