Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight: this is a tough outlook for Royal Palms State Beach. The whole 16-day window is a lean run, with no real standout sessions. Mostly we’re looking at very small, messy surf with onshore or cross-onshore wind messing things up.

Right now and for the first many days, the surf is tiny and weak. On Tuesday morning, July 7th, there’s a small 3 ft SSW groundswell with a very long period of 18 seconds wrapping into this sheltered reef and point. The combined swell energy is moderate at 464. The wind is light and glassy from the SW, which is actually on, but the wave comment calls it marginal. Water temp is 68°F, which feels a touch warmer than average for this time of year. But honestly, that tiny waist-high-plus swell with a super long period will be breaking pretty straight and slow on the reef—maybe a fun longboard session if you’re a beginner, but it’s not going to thrill anyone. That afternoon the wind cranks up cross-onshore and chops it all to pieces.

From Wednesday through the weekend and into the next week, it’s the same sad story: swell heights drop to 2 ft or 2 ft, periods come down to 15-16 seconds, and every session is either cross-onshore or onshore wind—moderate breeze, choppy, poor surf. The combined energy slips from low 400s down to the low 200s and then the 100s. There’s nothing worth paddling out for.

We hit a real flat spell from around July 13th through July 18th. Swell drops to 1 ft, combined energy in the 100s, and the wind is consistently cross-onshore. This is a total write-off for surfing. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the break is sheltered, so a bigger swell might light it up, but this isn’t that.

The only flicker of hope comes about two weeks away, on Sunday morning, July 19th. It’s not big—still only 2 ft from the SW at 17 seconds—but the wind goes glassy, dead calm. That’s a very rare moment of clean conditions. Combined energy is 285, still moderate. For a sheltered point and reef, that glassy morning could give you some clean, if small, long-period lines. It’s not a standout, but it’s the only time in the whole forecast where the ocean might be worth a look. For beginners, that’s a good moment. The rest of the week after that stays small and windy.

So, bottom line: there’s no fire in this forecast. If you’re desperate, show up on July 19th morning for clean but tiny waves. Otherwise, it’s a long, flat, choppy run. This area can go quiet like this for stretches, but forecasts can change.

- Rusty

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