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Windy, Topanga Point

5:00 pm 25 May 2012

Refugio State Beach

3:26 pm 29 Mar 2007


El Capitan ratings
Quality on a good day: 4.7
Consistency of surf: 2.0
Difficulty level: 4.0
Wind and kite surfing: 1.0
Crowds: 3.0

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Surf Report Feed

El Capitan Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(California – Santa Barbara, USA)

El Capitan photo

Photo credit: curtiss photography
Surf Break: El Capitan

Name: El Capitan
Type: reef and point
Reliability: inconsistent
Best Swell: W Offshore Wind: N

El Capitan in Santa Barbara is a fairly exposed reef and point break that has inconsistent surf. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds blow from the north. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west. Often Crowded. Rocks are a hazard.

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Overall El Capitan Surf Consistency and Wind Distribution

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.

This chart describes the variation of swells directed at El Capitan through an average ... (show all text)

This image shows how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different directio... (show all text)

Also see El Capitan surf quality by season and El Capitan surf quality by month.

El Capitan Location Map

Select El Capitan Location Map Detail:

Contours: Roads & Rivers: Select a surf break from the menu
Surf breaks located close to El Capitan Shoreline around El Capitan Roads and rivers around El Capitan

Use this relief map to navigate to California - Santa Barbara surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of El Capitan


Visitor Reviews of El Capitan


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Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to El Capitan:

  (click location name for more details)
Closest break ED's 2 mi
Second closest break Beavers/Hazards 2 mi
Third closest break Refugio State Beach 3 mi
Fourth closest break Tajuigas Ranch 4 mi
Fifth closest break Seals 5 mi

Wave buoys nearest to El Capitan:

Closest wave buoy East Santa Barbara Buoy 17 mi
Second closest wave buoy Santa Barbara Buoy 28 mi
Third closest wave buoy Santa Maria Buoy 55 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy South Santa Rosa Island Buoy 55 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy PT Arguello Buoy 57 mi

Tide stations nearest to El Capitan:

Closest tide station Gaviota, California 11 mi
Second closest tide station Santa Barbara, Pacific Ocean, California 19 mi
Third closest tide station Santa Barbara, Pacific Ocean, California (sub) 19 mi
Fourth closest tide station Santa Barbara, California 19 mi
Fifth closest tide station Santa Barbara, California (2) 19 mi

snow forecast website

Ski Resorts closest to El Capitan:

Closest ski area Alta Sierra at Shirley Meadows (United States) 120 mi
Second closest ski area Mountain High resort (United States) 134 mi
Third closest ski area Mt Baldy (United States) 134 mi
Fourth closest ski area Sunrise Ski Area (United States) 134 mi
Fifth closest ski area Snow Valley (United States) 172 mi

city weather forecast website

Town and city forecasts close to El Capitan:

Closest city location Isla Vista (United States) 10 mi
Second closest city location Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (United States) 11 mi
Third closest city location Goleta (United States) 11 mi
Fourth closest city location Santa Ynez (United States) 11 mi
Fifth closest city location Solvang (United States) 12 mi
  • The closest passenger airport to El Capitan is Vandenberg Afb (Lompoc) Airport (VBG) in USA, 59 km (37 miles) away (directly).
  • The second nearest airport to El Capitan is Point Mugu Nas Airport (NTD), also in USA, 91 km (57 miles) away.
  • Third is Meadows Fld (Bakersfield) Airport (BFL) in USA, 140 km (87 miles) away.
  • Burbank Glendale Pasadena Airport (BUR) in USA is 155 km (96 miles) away.
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), also in USA is the fifth nearest airport to El Capitan and is 159 km (99 miles) away.
El Capitan break location map and break info
This is the Surf-Forecast page for El Capitan, California - Santa Barbara. Use the tab navigation above to view El Capitan sea temperature, El Capitan photographs, El Capitan detailed swell predictions, wind and weather forecasts, El Capitan webcams, current wind from California - Santa Barbara live weather stations and El Capitan tide predictions. The United States swell maps link will open up the big picture showing United States and the surrounding seas. These swell maps can be animated to show the different swell components, wave energy, wave period, wave heights, together with wind and weather forecasts, current weather and sea state observations from United States wave-buoys, passing ships and coastal weather stations. Each of the forecast pages for this surf break feature a global and regional wavefinder tool to locate the best surf conditions in the area around El Capitan.