Sunset Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orange County, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Sunset Beach Surf Guide

Sunset Beach in Orange County is a reasonably exposed sandbar break that has pretty consitent surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Groundswells are more common than windswells and the best swell direction is from the southwest. Waves at the sandbar break both left and right. Sometimes crowded. Watch out for - Rips / undertow.

Sunset Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Sandbar	2	fairly consistent	16.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Sunset Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Sunset Beach occur when a 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 Sunset Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Sunset Beach 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 4% of the time in January while 7% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 89% 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

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

too small

89%

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

Explore Sunset Beach Location Map

Interactive Sunset Beach 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 Sunset Beach is Long Beach Airport (LGB) in USA, 14 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Sunset Beach is John Wayne Arpt Orange Co (Santa Ana) Airport (SNA), also in USA, 19 km (12 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.

Sunset Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 01:44 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	2AM	5AM	8AM	11AM
Wave (m)	SSW	SW	SW	SSW
Period (s)	15	16	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross	cross	cross- on

What does Sunset Beach look like?

Latest photos from Sunset Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Julie Gonzalez Credit: Jenn Credit: Jenn

Tides at Sunset Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Seal Beach, 4 km from Sunset Beach.

Next High Water: 03:35pm | 1.36m

Next Low Water: 07:32am | 0.51m

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

Sunset Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.3 °C) at Sunset Beach is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 16.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite