El Carmel Point Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(San Diego County, USA)

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- 16 Day Forecast
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El Carmel Point Surf Guide

El Carmel Point in San Diego County is an exposed beach break that is often working. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. Works best in offshore winds from the east. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west. An uncrowded break, even when it is working. Take care of - Rips / undertow.

El Carmel Point Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	very consistent	17.6°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing El Carmel Point:

The best conditions reported for surf at El Carmel Point 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 El Carmel Point (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing El Carmel Point 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 52% of the time in January while 33% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 15% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

52%

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

blown out

33%

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

too small

15%

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

Explore El Carmel Point Location Map

Interactive El Carmel Point 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 El Carmel Point is San Diego International Lindbergh Fld Airport (SAN) in USA, 8 km (5 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to El Carmel Point is North Island Nas (San Diego) Airport (NZY), also in USA, 9 km (6 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.

El Carmel Point Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 13:17 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	16	15	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at El Carmel Point

Current tide and informaton

For Crown Point, Mission Bay, California, 2 km from El Carmel Point.

Next High Water: 02:27pm | 0.88m

Next Low Water: 05:15pm | 0.84m

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

El Carmel Point Sea Temperature

The water temperature (17.6 °C) at El Carmel Point 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 15.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.6°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite