Stinson Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s not beat around the bush—Stinson Beach is looking pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks. You’re going to have to pick your moments carefully, because there’s a long stretch of nothing at the start, and the few days with some size are mostly messy. If you’re new to this, just know that this sort of flat spell is pretty normal for this stretch of coast, and it won’t stay this way forever.

First up, the early days. The 12th and 13th have a tiny bit of swell, maybe 2 feet, but the wind is cross-onshore and the surface is choppy. The water is sitting at a warm 66°F, which is about 7°F warmer than normal for this time of year—that’s a real treat. But the waves themselves are not worth the paddle. On the 14th and 15th, the swell bumps up a little to around 5 feet, but it’s short-period windswell, with a cross-onshore breeze, so it’s lumpy and disorganised. Not a beginner wave, and not even that fun for the more experienced crew.

Then we hit a dead patch from the 16th to the 20th. Swell drops to under 2 feet, and even though there are some long-period groundswells in the water, there’s just no energy behind them. The winds are all over the shop, keeping things bumpy. Some mornings are lighter, but the lack of size means you’re just floating around.

The first sign of life is on the 21st of September, when we get a bit more size—about 6 feet—and a light wind in the morning. But it’s still short-period, so it won’t be beautiful. The real window to keep an eye on is the 25th through the 27th. The morning of the 25th is clean with a light cross-offshore breeze and around 2 feet of swell. It’s small, but it’s the most surfable thing we’ve had in a week.

The standout, and I can’t stress this enough, is the morning of Sunday the 27th. We’ve got around 3 to 3 feet of swell, coming from the southwest, with a very long 15-second period. And the wind is dead calm—glassy. This is the session to circle. It’s not big, but it will be clean and have some proper push to it. The 26th morning is also good—small, clean, glassy—so mark that one down too. For the beginners, these are your days. For the experts, it’s not huge, but the quality will be there.

Remember, Stinson is a beach break, and a long-period swell like that can sometimes close out and be a bit straight. But it’s the best we’ve got. And with the water so warm and the crowds likely on the weekend, get there early for that Sunday. There’s a lot of flatness to get through, but those last couple of mornings make it all worthwhile.

Rusty

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