El Capitan Beach
California · United States
Rating right now
El Capitan Beach is a N-facing sand beach on the Gulf of California coastline near California — it picks up NW–NE swell and turns cleanest in a SE–SW wind, with the most consistent surf through april–october.
Today's surf at El Capitan Beach
Updated 17:35 spot time
El Capitan Beach surf report for Wednesday 30 Sept: waves 4.5 ft–5 ft overhead, 4.5 ft W swell at 8.15 s. Wind up to 10 mph ESE. Water 70°F. Best surf window around 8:00 AM — good (3.5/5) with 5 mph E wind.
Snapshot refreshed hourly — the live hourly forecast below updates in real time.
10-day forecast
Local time · updates hourly
Wave height & period
Wind
| Time | Rating | Waves | Swell | Wind | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Water temperature by month
This month: ~16.8°C (62.2°F) on average
Jan
13.8°C
56.8°F · 12.1–15.8°C
Feb
13.5°C
56.3°F · 11.8–16.3°C
Mar
13.2°C
55.8°F · 11.1–16.1°C
Apr
12.9°C
55.2°F · 11.4–14.6°C
May
13.3°C
55.9°F · 11.9–15.3°C
Jun
15°C
59°F · 11.8–17.4°C
Jul
16.4°C
61.5°F · 14.2–20°C
Aug
16.7°C
62.1°F · 14.3–20.5°C
Sep
17.3°C
63.1°F · 13.4–21.8°C
Oct
16.8°C
62.2°F · 12.4–21.3°C
Nov
15.8°C
60.4°F · 13.1–18.5°C
Dec
14.5°C
58.1°F · 12.5–17.5°C
25-year monthly averages from the NOAA OISST satellite record — typical range min–max, not a live reading.
Know before you go
Best swell
NW–NE
Best wind
SE–SW
Break type
Beach break
Best season
April–October
Safety: Friendly by surf standards, but rip currents and drop-in etiquette still apply. Shifting sandbars create moving rip currents — learn to spot them and use them to get out back. Sharks are part of the ecosystem here — avoid dawn, dusk and murky rivermouth water.
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