Garths Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Del Norte County, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Garths Reef Surf Guide

Garths Reef in Del Norte County is a sheltered reef break that only works once in a while. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Works best in offshore winds from the north. Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. A right hand reef break. Best around low tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Watch out for sharks.

Garths Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	inconsistent	12.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Garths Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Garths Reef occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

aprilBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Garths Reef with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 41% of the time in April while 23% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 36% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

41%

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

blown out

23%

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

too small

36%

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

Explore Garths Reef Location Map

Interactive Garths 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 nearest passenger airport to Garths Reef is Chico Muni Airport (CIC) in USA, which is 298 km (185 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Garths Reef is Beale Afb (Marysville) Airport (BAB), also in USA, 377 km (234 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.

Garths Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 03:06 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	2AM	5AM	8AM	11AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	W	W
Period (s)	11	11	14	13
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	off	glass	cross- off

What does Garths Reef look like?

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

Credit: Pablo Midence Matt Brunner Credit: Jeanette Frizzell Credit: Jeanette Frizzell Credit: Jeanette Frizzell Credit: Jeanette Frizzell

Tides at Garths Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Crescent City, California, 6 km from Garths Reef.

Next High Water: 04:41pm | 1.43m

Next Low Water: 09:36am | -0.07m

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

Garths Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (12.0 °C) at Garths Reef is quite cold. If the sun shines as forecast, it should feel warm enough to get away with a good sealed spring wetsuit but you won't overheat in a winter wetsuit, gloves boots and a hood. Effective windchill factor of (11.0 °C).

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