Manchester Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Mendocino County, USA)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Manchester Beach Surf Guide

Manchester Beach/Alder Creek in Mendocino County is a quite exposed beach break that only works when conditions are just right. Summer offers the best conditions for surfing. Offshore winds blow from the southeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the optimum swell angle is from the southwest. Waves at the beach are both lefts and rights. Best around high tide. Likely to be crowded if working. Beware of sharks, rips, rocks and locals.

Manchester Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	inconsistent	11.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Manchester Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Manchester Beach occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Manchester Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Manchester Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 21% of the time in January while 12% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 67% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

21%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

12%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

67%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Manchester Beach Location Map

Interactive Manchester Beach surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Manchester Beach is Travis Afb (Fairfield) Airport (SUU) in USA, 175 km (109 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Manchester Beach is Chico Muni Airport (CIC), also in USA, 183 km (114 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Manchester Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 14:23 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	12	12	12	12
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Manchester Beach look like?

Latest photos from Manchester Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Benx

Tides at Manchester Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Point Arena, California, 4 km from Manchester Beach.

Next High Water: 03:42pm | 1.11m

Next Low Water: 07:34pm | 0.88m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Manchester Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (11.1 °C) at Manchester Beach is quite cold. If the sun shines as forecast, it should feel warm enough to get away with a good sealed spring wetsuit but you won't overheat in a winter wetsuit, gloves boots and a hood. Effective windchill factor of (12.0 °C).

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.