Surf Forecasts:
Horse Trails surf forecast from 4 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 12s period, WSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 15s period, SW swell with 2,697 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 4 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 11s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Horse Trails this week:
The surf forecast for Horse Trails over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 04) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Horse Trails in the next 16 days are 2.4m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 04) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Mon 6th Jul) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Wed 8th Jul) | 8ft (2.4m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Horse Trails over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright crew, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up.
The first bit of the week is pretty mellow. Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th have small, clean surf at Horse Trails. Saturday morning is running 3ft from the SW with a clean cross-off breeze, and Sunday afternoon gets glassy with 4ft from the WSW – that’s your best early call, just small and fun.
Monday the 6th is where it starts to get interesting. Monday morning is a standout: 8ft from the WSW with glassy conditions. This is proper groundswell with an 11-second period, and the wave energy is solid at 1360 (moderate energy). For experienced surfers only – that’s a big, clean wall. Tuesday the 7th morning is also glassy and 7ft from the SW with a 12-second period, strong energy at 1402. Two mornings in a row of world-class conditions for the competent crew.
Wednesday the 8th kicks up with bigger swell (8ft, 13-second period) but a moderate cross-shore wind messes it up a bit – still good power but not as pristine. Thursday the 9th has cleaner conditions but the swell drops back.
By Saturday the 11th morning you’ve got 6ft from the SSW with a 13-second period, clean cross-off breeze – a nice, solid option. Then after a drop in size early the next week, the big news is Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th. This is massive: 15ft from the SW on Thursday, glassy and clean, but it’s simply too big for this break. Same with Friday the 17th – 13ft from the SSW, clean, but only for the brave. The wave energy readings are off the charts (6793 to 7394 – very strong), so respect the ocean that week.
There’s a gap of a few days mid-week where conditions get messy, but the run from Monday the 6th to Tuesday the 7th is the absolute peak. If you’re an experienced surfer, those glassy mornings are the ones to circle.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Sun afternoon, min 12°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 12°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Fri 10 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | SW 9 | SW 15 | WSW 9 | SW 13 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 259 | 162 | 232 | 315 | 215 | 232 | 1158 | 1355 | 854 | 1281 | 1150 | 1369 | 2002 | 2221 | 1544 | 1889 | 1572 | 1326 | 987 | 822 | 986 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross |
High Tide | 5:37AM1.30m | 6:06PM1.39m | 6:15AM1.25m | 6:44PM1.37m | 6:59AM1.20m | 7:27PM1.34m | 7:53AM1.14m | 8:20PM1.31m | 9:01AM1.10m | 9:26PM1.29m | 10:21AM1.10m | 10:42PM1.29m | 11:40AM1.15m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:39PM0.33m | 11:44AM0.24m | 00:16AM0.35m | 12:19PM0.29m | 00:58AM0.37m | 12:59PM0.35m | 1:48AM0.38m | 1:49PM0.41m | 2:50AM0.40m | 2:52PM0.47m | 4:03AM0.39m | 4:12PM0.49m | 5:22AM0.34m | 5:37PM0.45m | |||||||
 |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — |
 | 5:49 | — | 5:49 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
Feels °C | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 15 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | SW 9 | W 8 | WSW 9 | W 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 173 | 162 | 190 | 315 | 161 | 232 | 1158 | 1355 | 854 | 1281 | 1150 | 1369 | 2002 | 2221 | 1544 | 1889 | 1572 | 1326 | 987 | 822 | 986 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | WNW 8 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 18 | SE 12 | SW 13 | W 11 | W 11 | SW 22 | SW 20 | SW 18 | SW 16 | — | S 8 | — | S 8 | S 8 | W 13 |
| kJ | 259 | 107 | 232 | 301 | 215 | 196 | 31 | 5 | 553 | 300 | 231 | 73 | 188 | 781 | 931 | — | 260 | — | 206 | 134 | 84 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 10 | S 8 | WSW 10 | SW 19 | SE 12 | — | — | — | SW 23 | SW 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 16 | W 14 | — |
| kJ | 111 | 129 | 63 | 6 | 94 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | 21 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 37 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | N 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 5 | S 8 | SSE 7 | S 8 | SSE 7 | — | SSE 8 |
| kJ | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 71 | 298 | 349 | 280 | 327 | — | 138 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Horse Trails 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 Horse Trails Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Horse Trails provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Horse Trails can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Horse Trails 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 (Horse Trails) 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 Horse Trails 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.
Horse Trails is 8 km (5 miles) from the very large city of Robben Island. If you plan a holiday in Cape Town, look for hotels and other accommodation in Robben Island. Robben Island has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as cheap car hire and transport links.
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