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Francis Beach in San Mateo is an exposed beach break that has pretty consitent surf and can work at any time of the year. Works best in offshore winds from the east. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west. Waves at the beach break both left and right. Best around high tide. A fairly popluar wave that can sometimes get crowded Watch out for rips and sharks.

Secret spot? We can hide it!

Overall Francis Beach 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.

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The rose diagram illustrates the variation of swells directed at Francis Beach through ... (show all text)

This picture describes how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different di... (show all text)

Also see Francis Beach surf quality by season and Francis Beach surf quality by month.

Select Francis Beach Location Map Detail:

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Use this relief map to navigate to California - San Mateo surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of Francis Beach

Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to Francis Beach:   (click location name for more details)
Closest break	Princeton Breakwater	4 mi
Second closest break	Mavericks	5 mi
Third closest break	Montara	8 mi
Fourth closest break	San Gregorio State Beach	9 mi
Fifth closest break	Gray Whale Cove	9 mi
Wave buoys nearest to Francis Beach:
Closest wave buoy	Half Moon Bay Buoy	25 mi
Second closest wave buoy	San Francisco Buoy	30 mi
Third closest wave buoy	Monterey Buoy	45 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy	Bodega Bay Buoy	72 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy	Cape San Martin Buoy	122 mi
Tide stations nearest to Francis Beach:
Closest tide station	Princeton, Half Moon Bay, California	4 mi
Second closest tide station	Half Moon Bay, California	4 mi
Third closest tide station	Coyote Point Marina, San Francisco Bay, California	12 mi
Fourth closest tide station	Smith Slough, San Francisco Bay, California	12 mi
Fifth closest tide station	Bay Slough, west end, San Francisco Bay, California	13 mi
Ski Resorts closest to Francis Beach:
Closest ski area	Dodge Ridge (United States)	145 mi
Second closest ski area	Bear Valley (United States)	149 mi
Third closest ski area	Badger Pass Ski Area (United States)	153 mi
Fourth closest ski area	Kirkwood (United States)	156 mi
Fifth closest ski area	Sierra at Tahoe (United States)	158 mi
Town and city forecasts close to Francis Beach:
Closest city location	Half Moon Bay (United States)	1 mi
Second closest city location	El Granada (United States)	4 mi
Third closest city location	Moss Beach (United States)	7 mi
Fourth closest city location	Montara (United States)	7 mi
Fifth closest city location	Hillsborough (United States)	9 mi

• The closest passenger airport to Francis Beach is San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in USA, 20 km (12 miles) away (directly).
• The second nearest airport to Francis Beach is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 35 km (22 miles) away.
• Third is Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) in USA, 36 km (22 miles) away.
• Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA is 47 km (29 miles) away.
• Travis Afb (Fairfield) Airport (SUU), also in USA is the fifth nearest airport to Francis Beach and is 102 km (63 miles) away.