La Push Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about La Push.

This spot is a reef setup that’s consistent and works best when the swell is coming from the west-southwest. For the first week or so, it’s a bit of a frustrating wait, with a lot of days where conditions just aren’t coming together for a good paddle session. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

We kick off on Thursday, July 30th, with a small 3ft SW groundswell (504 combined energy). The wind is light and cross/cross-on, and the report says it’s marginal. It’s small and a bit bumpy, nothing to get excited about.

Friday and Saturday look like a write-off. Swell drops further, and the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, turning the ocean into a mess with poor surf conditions. It’s a couple of days to sit out.

Sunday, August 2nd, sees a bump in size to 4ft from the west, but the period has dropped to a weak 8 seconds (367 combined energy). It’s small and weak, with a cross-onshore wind. Not your day.

Now, here’s a small window. On Monday, August 3rd, we’ve got 4ft of west swell (323 combined energy) and the wind goes glassy in the morning. The report says “expect good surf conditions.” That’s the standout of this first week. It’s not huge, but clean, glassy surf on a reef at 4ft is a lot of fun. The afternoon gets blown out, so get your session in early.

We then hit a lull. Tuesday the 4th is marginal, Wednesday the 5th the swell jumps to 6ft from the WNW (586 energy) but it’s onshore and messy. Thursday and Friday are similar – size is there (5ft to 6ft) but the cross-onshore wind just ruins it.

Finally, Saturday, August 8th, things get serious. The swell is 8ft from the WNW (1452 combined energy) in the morning, building to 10ft (3146 combined energy) by the afternoon. That’s a lot of water moving. The period is 10 seconds. This is expert territory – anything over 8ft is for experienced surfers only. The wind is light, but it’s cross-onshore or onshore, so it won't be clean. The energy value in the afternoon is huge, but the conditions are marginal. This might be more interesting for kitesurfing than a clean paddle session.

After that big pulse, we settle back down. Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th see the swell drop back to 4ft to 7ft. Monday afternoon on the 10th gives us another glassy moment with 4ft from the WNW (364 energy) and the report says “expect good surf conditions.” That’s your second real highlight – a clean, glassy afternoon on a dropping swell.

The rest of the run into the second week (11th to 14th of August) is small, with swell heights under 4ft and mostly cross-onshore or onshore wind. It’s marginal and not worth rushing for.

So, to be honest, it’s a tough 16 days for La Push. The real standouts are those two glassy windows: Monday morning, August 3rd, for a clean 4ft, and Monday afternoon, August 10th, for another clean 4ft. The big swell on August 8th is powerful but sloppy. A lot of days in between are a waste of time.

Rusty

Read more