Surf Forecasts:
Lakes Beach surf forecast from 27 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 31 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 11s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 30 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 12s period, S swell with 1,113 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 28 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 8s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Lakes Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Lakes Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Lakes Beach in the next 16 days are 2.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 30) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 30) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Tue 28th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Fri 31st Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Thu 30th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Lakes Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s break it down for Lakes Beach. This is a sandbar spot, open to the south, so it can fire if the conditions line up. Water temp’s around 65°F, about average for this time of year.
Monday morning the 27th of July is glassy with a clean 4ft south swell, period around 9 seconds, moderate energy at 243. That’s surfable, but the afternoon gets blown out from the onshore breeze, so it’s a short window. Nothing special. Tuesday’s tiny and weak, Wednesday’s basically flat with a long-period groundswell but no size. Then a gap until Thursday the 30th.
Thursday the 30th morning is the first real shout. Clean, light offshore wind from the SW, a solid 6ft south swell at 10 seconds, energy up to 675. That’s a good, moderate push and the water’s clean. This’ll give you some nice lined-up waves for the experienced surfer. Afternoon gets a bit messy with a cross-shore chop, so go early.
Friday the 31st morning looks too big – 7ft south swell at 11 seconds, energy at 1681, that’s strong. But it’s too much for this break, says the file. Expert-only at best, and even then, it’s rough.
Saturday the 1st of August has a clean 5ft SSE swell with a light offshore in the morning, energy around 349. That’s a fun, manageable size, not a monstrous standout but a solid session. Afternoon goes onshore, so morning it is.
Then there’s a long flat spell from Sunday the 2nd through to mid-week. Small swell, weak energy, strong winds ruining the surface. Not worth your time.
Thursday the 6th morning has a 6ft south swell with offshore wind, energy at 464, and the report says very good conditions for the afternoon. That’s a decent pick.
Friday the 7th is too big again, 7ft to 8ft, energy over 1300, too much for Lakes. Same for the 8th with 10ft – that’s kite-surfing territory, not paddling.
The real standout? Thursday morning the 30th of July. Clean 6ft south swell, light offshore, moderate energy – that’s your best bet. Saturday the 1st of August morning is a close second. For the second week, Thursday the 6th afternoon has potential but it’s less certain with that 1.7m swell.
So, gaps are long here. A couple of solid mornings in the first week, then a big swell that’s too much, then one clean afternoon. Don’t plan a trip around the second week.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 8°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri night, min 10°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | |||||||||||||||
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) | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 15 | S 17 | S 16 | NE 6 | S 10 | S 9 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 235 | 185 | 108 | 41 | 24 | 17 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 668 | 501 | 1085 | 974 | 696 | 593 | 340 | 300 | 278 | 281 | 277 | 206 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:54PM1.52m | 7:33AM1.02m | 7:32PM1.57m | 8:10AM1.07m | 8:08PM1.60m | 8:46AM1.11m | 8:43PM1.60m | 9:22AM1.16m | 9:17PM1.58m | 9:58AM1.20m | 9:52PM1.53m | 10:36AM1.25m | 10:28PM1.45m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:15PM0.43m | 1:44AM0.26m | 12:57PM0.39m | 2:19AM0.21m | 1:38PM0.36m | 2:52AM0.17m | 2:16PM0.34m | 3:24AM0.14m | 2:56PM0.34m | 3:55AM0.13m | 3:36PM0.35m | 4:26AM0.13m | 4:19PM0.37m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | | | |
 | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — |
 | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
Feels °C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | ENE 7 | NE 6 | S 10 | S 9 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 235 | 185 | 108 | 41 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 668 | 501 | 1085 | 700 | 696 | 593 | 340 | 300 | 278 | 281 | 277 | 206 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 8 | NE 8 | SE 16 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | S 17 | S 16 | S 14 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | ENE 8 | NE 7 | SE 13 | S 12 | S 11 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 11 | 3 | 6 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 17 | SE 14 | E 8 | — | SE 15 | S 15 | SE 6 | SE 6 | E 13 | E 13 | E 12 | — | E 13 | E 13 | E 13 | E 12 | S 16 | S 14 | NE 7 | E 17 | E 16 |
| kJ | 6 | 8 | 1 | — | 8 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | NE 3 | — | NNW 3 | W 3 | WNW 3 | WSW 3 | SSW 6 | — | — | — | S 11 | — | — | — | — | ENE 7 | N 3 | ENE 8 | NE 4 |
| kJ | — | — | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 97 | — | — | — | 974 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 7 | 29 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 71 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 83 | 216 | 206 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Newcastle | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lakes Beach 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 Lakes Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Lakes Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Lakes Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Lakes Beach 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 (Lakes Beach) 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 Lakes Beach 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.
Lakes Beach is 11 km (7 miles) from the city of Catherine Hill Bay. If you plan a holiday in Newcastle, look for hotels and other accommodation in Catherine Hill Bay. Catherine Hill Bay has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest