Trestles (Uppers) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—the next couple of weeks at Trestles (Uppers) are looking pretty grim for any decent paddle surfing. This is a world-class reef and point break that’s usually very consistent, but the wind and swell just aren’t playing ball. We’ve got a long gap of poor conditions coming up, and honestly, the first real glimmer of something rideable doesn’t appear until the second week.

The water’s sitting at a very warm 75°F right now, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year—you won’t need a thick suit.

For the first week, from Saturday 8 August right through to the following Friday 14 August, it’s one big bust. We’re looking at tiny, weak swell—mostly around 2 ft to 3 ft from the SSW or SW, with cross-onshore or onshore winds that keep everything choppy and messy. The combined wave energy is weak to moderate with values like 430 (Saturday morning) and 323 (Sunday morning) – not enough push for a decent wave. The period is long (15–17 seconds) on that small swell, which means it’ll be fat and straight-breaking at a beach setup, even though this is a point. It’s just not worth paddling out. These are all scoring zero for a reason.

We see a slight shift on Wednesday 12 August morning, with a marginal rating (score 1) as the wind turns onshore light and the swell is a tiny 2 ft from the SSW with a 17-second period. The energy is 274—still weak. It’s a “maybe if you’re desperate” session, but I wouldn’t call it good.

The real standout—if you can call it that—shapes up around Friday 14 August morning and into the weekend. On Friday morning the swell is still small at 2 ft from the SSW but the period is 18 seconds and the combined energy jumps to 592 (moderate). The wind is light and cross-onshore, so it’s still not clean, but there’s a touch more push. The best of the bunch looks like Saturday 15 August afternoon: 4 ft SSW swell at 16 seconds, with cross-onshore wind and combined energy of 752 (moderate). Crowds are always an issue here, and with conditions still cross-onshore, it’s not going to be glassy perfection. But for the whole 16-day window, this is the biggest and most energetic wave you’ll see—though still only marginal in quality.

After that, it fades again into the last week of August with tiny, weak swell (2 ft–2 ft) and mostly onshore or light cross-onshore wind. Nothing to get excited about.

So, if you’re desperate for a surf, the afternoon of Saturday 15 August is your best bet, but don’t expect magic. Honestly, this stretch looks more promising for a kite session than a clean point-break ride. Hang in there—forecasts can change.

Rusty

Read more