Carmel Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Monterey, USA)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Carmel Beach Surf Guide

Carmel Beach in Monterey is an exposed beach break that is usually a safe bet and works all around the year. Offshore winds blow from the east. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the west. The beach break provides left and right handers. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. It's sometimes crowded here. Beware of rips and locals.

Carmel Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Sandbar	3	very consistent	14.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Carmel Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Carmel Beach occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Carmel Beach 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 52% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 1% 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

52%

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

too small

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

Explore Carmel Beach Location Map

Interactive Carmel Beach 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 Carmel Beach is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA, 90 km (56 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Carmel Beach is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 96 km (60 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.

Carmel Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 06:57 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	8AM	11AM	2PM	5PM
Wave (m)	SW	WNW	WNW	SSW
Period (s)	15	11	11	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Carmel Beach look like?

Latest photos from Carmel Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: cal Credit: Rick Cashbaugh Credit: Mark Mammel

Tides at Carmel Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Carmel Cove, Carmel Bay, California, 4 km from Carmel Beach.

Next High Water: 04:44pm | 0.96m

Next Low Water: 08:50am | -0.06m

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

Carmel Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.3 °C) at Carmel Beach is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (13.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.