Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you—this outlook for Royal Palms State Beach is a tough one. We’ve got a full sixteen days in front of us, but the surf is pretty much a non-event for most of it. There’s a long, dry gap from now all the way until Sunday the 20th of September before anything even gets close to rideable. So if you’re hanging for a wave, you’re going to be waiting a while.

Now, this is a sheltered reef and point break that only breaks inconsistently, and it’s best when the swell comes from the SW. The water here is running at 73°—that’s much warmer than usual for this time of year, so don’t bother with a thick wetsuit.

For the first week and a half, we’ve got tiny swell—around 1 foot to 2 feet—with a mix of cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, and the wave comment keeps saying “poor surf conditions.” The combined energy is weak to moderate, mostly under 200, so there’s no push. The only day that even flickers is Sunday the 20th of September in the morning. That morning the wind goes glassy—absolute magic for this spot—and the swell holds at 2 feet from the SW with a long 18-second period. The combined energy jumps to 339, so there’s some grunt in it. The wave comment finally says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” That’s your best bet, but don’t get your hopes up; it’s inconsistent and the waves will be gutless.

After that, from Monday the 21st of September onward, we see the swell height nudge up to 2 feet and even 3 feet by Monday afternoon, with combined energy climbing into the 300s and 376. The period stays solid around 17 seconds, which is proper groundswell. But the wind ruins it—mostly cross-onshore or onshore, with moderate breezes kicking in. The wave comments remain “poor surf conditions” right through. For a spot this sheltered, we need clean offshore winds to make it work, and we just don’t get them.

So if you’re a beginner, the tiny swell and inconsistent nature mean there’s barely anything to learn on. For the more experienced, the bigger days (2–3 feet) are still too small to get excited about, and the onshore wind messes up what little shape there is. This setup might actually be more interesting for a kite surfer given the choppy conditions, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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