Scott Creek-Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Cruz, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Scott Creek-Reef Surf Guide

Scott Creek-Reef in Santa Cruz is an exposed beach and reef break that has reliable surf. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. The best wind direction is from the east. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. A reef breaks right. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. Even when there are waves, it's not likley to be crowded. Beware of rips, sharks and rocks.

Scott Creek-Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	consistent	13.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Scott Creek-Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Scott Creek-Reef occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Scott Creek-Reef (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Scott Creek-Reef 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 35% of the time in January while 62% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 3% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

35%

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

blown out

62%

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 Scott Creek-Reef Location Map

Interactive Scott Creek-Reef 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 Scott Creek-Reef is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ) in USA, 42 km (26 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Scott Creek-Reef is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), also in USA, 44 km (27 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.

Scott Creek-Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 22:17 Local Time

m, °C	Tue		Wed
ft, °F	8PM	11PM	2AM	5AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	12	12	12	12
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross	cross	cross

Tides at Scott Creek-Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Ano Nuevo Island, California, 6 km from Scott Creek-Reef.

Next High Water: 12:40am | 1.39m

Next Low Water: 08:12am | -0.12m

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

Scott Creek-Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.8 °C) at Scott Creek-Reef 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 (13.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

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