Santa Cruz Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Cruz, USA)

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

Santa Cruz Harbour Surf Guide

Santa Cruz Harbour in Santa Cruz is a sheltered beach/Jetty break that has reasonably consistent surf. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Works best in offshore winds from the north. Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell angle is from the west. The beach breaks consists of rights. Best around low tide. It's sometimes crowded here. Beware of rocks, obstacles, pollution, rips.

Santa Cruz Harbour Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach/jetty	3	fairly consistent	14.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Santa Cruz Harbour:

The best conditions reported for surf at Santa Cruz Harbour occur when a South-southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

julyBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Santa Cruz Harbour with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of July. Clean surfable waves are typically found 5% of the time in July while 21% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 74% 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

21%

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

too small

74%

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

Explore Santa Cruz Harbour Location Map

Interactive Santa Cruz Harbour 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 Santa Cruz Harbour is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA, 45 km (28 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Santa Cruz Harbour is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 51 km (32 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.

Santa Cruz Harbour Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 11:59 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	8AM	11AM	2PM	5PM
Wave (m)	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	17	14	15	15
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	glass	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at Santa Cruz Harbour

Current tide and informaton

For Santa Cruz, California, 2 km from Santa Cruz Harbour.

Next High Water: 03:55pm | 1.08m

Next Low Water: 06:22pm | 1.05m

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

Santa Cruz Harbour Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.2 °C) at Santa Cruz Harbour is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (14.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.