Surf Forecasts:
Cottons Point surf forecast from 26 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 26 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 19s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 31 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 14s period, S swell with 1,484 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 25 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 20s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cottons Point this week:
The surf forecast for Cottons Point over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 25) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 20s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cottons Point in the next 16 days are 1.9m 14s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 31) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 20s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Sun 26th Jul) | 4ft (1.2m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Fri 31st Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cottons Point over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer at Cottons Point for the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a pretty clear story this time: a run of clean, rideable waves for the rest of July, followed by a long quiet spell that stretches into August. The water is sitting at 71°, which is a good 4° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s notable, you’ll be comfortable without a thick suit.
Cottons Point is a reef and point setup, consistent by nature, and the optimum swell direction is from the SW. The swell direction throughout is SSW and SW, which is a solid match.
Starting on Saturday the 25th of July, we get a 3ft SSW groundswell with a very long period of 21 seconds. The combined wave energy is moderate at 911. Light onshore breezes will keep the surface tidy, but that period is so long it can make a point break like this a bit walled up – still, better than a beachie. Saturday afternoon holds into the same sort of size, 3ft SW, energy dropping to 708.
Sunday the 26th picks up a touch to 4ft SW, period still a long 19 seconds. Morning looks the cleanest with light onshore winds. Energy is 966. Good news is the wind stays light all weekend.
Now, the standout window looks to be Thursday the 30th of July afternoon through to Saturday the 1st of August morning. On Thursday afternoon we get 5ft S swell, 14 seconds, energy 1029 – that’s kicking into a moderate range. Friday the 31st jumps up to 6ft S swell with a 14-second period, and energy smashes 1505 – that’s strong wave energy. Wind stays light onshore that morning, so it should be clean. Be aware, 6ft is getting solid for a point break, more suited to experienced surfers.
Come Saturday the 1st of August, it drops back to 6ft SSW, but the period is shortening to 13 seconds and energy is 922. Still surfable, but the peak of the swell is definitely Friday.
Then we hit a wall. From Sunday the 2nd of August all the way through to the end of the forecast on Sunday the 9th of August, it’s poor. Swell sizes drop below 3ft and energy readings stay under 432, most days below 200. Light winds keep it clean but there’s simply no power. That’s a solid eight-day gap with no worthwhile surf.
So, if you’ve got a window, aim for Friday the 31st of July for the best chance of some proper, punchy waves at Cottons Point. The weekend before is a nice, manageable alternative. After that, it’s a waiting game.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 25°C on Sun afternoon, min 21°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Tue morning, min 20°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 21 | SW 21 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 15 | S 14 | S 14 | S 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 799 | 640 | 1100 | 863 | 743 | 719 | 1056 | 893 | 771 | 921 | 1020 | 818 | 519 | 724 | 783 | 606 | 1016 | 1142 | 1484 | 1387 | 1058 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | on | on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 8:48AM1.02m | 7:09PM1.64m | 9:12AM1.07m | 7:47PM1.70m | 9:35AM1.11m | 8:23PM1.76m | 9:59AM1.15m | 8:55PM1.80m | 10:24AM1.19m | 9:27PM1.80m | 10:49AM1.24m | 9:59PM1.76m | 11:17AM1.29m | 10:31PM1.68m | |||||||
Low Tide | 12:47PM0.83m | 2:43AM-0.03m | 1:32PM0.78m | 3:13AM-0.08m | 2:10PM0.72m | 3:42AM-0.12m | 2:46PM0.66m | 4:09AM-0.14m | 3:21PM0.61m | 4:36AM-0.13m | 3:58PM0.58m | 5:03AM-0.09m | 4:35PM0.55m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — |
 | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:51 | — | — | 7:51 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 23 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 22 |
Feels °C | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 21 | SW 21 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 15 | S 14 | S 14 | S 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 799 | 640 | 1100 | 863 | 743 | 719 | 1056 | 893 | 771 | 921 | 1020 | 818 | 519 | 724 | 783 | 606 | 1016 | 1142 | 1484 | 1387 | 1058 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | W 6 | S 12 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | SSE 14 | S 13 | SSW 15 | W 6 | S 15 | WNW 8 | W 8 | WNW 8 |
| kJ | 80 | 19 | 99 | 34 | 33 | 23 | 69 | 53 | 35 | 88 | 47 | 32 | 51 | 213 | 126 | 358 | 13 | 545 | 21 | 32 | 19 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 7 | S 10 | W 6 | S 12 | S 9 | SSW 11 | S 11 | SW 12 | S 9 | S 10 | S 18 | SSE 17 | S 15 | W 7 | W 7 | W 6 | — | WNW 7 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 32 | 49 | 21 | 69 | 25 | 40 | 21 | 37 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 92 | 157 | 35 | 22 | 13 | — | 18 | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 82 | 87 | 0 | 65 | 136 | 13 | 65 | 150 | 30 | 65 | 65 | 4 | 65 | 88 | 65 | 82 | 205 | 0 | 87 | 87 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Orange County | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Cottons Point surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Cottons Point Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cottons Point provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cottons Point can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cottons Point surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Cottons Point) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Cottons Point may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Cottons Point is 5 km (3 miles) from San Clemente. If you plan a vacation in Orange County, look for hotels and other accommodation in San Clemente. San Clemente has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest