Horseshoe Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(San Diego County, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Horseshoe Surf Guide

Horseshoe in San Diego County is an exposed reef break that has reasonably consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the east. Clean groundswells prevail and the best swell direction is from the west. The reef provides both left and right breaks. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. It's sometimes crowded here. Hazards include rips and rocks.

Horseshoe Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	fairly consistent	17.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Horseshoe:

The best conditions reported for surf at Horseshoe occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Horseshoe with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 52% of the time in January while 35% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 13% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

52%

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

blown out

35%

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

too small

13%

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

Explore Horseshoe Location Map

Interactive Horseshoe 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 closest passenger airport to Horseshoe is Miramar Mcas Airport (NKX) in USA, 14 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Horseshoe is San Diego International Lindbergh Fld Airport (SAN), also in USA, 15 km (9 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.

Horseshoe Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 10:35 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	8AM	11AM	2PM	5PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	16	16	16	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	on	on	cross- on

Tides at Horseshoe

Current tide and informaton

For La Jolla, Scripps Pier, California, 4 km from Horseshoe.

Next High Water: 03:21pm | 0.83m

Next Low Water: 04:34pm | 0.83m

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

Horseshoe Sea Temperature

The water temperature (17.9 °C) at Horseshoe is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 15.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Horseshoe

Surf stats for Horseshoe, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Horseshoe

Wind stats for Horseshoe, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Horseshoe Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 1 vote.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.0
Consistency of Surf:3.0
Difficulty Level:4.0
Crowds:3.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Closeouts from United States

“Probably the worst spot in the area. Not worth your time or energy. The wave only breaks 1 - 2 time per year. Other than that it is closeouts.”

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