Vilas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, giving you the lowdown in feet and Fahrenheit.

If you’re hoping for a classic clean day at Vilas, you’re going to have to be patient. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty average overall, with a long stretch of onshore winds spoiling most sessions. The good news is there are a couple of brief windows where things could line up, so keep your eyes peeled for Wednesday morning, July 8th, which is about the best we’ve got.

Starting off, Tuesday morning, July 7th, is actually glassy with a tiny 2-3 ft easterly swell. The energy is pretty weak at (178), but it would be surfable if you’re desperate for a paddle. The water temp is about average for this time of year unfortunately. By Tuesday afternoon, the wind swings onshore and the quality drops out.

Now, the standout is Wednesday morning, July 8th. The wind goes glassy again, with a 2-3 ft south swell at a nice long period of 12 seconds. The energy picks up a bit to (250), and the conditions should be clean. This is your best shot for a genuinely fun, glassy session. This break is very consistent and sometimes gets a few heads, but on a Wednesday morning it should be pretty quiet.

The rest of that week into the weekend is a write-off. From Thursday morning the 9th all the way through to Tuesday the 14th, we’ve got onshore and cross-onshore winds with a rising swell, but it’s all messy. The swell is coming from the SSE and SE, but with the wind ruining it, even when the energy gets up to (710) on Saturday morning, July 11th, it’s just a waste of energy. The crowd profile doesn't matter when the surf is that poor.

Looking further out, from Wednesday July 15th onward there’s a big drop-off. The swell goes tiny, with energy dropping into the double digits (45), and then through the end of the week we get a pulse of short-period windswell. On Thursday July 16th, the swell height hits about 5-6 ft but the period is a tiny 7 seconds, so it'll be a bumpy, weak mess under onshore winds. That kind of setup, with strong onshores and short-period swell on a beach break, honestly looks more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers.

From there, it’s a long, bleak run right through to the 22nd of July. Consistent onshore winds, mostly from the ESE or SE, with a mix of poor to marginal conditions. The swell energy might look decent on the 18th and 19th (up to 839) but that’s all onshore chop. All these surf conditions are poor.

So, wrapping it up: the only real window is Wednesday morning, July 8th. Get out there early for a clean one, because after that it’s a long dry spell.

Rusty.

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