Surf Forecasts:
Horse Trails surf forecast from 3 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 8 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, SW swell with 2,982 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 3 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s 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 Friday (Jul 03) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 1.3m 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 3.0m 14s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 5AM. 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 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 3rd Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Horse Trails over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, gents, Rusty here. Let's break this down.
Water temp at Horse Trails is running 56°, which is a solid 4° colder than normal for this time of year. You'll be wanting a thick wetsuit if you're paddling out.
The first part of the week is a slow burner. Friday morning gives us some small, cross-off waves from the SW around 4ft, but the forecast says it's a bit marginal. Not your best bet. Friday afternoon bumps up to 5ft but gets a cross-on breeze from the NW with a short 8-second period—gonna be a little bumpy. Saturday morning looks cleaner with 3ft of SW swell and a nice cross-off – good for a couple of fun ones, but not a stand out.
Sunday afternoon is where it starts to get good. Glassy conditions on a 4ft WSW swell – that’s smooth water. But Monday the 6th of July is the real winner of the first week. Monday morning you’ve got a solid 7ft WSW groundswell, 12-second period, with a combined energy of 1524. Winds are a light SE cross-off, and it's clean. That’s excellent surf for experienced surfers. Monday afternoon pushes to 7ft but picks up a light cross-on wind, losing a bit of that perfection.
Tuesday the 7th delivers again. Tuesday morning is glassy, 6ft SW swell, long 12-second period, combined energy of 1338. Wind is off the SE at just 3 mph – perfectly clean. Tuesday afternoon gets a bit bigger at 7ft but with a cross-on breeze.
Wednesday the 8th sees a big jump in size. Morning brings a 10ft SW swell at 13 seconds, combined energy screaming at 2693. Wind is cross, but the swell is now expert-only territory. It's still clean, but you better know what you're doing.
Thursday the 9th stays solid with 7ft to 7ft swells and clean early conditions. Friday the 10th is another standout for the experienced – 8ft SSW groundswell in the morning with a combined energy of 2031 and light easterly cross-off winds. Clean and powerful.
The second week settles down for a bit. Saturday the 11th still has fun 6ft SSW clean surf in the morning. Sunday and Monday drop to 4ft and 3ft, with some glassy conditions on Monday morning the 13th. Tuesday the 14th is a total washout with onshore wind and rain – stay on dry land.
Then, brace yourselves. Wednesday the 15th of July through to Friday the 17th brings a monster swell event. We're talking 12ft to 13ft WSW to SSW groundswell with combined energy numbers of 2821, 4666, 3002, and 4412. This is huge, powerful, and strictly for experts. Winds look favorable early, often glassy or with a light cross-off, but the size is extreme. Saturday the 18th drops to 8ft SSW, still big but more manageable with a light cross breeze.
Best on offer: Monday morning the 6th (7ft WSW, 12s, clean cross-off, combined energy 1524) is the sweet spot of power and control. And if you've got the skills for it, Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th could be absolutely firing for the hardcore crew when that big SW groundswell hits with clean winds.
Stay safe out there.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Sun afternoon, min 11°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Mon afternoon, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 3 | Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | W 8 | SW 12 | SW 9 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 459 | 334 | 224 | 141 | 232 | 301 | 215 | 238 | 1510 | 1194 | 1141 | 1003 | 1048 | 1076 | 2594 | 2693 | 2281 | 2119 | 1528 | 1693 | 1858 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 5:31PM1.40m | 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 | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:12AM0.21m | 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 | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 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 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 17 |
Feels °C | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | W 8 | W 8 | WNW 7 | W 8 | WSW 9 | W 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 459 | 334 | 172 | 117 | 182 | 268 | 161 | 238 | 1510 | 1194 | 1141 | 1003 | 1048 | 1076 | 2594 | 2693 | 2281 | 2119 | 1528 | 1693 | 1858 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 9 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 18 | W 12 | SW 14 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | SW 20 | — | SW 16 | — | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 |
| kJ | 65 | 326 | 224 | 141 | 232 | 301 | 215 | 196 | 31 | 330 | 410 | 483 | 279 | 165 | 188 | — | 686 | — | 143 | 143 | 134 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | S 9 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 10 | S 9 | WSW 10 | SW 19 | — | — | — | — | W 24 | SW 22 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 13 | W 16 |
| kJ | 6 | 24 | 111 | 129 | 58 | 6 | 94 | 14 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | 406 | 20 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | — | — | NE 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 6 | SE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 |
| kJ | 353 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 95 | 109 | 204 | 145 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 38 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 128 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
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.
Nearest