Bolsa Chica Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orange County, USA)

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Bolsa Chica Surf Guide

Bolsa Chica,Surfside and Sunset Beaches in Orange County is a sheltered beach break that has reasonably consistent surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Sometimes crowded. Beware of rips, locals and pollution.

Bolsa Chica Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	fairly consistent	16.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Bolsa Chica:

The best conditions reported for surf at Bolsa Chica occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Bolsa Chica (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Bolsa Chica with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 0% of the time in January while 3% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 97% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

97%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Bolsa Chica Location Map

Interactive Bolsa Chica surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Bolsa Chica is Long Beach Airport (LGB) in USA, 15 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Bolsa Chica is John Wayne Arpt Orange Co (Santa Ana) Airport (SNA), also in USA, 18 km (11 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Bolsa Chica Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 23:42 Local Time

m, °C	Wed		Thu
ft, °F	8PM	11PM	2AM	5AM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	14	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	on	glass	cross- on

What does Bolsa Chica look like?

Latest photos from Bolsa Chica. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Dave Gibbs Credit: Leland Berg

Tides at Bolsa Chica

Current tide and informaton

For Seal Beach, 6 km from Bolsa Chica.

Next High Water: 12:08am | 1.89m

Next Low Water: 08:33am | 0.56m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Bolsa Chica Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.4 °C) at Bolsa Chica is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 16.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Bolsa Chica

Surf stats for Bolsa Chica, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Bolsa Chica

Wind stats for Bolsa Chica, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Bolsa Chica Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 7 votes.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.6
Consistency of Surf:3.4
Difficulty Level:2.1
Wind and Kite Surfing:2.5
Crowds:2.3
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Mark from United States

“A small group of friends and I surf our kayaks at Bolsa Chica once or twice a week. We seldom have any trouble with the board surfers, as we're usually happy to inhabit the less prime areas. We like it because even on days with bad reports, we seem to be able to find a ride. Conditions can change quite a bit with the tide. Seems to close out when it gets bigger. Busy in the summer, but everyone seems to make room. Nice facilities and close to down town HB or Sunset Beach”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Bolsa Chica. Click below to view there surf guides.