Drakes Estero Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Marin County, USA)

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Drakes Estero Surf Guide

Drakes Estero in SF Marin is an exposed beach/Deltamouth break that has pretty consitent surf. Spring and Summer provide the favoured conditions. Offshore winds blow from the north with some shelter here from north winds. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the southwest. Waves at the beach are both lefts and rights. Good surf at all stages of the tide. A fairly popluar wave that can sometimes get crowded Take care of sharks, rips and rocks.

Drakes Estero Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach/riverh	2	fairly consistent	13.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Drakes Estero:

The best conditions reported for surf at Drakes Estero occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

februaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Drakes Estero with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 28% of the time in February while 21% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 51% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

28%

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

blown out

21%

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

too small

51%

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

Explore Drakes Estero Location Map

Interactive Drakes Estero 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 Drakes Estero is San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in USA, 68 km (42 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Drakes Estero is Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK), also in USA, 72 km (45 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.

Drakes Estero Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 01:37 Local Time

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

What does Drakes Estero look like?

Latest photos from Drakes Estero. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Christopher Grant Ward

Tides at Drakes Estero

Current tide and informaton

For Inverness, Tomales Bay, California, 11 km from Drakes Estero.

Next High Water: 02:33am | 1.51m

Next Low Water: 10:24am | -0.08m

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

Drakes Estero Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.3 °C) at Drakes Estero 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 (11.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

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

Current Temp*: 13.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Drakes Estero

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

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Drakes Estero

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

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Drakes Estero 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 3 votes.

Overall:2.0
Quality on a good day:1.7
Consistency of Surf:1.7
Difficulty Level:2.0
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.0
Crowds:2.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Robert Cardgood from United States

“Visited this spot five times over the past year and can assure you it’s not worth the mile plus hike from the trail head. The waves are relatively inconsistent and mostly close out. On top of that there are dangerous currents which suck you down and out the bay. This wouldn’t be as big a concern if it weren’t for how remote this spot is. Beyond the currents and poor waves the icing on the cake is the territorial sea lions which breed on this beach. Twice I’ve had them charge me and had to flee the water. There’s much better bang for your buck elsewhere.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Drakes Estero. Click below to view there surf guides.