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Surf Break: Manresa State Beach

Photo credit: ryanjohnson83@yahoo.com
Surf Break: Manresa State Beach

Manresa State Beach in Santa Cruz is an exposed beach break that has consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the west. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. A fairly popluar wave that can sometimes get crowded Surfing here means negotiating dangerous rips.

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Overall Manresa State 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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This chart shows the range of swells directed at Manresa State Beach through a typical ... (show all text)

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

Also see Manresa State Beach surf quality by season and Manresa State Beach surf quality by month.

Select Manresa State Beach Location Map Detail:

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Use this relief map to navigate to California - Santa Cruz surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of Manresa State Beach

Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to Manresa State Beach:   (click location name for more details)
Closest break	Sunset State Beach	3 mi
Second closest break	Capitola Jetty	5 mi
Third closest break	Beer Can Beach	6 mi
Fourth closest break	Capitola Rivermouth	6 mi
Fifth closest break	Pleasure Point-First Peak	6 mi
Wave buoys nearest to Manresa State Beach:
Closest wave buoy	Monterey Buoy	31 mi
Second closest wave buoy	Half Moon Bay Buoy	63 mi
Third closest wave buoy	San Francisco Buoy	78 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy	Cape San Martin Buoy	83 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy	Bodega Bay Buoy	119 mi
Tide stations nearest to Manresa State Beach:
Closest tide station	Elkhorn Slough railroad bridge, Monterery Bay, Cali	8 mi
Second closest tide station	Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, California	8 mi
Third closest tide station	Elkhorn Slough railroad bridge, California	8 mi
Fourth closest tide station	Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, California (sub)	9 mi
Fifth closest tide station	Santa Cruz, California	9 mi
Ski Resorts closest to Manresa State Beach:
Closest ski area	Badger Pass Ski Area (United States)	131 mi
Second closest ski area	Dodge Ridge (United States)	136 mi
Third closest ski area	Bear Valley (United States)	147 mi
Fourth closest ski area	Sierra Summit Mountain Resort (United States)	151 mi
Fifth closest ski area	Kirkwood (United States)	157 mi
Town and city forecasts close to Manresa State Beach:
Closest city location	Aptos (United States)	3 mi
Second closest city location	Rio Del Mar (United States)	3 mi
Third closest city location	Watsonville Municipal Airport (United States)	4 mi
Fourth closest city location	Corralitos (United States)	5 mi
Fifth closest city location	Freedom (United States)	5 mi

• The closest passenger airport to Manresa State Beach is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA, 48 km (30 miles) away (directly).
• The second nearest airport to Manresa State Beach is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 56 km (35 miles) away.
• Third is San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in USA, 88 km (55 miles) away.
• Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) in USA is 93 km (58 miles) away.
• Modesto City Co Harry Sham Airport (MOD), also in USA is the fifth nearest airport to Manresa State Beach and is 112 km (70 miles) away.