Refugio State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Barbara, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Refugio State Beach Surf Guide

Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara is a fairly exposed beach and point break that has quite reliable surf. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Ideal winds are from the north northeast. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the west. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Often Crowded. Beware of rips, rocks, private, locals and sharks.

Refugio State Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and point	2	fairly consistent	14.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Refugio State Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Refugio State Beach occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North-northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Refugio 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 59% of the time in January while 32% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 9% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

59%

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

blown out

32%

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 Refugio State Beach Location Map

Interactive Refugio 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 Refugio State Beach is Vandenberg Afb (Lompoc) Airport (VBG) in USA, 55 km (34 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Refugio State Beach is Point Mugu Nas Airport (NTD), also in USA, 96 km (60 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.

Refugio State Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 02:47 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	2AM	5AM	8AM	11AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	14	13	13	13
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross

What does Refugio State Beach look like?

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

Credit: Brian Marius Credit: Bob Peet

Tides at Refugio State Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Beavers, 2 km from Refugio State Beach.

Next High Water: 02:43pm | 1.35m

Next Low Water: 07:14am | 0.4m

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

Refugio State Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.5 °C) at Refugio State Beach 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 (19.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 14.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite