Lincoln City Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook for Lincoln City is a tough one. The entire 16-day window is a struggle, but we’ll walk through it day by day.

We’re starting off on Tuesday, July 28th, with a bit of waist-high swell rolling in from the SW. The water is a frigid 48°F, which is a staggering 11°F colder than usual for this time of year – that’s seriously unusual, so you’ll want a thick hood and booties. The wind is light and cross-onshore, keeping things a little bumpy. The combined swell energy is sitting at a moderate 548. It’s marginal, but it’s the best we’ve got for the first few days.

Wednesday the 29th through Friday the 31st sees the swell hanging around the 2 ft to 3 ft range, but the wind shifts to a stiffer NNW breeze, making it choppy and messy. The energy drops each day, from 661 down to 314. The forecast calls it poor, and I’m not going to argue – it’s pretty grim.

Saturday, August 1st, offers a tiny glimmer. The morning has a light WSW breeze at 3 mph, with a 2 ft SW swell, but it’s still cross-onshore. The afternoon sees a shift to a very short-period 3 ft WNW swell at only 8 seconds. The energy is low (243 and 217). It’s still marginal, but the lighter wind might make it the most rideable day of the first week.

Then from Sunday, August 2nd, right through to the end of the forecast on Wednesday, August 12th, we are in a real desert. The wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore, and the swell is a mix of short-period, weak WNW and NW windswell. Heights bob around 1 ft to 7 ft, but the quality is consistently listed as poor. The combined energy mostly stays in the moderate range, but the winds are a killer. The standout here is a lack of a standout. The beach-and-reef setup, combined with persistent cross-shore winds, honestly looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session.

Don’t get your hopes up for the second week. August 7th onwards sees the swell dropping right back to 1 ft with a long period, but the wind is still cross, making it an absolute chore. The 7 ft to 7 ft swell on the 5th and 6th might look tempting on paper, but with a short period and cross-wind, it’s a washing machine, not a surf break. This is a classic blank run for this area, and it’s pretty normal when the conditions line up like this.

Stay patient, check the wind – a change could flip it, but for now, keep the board in the car.

Rusty.

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