Sandspit Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Barbara, USA)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Sandspit Surf Guide

Sandspit in Santa Barbara is a sheltered beach/Breakwater break. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds are from the north. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west. The beach breaks peel to the right. Best around low tide. When the surf is up, crowds are likely Beware of rips, man-made danger (buoys etc...) and pollution.

Sandspit Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach/breakwater	4	rarely breaks	15.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Sandspit:

The best conditions reported for surf at Sandspit occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Sandspit 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 8% of the time in January while 7% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 85% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

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

too small

85%

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

Explore Sandspit Location Map

Interactive Sandspit 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 Sandspit is Point Mugu Nas Airport (NTD) in USA, 61 km (38 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Sandspit is Vandenberg Afb (Lompoc) Airport (VBG), also in USA, 89 km (55 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.

Sandspit Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 10:10 Local Time

m, °C	Monday 04
ft, °F	8AM	11AM	2PM	5PM
Wave (m)	NW	SW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	16	16	15	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at Sandspit

Current tide and informaton

For Santa Barbara, California, 0 km from Sandspit.

Next High Water: 01:09pm | 0.94m

Next Low Water: 04:40pm | 0.79m

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

Sandspit Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.2 °C) at Sandspit 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 (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite