Montara Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(San Mateo, USA)

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

Montara Surf Guide

Montara in San Mateo is an exposed beach break that has reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the east. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west northwest. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Watch out for rips and sharks.

Montara Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Sandbar	3	consistent	61°F*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Montara:

The best conditions reported for surf at Montara occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.

Hourly Forecast

12 Day Forecast

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

decemberBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Montara with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of December. Clean surfable waves are typically found 44% of the time in December while 54% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 2% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

44%

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

blown out

54%

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

too small

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

Explore Montara Location Map

Interactive Montara 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 Montara is San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in USA, 15 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Montara is Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK), also in USA, 33 km (20 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (ft)
Live Wind Speed (mph)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (ft)
Wind Speed (mph)

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

Montara Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

12 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 22 October 2025, 13:13 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 22
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (ft)	W	W	W	WNW
Period (s)	16	16	15	14
Wind (mph)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	on

What does Montara look like?

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

Credit: William Frankeberger Credit: William Frankeberger

Tides at Montara

Current tide and informaton

For Half Moon Bay, California, 5 miles from Montara.

Next High Water: 12:48am | 4ft

Next Low Water: 06:01pm | 0ft

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

Montara Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.3 °C) at Montara is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (15.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 61°F*ocean temperature recorded from satellite