Horse Trails Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about Horse Trails. We've got a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, with a serious wait for the real good stuff.

Right off the bat, Tuesday morning the 25th is a bit of a tease. There's a solid 7ft SW groundswell rolling in with a long 14-second period and a chunky combined energy reading of 2074, but it’s just not coming together perfectly. The cross-off wind from the SSE at 12 mph will keep things reasonably clean, but the wave comment flags "marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions." The water's sitting at 56°, which is 5° colder than usual for this time of year; that's a pretty noticeable chill. The afternoon gets a bit messier with a cross-shore wind and a cross-chop, so it's not the best.

Wednesday the 26th is more promising. The swell drops to a more manageable 5ft from the WSW, and we get clean conditions in the morning with a light cross-off ESE breeze. It's a bit smaller, but the quality looks better with the "expect very good surf conditions" note. The afternoon is similar with a lighter breeze.

Thursday the 27th sees the wind switch onshore, killing the quality. That little run of decent surf is over pretty quickly. We then hit a long, dull stretch where the surf is marginal to poor. The wave heights stay small, often under 5ft, and when they do pick up late on the 29th, the wind is cross-onshore and messy. This lull runs right through to the end of August and into the first day of September.

Now, here's where things get wild. Around Tuesday the 1st of September, the swell really starts to stack up. By the afternoon, we're forecasting a 10ft SW swell. The guidance says the wind and tide are favorable, but the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd are even bigger - we're looking at 12ft and even 15ft SW/SSW swells with combined energy readings hitting 5296 and 5330. The wind is favorable (cross-off from the ESE, even glassy on the 3rd afternoon), but this is expert territory only, and the forecast notes it's simply too big for Horse Trails.

The standout is Friday the 4th of September. The swell has backed off to a very surfable 7ft from the SW, but the real story is the morning glass-off. The wind is glassy, and the wave comment says "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers." This is the session to circle. The 7ft is a bit much for beginners, but for anyone comfortable in overhead surf, this is the pick of the whole forecast. The afternoon gets a little more mixed with a light cross-shore.

After that, we get a mix of small to moderate swell, with another notable window on the morning of Sunday the 6th of September - a clean 5ft SW groundswell with a 15-second period. After that, the run fades out into poor surf with onshore winds and dropping energy towards the 9th, so the second week really only has that one Friday 4th standout and a brief glimmer on that Sunday.

So, keep an eye on the 4th of September for the best chance of some truly clean, solid waves. The rest of the forecast is a waiting game.

Stay frothy,
Rusty

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