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 & Forecast

Quieter reef-and-beach overflow from Four Mile.

3-4 ftmax ~5 ft

Good · plunging

Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.

Swell: 2.2 ft at 15s from the SSW
Wind: 8 mph NW cross-shore
Tide: 5.4 ft
Break depth: 6 ft
Power: 5 kW/m
Water: 59°F · 3/2 fullsuit

Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated

How Three Mile is breaking right now

Loading Three Mile…

Live · Three Mile, solving nowOpen Three Mile on the map

Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell

What the seafloor does to this wave

A cut straight out from Three Mile, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.

Why Three Mile looks like this right now

The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.

Two swells at once
2.2 ft at 15s from the SSW carrying 76% of the energy, plus 1.3 ft at 5s from the W (24%).
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 1.03 · 76% 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
5.4 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 6 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
8 mph from the NW, 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 11 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. Why period matters more than height →

Three Mile surf forecast, next 6 days

Building — ~4.9 ft long-period groundswell from the SSW filling in Sat evening (+3.9 d, medium confidence)

Seven-day surf forecast for Three Mile: wave height, best window, swell, wind and tide.
Day	Surf	Best window	Swell	Wind	Tide
Wed, Aug 26	3-4 ft	6am to 7pmFair-Good	2.3 ft at 13s SSW	5 mph cross-shore	Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm
Thu, Aug 27	3-5 ft	6am to 10amGood	2.6 ft at 15s SSW	5 mph cross-shore	Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.4 ft 11amLow 2.3 ft 4pmHigh 5.7 ft 10pm
Fri, Aug 28	3-4 ft	5pm to 7pmGood	1.8 ft at 17s SSW	18 mph cross-shore	Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.0 ft 5pmHigh 5.5 ft 11pm
Sat, Aug 29	4-5 ft	8am to 5pmGood	2.6 ft at 18s SSW	9 mph cross-shore	Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 1.7 ft 6pmHigh 5.1 ft 11pm
Sun, Aug 30	4-5 ft	8am to 5pmGood	2.8 ft at 15s SSW	8 mph cross-shore	Low 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 1.4 ft 6pm
Mon, Aug 31	3-4 ft	8am to 2pmFair-Good	2.4 ft at 14s SSW	21 mph cross-shore	High 4.7 ft 12amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.4 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm

Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.

How Three Mile works

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

Bottom: beach + reef
Best tide: low to mid
Best swell: W–SW
Suits: intermediate

Common 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.