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Slip Slidin' Away, Imperial Beach

6:17 am 6 Jun 2008

OB Surfers, Ocean Beach Pier

1:09 pm 28 Mar 2011


Imperial Beach ratings
Quality on a good day: 2.7
Consistency of surf: 3.7
Difficulty level: 2.0
Wind and kite surfing: 2.5
Crowds: 3.7

See all 18 ratings

Based on 3 votes. Vote


Surf Report Feed

Imperial Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(United-States – San Diego County)

Slip Slidin' Away, Imperial Beach photo

Photo credit: Rick Click Photography
Surf Break: Imperial Beach

Name: Imperial Beach
Type: beach
Reliability: consistent
Best Swell: SW Offshore Wind: E

Imperial Beach in San Diego County is an exposed beach break that has consistent surf. Winter is the favoured time of year for surfing here. Works best in offshore winds from the east. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the southwest. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Hazards include rips and pollution.

Secret spot? We can hide it!

Overall Imperial 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.

The figure shows the range of swells directed at Imperial Beach through a typical year ... (show all text)

This chart illustrates how commonly and how strongly the wind blows from different dire... (show all text)

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

Imperial Beach Location Map

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Latest Gallery Images for Imperial Beach


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Early Bird Sesh. North side Peir

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

Use this relief map to navigate to United-States - San Diego County surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of Imperial Beach


Visitor Reviews of Imperial Beach


KristinaB from UNITED STATES writes:

I love IB! I was raised here, and it is a great place to live, work, and play. It has a small town vibe and everyone knows each other. The atmosphere is laid back and chilled. Imperial Beach is not a crowded beach, except for once a year during Sand Castles. Sand Castles is a competition held each year during July. It brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, and lasts for 3 days. If you love the ocean, love community, and like to live a relaxed lifestyle, IB is for you. The water's great, come on in! There is no place like this little jewel in the most southwest point of the United States. Few people live here, less than 50,000, and the weather is perfect. The locals are friendly, so come on out!

2010-04-01

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Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to Imperial Beach:

  (click location name for more details)
Closest break Tijuana Sloughs 4 mi
Second closest break Coronado Beaches 7 mi
Third closest break Point Loma (Ralph's) 8 mi
Fourth closest break Donuts 9 mi
Fifth closest break San Antonio Del Mar 9 mi

Wave buoys nearest to Imperial Beach:

Closest wave buoy San Clemente Basin Buoy 53 mi
Second closest wave buoy Santa Monica Basin Buoy 137 mi
Third closest wave buoy Tanner Banks Buoy 140 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy South Santa Rosa Island Buoy 193 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy East Santa Barbara Buoy 194 mi

Tide stations nearest to Imperial Beach:

Closest tide station Imperial Beach, California 1 mi
Second closest tide station National City, San Diego Bay, California 6 mi
Third closest tide station Point Loma, California 8 mi
Fourth closest tide station San Diego, San Diego Bay, California 9 mi
Fifth closest tide station San Diego, California 9 mi

snow forecast website

Ski Resorts closest to Imperial Beach:

Closest ski area Snow Valley (United States) 112 mi
Second closest ski area Big Bear Mountain (United States) 114 mi
Third closest ski area Snow Summit (United States) 114 mi
Fourth closest ski area Mt Baldy (United States) 116 mi
Fifth closest ski area Bear Mountain (United States) 120 mi

city weather forecast website

Town and city forecasts close to Imperial Beach:

Closest city location Imperial Beach (United States) 1 mi
Second closest city location Chula Vista (United States) 3 mi
Third closest city location National City (United States) 6 mi
Fourth closest city location Tijuana (Mexico) 7 mi
Fifth closest city location Bonita (United States) 7 mi
  • The closest passenger airport to Imperial Beach is North Island Nas (San Diego) Airport (NZY) in USA, 15 km (9 miles) away (directly).
  • The second nearest airport to Imperial Beach is General Abelardo L Rodriguez International (Tijuana) Airport (TIJ) in Mexico, 16 km (10 miles) away.
  • Third is San Diego International Lindbergh Fld Airport (SAN) in USA, 17 km (11 miles) away.
  • Miramar Mcas Airport (NKX) in USA is 31 km (19 miles) away.
  • General Alberto L Salinas C International (Ensenada) Airport (ESE) in Mexico is the fifth nearest airport to Imperial Beach and is 101 km (63 miles) away.
Imperial Beach break location map and break info
This is the Surf-Forecast page for Imperial Beach, United-States - San Diego County. Use the tab navigation above to view Imperial Beach sea temperature, Imperial Beach photographs, Imperial Beach detailed swell predictions, wind and weather forecasts, Imperial Beach webcams, current wind from United-States - San Diego County live weather stations and Imperial Beach 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 Imperial Beach.