Torrey Pines State Beach · beach break, intermediate, best on WNW/W/NW/SW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, mid tide. Open sand beach below the 90 m Torrey Pines cliffs, running south from the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon mouth toward Blacks. West-northwest winter swell with an east wind at…
Blacks Beach · beach break, advanced, best on WNW/W/NW/SW swell with E/ENE wind, low to mid tide. Scripps Canyon reaches close to the sand off south Blacks, so west to northwest winter swell arrives here bigger and hollower than at La Jolla Shores 2 km south. Peaks…
Scripps Pier · beach break, intermediate, best on WNW/W/NW/SW swell with E/ESE/ENE wind, low to mid tide. Sandbars beside the 330 m Scripps research pier at the north end of La Jolla Shores, sharpened by the Scripps Canyon just offshore. Three peaks work on west to…
Fletcher Cove · beach break, intermediate, best on SW/W/WNW/NW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, low to mid tide. Small pocket beach at the bottom of the Fletcher Cove ramp in Solana Beach, with sand-and-rock peaks that only line up a few days a month. Southwest or west swell at…
Windansea · reef break, advanced, best on SW/WSW/W swell with E/ENE wind, all tides. Reef peak in front of the palm-thatched surf shack built in 1947. The right is the main ride and a shorter left can barrel. It takes southwest swell in summer and west…
Swamis · point break, intermediate, best on W/WNW/NW swell with E/ENE wind, low to mid tide. Right point below the Self-Realization Fellowship gardens in Encinitas, at its best on a 1-3 m west to northwest winter swell with an east wind at low to mid tide. Take…
Tourmaline Surfing Park · reef break, intermediate, best on SW/WSW/W/NW swell with NE/ENE/E wind, mid tide. Slow, rolling peaks over a cobble and reef shelf at the foot of Tourmaline Street, where Pacific Beach meets the La Jolla bluffs. A 0.5-1.5 m southwest swell at mid…
Moonlight Beach · beach break, beginner, best on SW/WSW/W swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, mid tide. Wide sandy beach at the foot of B Street (Encinitas Boulevard) with lifeguard towers, showers and board rentals. A small southwest swell on a rising mid tide gives the…
Crystal Pier (Pacific Beach) · beach break, intermediate, best on SW/S/WSW/W swell with NE/ENE/E wind, mid tide. Crystal Pier, at the foot of Garnet Avenue, has sandbars on both sides, on a beach the city lifeguards call one of the busiest in San Diego. A southwest summer swell at…
Beacons (Leucadia) · reef break, intermediate, best on W/WNW/SW/NW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, mid tide. A north and a south reef-and-sand peak in front of the switchback trail at the foot of Leucadia Boulevard. West swell with a light east wind at mid tide makes it fun on…
Grandview · beach break, intermediate, best on SW/WSW/W/WNW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, all tides. Sandbars over flat rock below the Grandview stairs at the north end of Neptune Avenue in Leucadia. Southwest to west swell of 1-2 m with an east wind makes easy…
Ocean Beach Pier (San Diego) · beach break, intermediate, best on W/WNW/NW/SW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, mid tide. Sandbars and rock on both sides of the closed Ocean Beach pier: a right on the north side and a left on the south side. West to northwest swell of 1-2.5 m at mid tide…
Sunset Cliffs · reef break, advanced, best on W/WNW/NW/WSW swell with E/ENE/ESE wind, low to mid tide. A string of reefs below the Point Loma bluffs, best on a west to northwest winter swell of 1.5-3 m at low to mid tide with an east wind. There are no stairs: you climb…
Tamarack · beach break, intermediate, best on W/WSW/SW/WNW swell with NE/ENE/E wind, low to mid tide. About five sandbar peaks between two short rock jetties at the foot of Tamarack Avenue in Carlsbad. West swell with a light northeast wind at low to mid tide is the…
Oceanside Pier · beach break, intermediate, best on WSW/W/SW/NW swell with NE/ENE/E wind, mid tide. The 596 m wooden pier has sandbars on both sides that pick up west to southwest swell all year and hold shape up to about 2.5 m. Mid tide with a morning northeast to…
Oceanside Harbor Jetty · beach break, intermediate, best on W/WNW/NW/SW swell with NE/ENE/E wind, mid to high tide. Harbor Beach, the sand between the Oceanside harbor breakwater and the rock groin to the south, has long sandbar peaks with more push than the pier beaches 1.3 km…
Days per month at the best third of the 16 spots for each level, from three years of wave and wind model data.
Questions
What are the best surf spots in San Diego?
The best-known are Blacks Beach, Windansea, Ocean Beach Pier (San Diego), Swamis. In all, 16 spots lie within 33 km: 11 beach breaks, 4 reef breaks, 1 point break.
Where can beginners surf in San Diego?
Moonlight Beach: sandy, more forgiving spots. Surf them on small days, ideally with a lesson or near the lifeguards.
When is the best time to surf in San Diego?
For intermediate surfers June, August, November to March. For beginners August to September, November to March.
What wetsuit do I need to surf in San Diego?
The sea goes from about 16 °C in January (4/3 mm fullsuit) to 23 °C in August (Springsuit 2 mm or vest).