Stinson Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this stretch of coast is looking pretty grim for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a run of small, choppy, and crossed-up conditions that’ll have you checking the forecast more than your board. The first real glimmer of anything surfable doesn’t show until Monday, August 11th, and even then it’s a marginal call. We’re looking at a lot of nothing for the next few days, so don’t rush to load the car.

The first highlight, if you can call it that, is Stinson Beach on the morning of Sunday, August 10th. We’ve got a clean-ish 5ft swell from the WNW, but the period is a short and crumbly 9 seconds. The wind is light and onshore, which will leave it a bit lumpy. The combined energy is moderate at 507, so there’s a bit of push, but it’s not going to be pretty. The water temp is sitting at 62°, which is a solid 5° warmer than normal for this time of year—so you won’t need the thickest suit, but it’s not exactly tropical either.

The next decent window is the morning of Saturday, August 16th. Swell drops to 3ft from the SSW with a long 17-second period. This is proper groundswell, and that long period means it’ll have some push, but at Stinson’s beach break, it might be a bit too straight and lined up. The wind is light and onshore, so it could be glassy early. The energy is moderate at 418. It’s a marginal call, but it’s the best of a bad bunch.

After that, it’s a whole lot of nothing until Friday, August 22nd in the afternoon. We see a bump to 5ft from the WNW with a 10-second period. The energy jumps to a moderate 572, which is the strongest we’ve seen in a while. The wind is light and onshore, so it might be clean enough for a few. But again, this is a forecast that’s a week and a half out, so treat it as promising but not set in stone.

To be honest, there’s no standout day here. The swell is small, the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the consistency is poor. If you’re desperate, the mornings on the 16th and 23rd are your best bets, but keep the expectations low. For beginners, none of these days are going to be too big—nothing over 5ft—so it’s safe, but it’s also not going to be fun. For the experts, there’s just not enough push or shape to get excited about.

This is one of those stretches where you might be better off checking the kite gear—those cross-onshore winds and lumpy conditions are more kite-friendly than surf-friendly. The surf will come back, it always does, but this 16-day window is a write-off for quality waves. Stay patient, keep the board waxed, and wait for the next proper swell.

Rusty.

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