Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what's coming our way for Gold Beach, stretching out over the next couple of weeks. To be straight with you, it’s been a tough watch. The finder has been pretty bleak, with a long stretch of nothing but poor surf conditions and cross-shore winds chewing things up. Week one is basically a write-off. You won’t want to get your hopes up until we get well into the second week.

Looking at the data, from Monday the 10th all the way through to the morning of Saturday the 16th of August, it’s a no-go. We’re dealing with a messy mix of strong cross-shore winds, lumpy chop, and a lot of poor surf quality scores. The combined swell energy is moderate, sitting in the low-to-mid hundreds (217 to 511), but with wind out of the NNW at 19 to 25 mph, it’s just not going to be a pleasant paddle. The swell period is short, around 6-7 seconds, so the waves are weak and crumbley. Honestly, this stretch looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent cross-shore wind and beach setup. The water temperature is sitting at 55°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year by 3°.

Right, so where’s the hope? The only real window of opportunity appears on the weekend of the 16th and 17th. Specifically, Sunday the 16th of August is your standout. Morning and afternoon both show glassy conditions with no wind at all, and we’ve got a clean 3 ft swell coming from the southwest with a long period of 16 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell. The combined energy is strong at 435-476, which suggests there’s some real push behind it. That long period will make it a bit tricky at the beach breaks—it’ll be a bit straight and fat—but for a reef or point setup, it could be excellent. The forecast even says "expect good surf conditions," so that’s the one to aim for.

After that, things get patchy again. The start of the next week on Monday the 17th is only marginal, with a wind shift bringing a bit of cross-chop. The rest of the week from Tuesday the 18th onward shows some cleaner conditions with cross-offshore winds, but the swell is inconsistent, ranging from 2 ft to 5 ft, and the quality is only marginal to poor. A few spots might clean up, but nothing is screaming standout.

Gold Beach (Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek) is a beach and reef setup that is fairly consistent, so it tends not to stay poor for long. This long period of poor conditions is a bit of a sting, but forecasts can change. Keep an eye on that Sunday the 16th—that’s the best on offer.

Rusty.

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