Lake Ferry Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Lake Ferry has lined up for us.

To be straight with you, the outlook is a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks. The first week or so is largely going to be a write-off, but the back half of the period shows some real potential, especially if you can wait it out. We’ve got a big swell coming, but you need to pick your moment.

We’ll start off on Thursday, July 23rd. The morning is surfable but very ordinary, with a tiny 2ft SSW swell and a period of 12 seconds. The combined energy is weak, sitting at 96. The wind is offshore from the NNE at 9 mph, so it’s clean, but the swell is just too small to get excited about. The water temperature is 52°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year. The afternoon turns into a no-go with strong cross-offshore winds. Friday, July 24th, is a complete bust – tiny windswell and strong winds.

Saturday, July 25th, is where things get wild, but not in a good way. A big onshore swell hits, reaching 13ft in the afternoon with a short, weak 8-second period. The combined energy jumps to 1939 (moderate to strong), but with onshore winds at 22 mph, that’s a straight-up mess. This is a beach setup, so for kite surfers, it might be interesting, but for paddle surfing? Forget it.

There’s a glimmer of hope on Sunday, July 26th. The morning shows a 5ft S swell with light onshore winds, but the surf is marginal. Don't get your hopes up.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. A standout window opens up on Tuesday, July 28th. We have a clean 2ft ESE groundswell with a period of 14 seconds in the morning, shifting glassy in the afternoon at 2ft. The wind is offshore or glassy – that’s a major positive for clean waves. Combined energy is 312 (moderate). This is a great call for a longboard or a fun board. Wednesday, July 29th, carries on the good run, with clean 2ft ESE and SSW swells in the morning and afternoon. The wind stays offshore and light. This is the best quality stretch in the first week, but the swell is small.

Then we hit another rough patch from July 30th through July 31st with strong winds and poor conditions.

Hold on, because August 1st (Saturday) is the big standout, but with a massive caveat. The morning shows a 10ft SSW swell and the afternoon ramps up to a 16ft SSW swell. The combined energy is huge – 1142 in the morning, and a whopping 4661 in the afternoon. This is a very long period groundswell (10 seconds) so it will have serious power, but at this size (over 8ft), it’s strictly for experts only. The wind is light offshore, so it should be clean. However, the big S swell direction is not the optimum for this break, and given the size, it could be too dangerous for most. Only the most experienced locals should even think about it.

The following week starts rough on August 2nd with a big, onshore mess. But Monday, August 3rd, shows a nice return to form with a clean 4ft SSW swell. The rest of the forecast after that is mostly onshore and marginal again, with a huge, dangerous swell predicted for August 5th (16ft) that is all onshore – another one for the kite crew, not us.

So, to sum it up: The best bet for a clean, manageable wave is Tuesday, July 28th and Wednesday, July 29th at Lake Ferry. The waves will be small, but clean and fun. The big dog is Saturday, August 1st, but that’s a ledge-only, expert session if ever there was one. The long range stuff after that is too uncertain to call.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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