Cardiff Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(San Diego County, USA)

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- 16 Day Forecast
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Cardiff Reef Surf Guide

Cardiff Reef in San Diego County is an exposed reef break that is usually a safe bet. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. The best wind direction is from the east. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the west northwest. Both left (best) and right reef breaks.. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Sometimes crowded. Watch out for crowds and rocks.

Cardiff Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	very consistent	18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Cardiff Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Cardiff Reef occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Cardiff Reef 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 47% of the time in January while 31% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 22% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

47%

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

blown out

31%

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

too small

22%

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

Explore Cardiff Reef Location Map

Interactive Cardiff Reef 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 Cardiff Reef is Miramar Mcas Airport (NKX) in USA, 26 km (16 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Cardiff Reef is San Diego International Lindbergh Fld Airport (SAN), also in USA, 38 km (24 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.

Cardiff Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 15:05 Local Time

m, °C	Monday 04
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	16	16	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Cardiff Reef look like?

Latest photos from Cardiff Reef. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Michael Milligan

Tides at Cardiff Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Solana Beach, 8 km from Cardiff Reef.

Next High Water: 10:48pm | 2.06m

Next Low Water: 04:21pm | 1.19m

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

Cardiff Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (18.3 °C) at Cardiff Reef is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 17.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite