Steamer Lane-The Slot Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Cruz, USA)

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

Steamer Lane-The Slot Surf Guide

Steamer Lane-The Slot in Santa Cruz is a fairly exposed reef break that is usually a safe bet and works all around the year. The best wind direction is from the northeast with some shelter here from northwest winds. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the west. There is a right breaking reef. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. When the surf is up, crowds are likely Take care of rocks in the line up.

Steamer Lane-The Slot Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	4	very consistent	14.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Steamer Lane-The Slot:

The best conditions reported for surf at Steamer Lane-The Slot occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Steamer Lane-The Slot (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Steamer Lane-The Slot 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 46% of the time in January while 48% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 6% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

46%

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

blown out

48%

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 Steamer Lane-The Slot Location Map

Interactive Steamer Lane-The Slot 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 Steamer Lane-The Slot is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) in USA, 47 km (29 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Steamer Lane-The Slot is Moffett Federal Afld (Mountain View) Airport (NUQ), also in USA, 52 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.

Steamer Lane-The Slot Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 05:15 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	2AM	5AM	8AM	11AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	13	13	13	12
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	glass	glass	glass

What does Steamer Lane-The Slot look like?

Latest photos from Steamer Lane-The Slot. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: James Griffith Credit: James Griffith Credit: James Griffith Credit: James Griffith Credit: James Griffith

Tides at Steamer Lane-The Slot

Current tide and informaton

For Santa Cruz, California, 2 km from Steamer Lane-The Slot.

Next High Water: 03:55pm | 1.08m

Next Low Water: 07:23am | -0.09m

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

Steamer Lane-The Slot Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.2 °C) at Steamer Lane-The Slot 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.