Tarpits Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Barbara, USA)

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

Tarpits Surf Guide

Tarpits in Santa Barbara is a fairly exposed beach and reef break that has quite reliable surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. The best wind direction is from the northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the southwest. Waves at the beach break both left and right. Best around low tide when the tide is rising. Sometimes crowded. Watch out for locals and pollution.

Tarpits Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	fairly consistent	15.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Tarpits:

The best conditions reported for surf at Tarpits 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 Tarpits (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Tarpits 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 6% of the time in January while 12% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 82% 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

12%

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

too small

82%

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

Explore Tarpits Location Map

Interactive Tarpits 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 Tarpits is Point Mugu Nas Airport (NTD) in USA, 47 km (29 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Tarpits is Vandenberg Afb (Lompoc) Airport (VBG), also in USA, 104 km (65 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.

Tarpits Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 15:02 Local Time

m, °C	Monday 04
ft, °F	2PM	5PM	8PM	11PM
Wave (m)	SSW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	16	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Tarpits look like?

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

Credit: John Parsons

Tides at Tarpits

Current tide and informaton

For Carpinteria, 1 km from Tarpits.

Next High Water: 11:16pm | 2.02m

Next Low Water: 04:50pm | 1.24m

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

Tarpits Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.4 °C) at Tarpits 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 (17.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite