Ka'anapali Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey everyone, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you—this outlook for Ka'anapali Point is a tough one. We've got a long 16-day window ahead, but honestly, the first week and a half is looking pretty flat and messy. There's a real gap in quality surf from now all the way through to the end of July and into early August. The setup is mostly small, short-period windswell or weak, long-period swell with nothing but cross-off winds that just won't cooperate.

Let's start with the here and now. Friday the 24th has a tiny 2ft swell from the SW with a long period of 18 seconds, but combined energy is weak at 154, and that 30 km/h ENE breeze is cross-off. It's clean, but there's simply no push. Saturday the 25th actually sees the swell jump to 5ft from the NE, but it's a short, weak period of 8 seconds and combined energy is moderate at 321. Same story Sunday and Monday—decent 4ft to 4ft swell from the NE, but that 8-second period and persistent 20-25 km/h cross-off wind means poor conditions and lumpy, unshaped waves.

The only real glimmer in the whole 16 days—and I mean the only one—is Wednesday the 29th. We get a 8ft NE swell rolling in, with a period of 10 seconds and very strong combined energy of 1068. That's the standout by a mile, and it's happening in the morning with a moderate breeze from the south swinging cross-off. The swell is solid enough to get the reef working, but at 8ft, it's really for experienced surfers only—beginners should sit this one out. After that, the drop-off is harsh: Wednesday afternoon drops to 3ft and the following days are a desert of 1.0ft to 2ft SW or N swells with no quality for surfing. Late in the window, on Friday the 7th of August, we get a 1ft SW swell with a very long 20-second period and light SE breeze—surfable but ordinary, and still tiny.

Water temp is sitting at 80°F, about average for this time of year, so the lagoon is warm even if the waves aren't. Ka'anapali Point is a consistent reef break, but it's a beginner-friendly wave that needs a proper NW swell to shine. The forecast optimum swell is NW, but we're getting mostly NE and SW angles—so the direction is off nearly the whole time. Crowds are "often" an issue here, but with the lack of decent surf, you'll have the place mostly to yourself. Honestly, for the first 12 days, you'd be better off kite surfing with that consistent trade wind, because the weak, short-period NE swell and cross-off breeze are more interesting for a kite than a paddle.

So, the standout day—really the only day worth circling—is Wednesday morning the 29th for that 8ft NE pulse. It's just one window, but that's your best shot. After that, it's a long, quiet run until the very end of the forecast period, and even then, nothing to get excited about. That's how it goes sometimes—forecasts can change, so keep an eye out, but as it stands, this is a lean stretch.

Rusty.

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