Santa Monica State Beach
California · United States
Rating right now
Santa Monica State Beach is a S-facing sand beach on the United States shoreline, opening onto the Gulf of California — it catches SE–W swell, and offshore N–NE winds tidy the banks through april–october.
Today's surf at Santa Monica State Beach
Updated 22:05 spot time
Santa Monica State Beach surf report for Wednesday 30 Sept: waves 2.5 ft–3.5 ft chest to head high, 2 ft SSW swell at 11.9 s. Wind up to 10 mph WSW. Water 73°F. Best surf window around 3:00 PM — good (3.5/5) with 10 mph WSW 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: ~18.9°C (66°F) on average
Jan
14.8°C
58.6°F · 13.4–16.8°C
Feb
14.5°C
58.1°F · 13.3–17°C
Mar
14.6°C
58.3°F · 13–17.3°C
Apr
15.2°C
59.4°F · 13.5–16.8°C
May
16.6°C
61.9°F · 14.3–19.2°C
Jun
18.1°C
64.6°F · 14.3–20.4°C
Jul
19.9°C
67.8°F · 17.6–23.5°C
Aug
20.2°C
68.4°F · 17.9–23.3°C
Sep
20.3°C
68.5°F · 16.7–23.3°C
Oct
18.9°C
66°F · 16.1–23.4°C
Nov
17.2°C
63°F · 14.9–19.4°C
Dec
15.8°C
60.4°F · 14.1–18.4°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
SE–W
Best wind
N–NE
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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