Natural Bridges State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Cruz, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Natural Bridges State Beach Surf Guide

Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz is a sheltered reef break that has fairly consistent surf. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the northwest. There is a right hand reef break It's often crowded here. Beware of locals and sharks.

Natural Bridges State Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	fairly consistent	14.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Natural Bridges State Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Natural Bridges State Beach occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Natural Bridges State 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 32% of the time in January while 39% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 29% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

32%

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

blown out

39%

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

too small

29%

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

Explore Natural Bridges State Beach Location Map

Interactive Natural Bridges State 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 Natural Bridges State Beach is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA, 47 km (29 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Natural Bridges State Beach is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 52 km (32 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.

Natural Bridges State Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 23:46 Local Time

m, °C	Tue		Wed
ft, °F	8PM	11PM	2AM	5AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	12	12	15	15
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

Tides at Natural Bridges State Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Santa Cruz, California, 4 km from Natural Bridges State Beach.

Next High Water: 12:44am | 1.46m

Next Low Water: 08:07am | -0.04m

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

Natural Bridges State Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature at Natural Bridges State Beach is rather cool (14.1 °C) and the air temperature will feel similar. A good quality spring wetsuit with optional neoprene boots should suffice. No need for wetsuit gloves.

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