Thousand Steps Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orange County, USA)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Thousand Steps Surf Guide

Thousand Steps in Orange County is an exposed reef break that has very reliable surf and works all around the year. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the best swell direction is from the southwest. Good surf at all stages of the tide. When the surf is up, it can get quite busy in the water. Take care of - Rocks - Localism.

Thousand Steps Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	very consistent	17.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Thousand Steps:

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

octoberBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Thousand Steps with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of October. Clean surfable waves are typically found 54% of the time in October while 42% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 4% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

54%

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

blown out

42%

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 Thousand Steps Location Map

Interactive Thousand Steps 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 Thousand Steps is John Wayne Arpt Orange Co (Santa Ana) Airport (SNA) in USA, 23 km (14 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Thousand Steps is Tustin Mcaf Airport (NTK), also in USA, 24 km (15 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.

Thousand Steps Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Sunday, 3 May 2026, 22:05 Local Time

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

What does Thousand Steps look like?

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

Credit: Nate O.

Tides at Thousand Steps

Current tide and informaton

For Laguna Niguel, 4 km from Thousand Steps.

Next High Water: 10:20pm | 2.13m

Next Low Water: 05:48am | 0.36m

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

Thousand Steps Sea Temperature

The water temperature (17.9 °C) at Thousand Steps is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 16.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite