Surf Forecasts:
Natural Bridges State Beach surf forecast from 27 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 29 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 18s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 18s period, SSW swell with 823 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 27 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 7s period with WNW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Natural Bridges State Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Natural Bridges State Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 1.2m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Natural Bridges State Beach in the next 16 days are 1.2m 18s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 7s period and expected on Friday (Aug 28) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 27th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 18s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Natural Bridges State Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Natural Bridges State Beach. It’s a reef setup, sheltered from the swell, and usually takes a NW direction best. Right now, though, we’re in a dry spell. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year—pretty unusual, feels like a summer gift.
The 16-day window kicks off with a bit of a flat patch. There’s no real surf to get excited about until the morning of Thursday, September 4th. That’s a long gap of about a week with mostly poor to marginal conditions. The swell energy is weak to moderate through most of it, hovering around 400 to 600 on the energy scale, so nothing pumping.
Come Thursday morning, September 4th, we finally get a standout. The wind goes glassy—calm, dead still—and the swell is 3ft from the SSW at 18 seconds. That’s a long period groundswell, which means plenty of energy (849 on the energy scale) and clean, well-shaped waves. The break is a reef, so it’ll handle that long period nicely without turning into a closeout. The comment says “expect good surf conditions,” and I’m buzzing for it. The wind is glassy, so it’ll be as clean as it gets. This is the best on offer, hands down.
After that, it fades again. Friday morning, September 5th, has 3ft from the SSW at 16 seconds, but the wind is light cross-onshore, making it marginal. The energy drops to 509. Saturday and Sunday morning, September 6th and 7th, are similar—3ft swells but with gentle cross-onshore winds and energy around 418 to 541. The afternoons get choppy. By Monday, September 8th, we’re back to small, poor conditions.
The second week keeps the same pattern: weak SSW swells, mostly under 3ft, with light cross-onshore winds. The swell period drops to 14-16 seconds, so less juice. The energy is low, around 300-400. Nothing worth paddling out for unless you’re desperate for a splash.
Crowds at Natural Bridges are often present, so expect company on that Thursday morning window. It’s a fairly consistent spot, but this run is a test of patience. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye out.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Wed afternoon, min 14°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Sat afternoon, min 13°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | WNW 7 | SW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 14 | SSW 17 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 12 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 171 | 144 | 133 | 131 | 183 | 336 | 387 | 486 | 697 | 505 | 688 | 554 | 411 | 400 | 297 | 226 | 154 | 154 | 116 | 103 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 9:49PM1.61m | 11:36AM1.32m | 10:29PM1.57m | 11:54AM1.36m | 11:10PM1.51m | 12:15PM1.43m | 11:54PM1.42m | 12:38PM1.51m | 00:42AM1.32m | 1:06PM1.58m | 1:38AM1.21m | 1:39PM1.66m | 2:48AM1.11m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:05PM0.75m | 4:38AM-0.07m | 4:37PM0.64m | 5:03AM-0.03m | 5:11PM0.53m | 5:28AM0.06m | 5:47PM0.43m | 5:53AM0.19m | 6:27PM0.33m | 6:20AM0.35m | 7:14PM0.25m | 6:48AM0.54m | 8:09PM0.20m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — |
 | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 26 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 22 | 18 |
Feels °C | 26 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | WNW 7 | S 11 | S 11 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | SSW 19 | WNW 8 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 14 | WNW 7 | SSW 13 | WNW 7 | S 12 |
| kJ | 171 | 131 | 94 | 91 | 134 | 117 | 387 | 158 | 697 | 505 | 688 | 554 | 411 | 174 | 142 | 226 | 86 | 154 | 42 | 103 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | S 12 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 17 | SW 14 | SSW 18 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | W 12 | W 11 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSE 14 | SSW 13 | WNW 7 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 166 | 144 | 104 | 103 | 183 | 336 | 91 | 486 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 400 | 297 | 68 | 154 | 35 | 116 | 96 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 13 | SW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | S 12 | S 11 | S 10 | W 9 | S 9 | — | — | S 9 | SE 15 | SSE 16 | SSE 14 | W 10 | SSE 13 | S 12 | S 12 | WNW 6 |
| kJ | 55 | 106 | 133 | 131 | 96 | 58 | 31 | 28 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 9 | 24 | 41 | 8 | 53 | 75 | 75 | 13 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 4 | NW 7 | WNW 7 | NW 6 | NW 7 | NW 7 | WNW 8 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | NW 8 | — | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 36 | 206 | 93 | 152 | 222 | 199 | 173 | 276 | 174 | 207 | 242 | 199 | 157 | 275 | — | 138 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 143 | 8 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Cruz | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Natural Bridges State Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Natural Bridges State Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Natural Bridges State Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Natural Bridges State Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Natural Bridges State Beach surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Natural Bridges State Beach) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Natural Bridges State Beach may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Natural Bridges State Beach is 4 km (2 miles) from Santa Cruz. If you plan a vacation in Santa Cruz, look for hotels and other accommodation in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest