Lincoln City Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be honest with you, looking at the charts for Lincoln City over the next couple of weeks, it’s a tough stretch. The water is sitting at 54°, which is 4° colder than usual for this time of year – that’s a proper chill, so you’ll want the thickest rubber you’ve got.

The first surf we can even talk about is Friday morning, July 3rd. We’re looking at a small, weak 4ft swell out of the WNW with a short period of 8 seconds. The wind is light and cross-onshore, leaving it a bit bumpy. Honestly, it’s only a marginal call and the conditions are poor, so don’t get your hopes up.

That same lackluster pattern hangs around all through the weekend and into the start of the next week. There’s some moderate wave energy on Saturday morning, but it’s still a short-period, cross-onshore mess. Sunday morning sees the swell bump up to 6ft from the NW, but the cross-shore wind at 12 mph chops it up. By Sunday afternoon it’s 7ft with a windy 6-second period – that’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session, honestly.

We do get a proper window of hope on Wednesday morning, July 8th. The wind goes glassy – absolutely dead calm – out of the SSW at just 3 mph. The swell is 5ft from the WNW with an 8-second period, and the wave energy is solid. This is the standout of the whole forecast. It’s not huge, but that glassy surface will make it super clean and fun for an intermediate. Just be aware the crowd can show up sometimes at this beach-and-reef setup.

After that, it’s back to marginal or poor conditions with cross-shore winds all the way through to the second week. We get a mentionable run from Wednesday, July 15th, onwards. The swell direction turns more westerly and the periods get long, around 17 to 19 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, but it's tiny – only 2ft to 4ft. For example, Thursday morning, July 16th, has a 3ft, 17-second WNW swell with strong energy, but it’s cross-shore and messy. The best of that late run is Friday afternoon, July 17th, with a 3ft, 16-second swell, but again the wind kills it. Those long-period swells need a point or reef to really shine, and with the crummy wind, it’s just a tease.

If you’re a beginner, the 5ft glassy morning on the 8th is probably your best bet, but it’s still a bit punchy. For experts, there’s nothing over 8ft with good wind, so you’re just hunting for that one clean window. Don’t hold your breath for the second week – those long-range signals are promising on paper but way too uncertain with the wind forecast. It’s a lean run.

Rusty.

Read more