Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz County · California
26th Avenue Surf Report & Forecast, Santa Cruz, California
26th Avenue, Santa Cruz, California: 5–7 ft, head high to overhead, at 12 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 5.5 ft at 15 seconds from the west-southwest, with calm wind. Water is about 67°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm.
5–7 ft
head high to overhead · occasional 8 ft
- Swell
- 5.5 ft · 15 s · WSW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 4.4 ft fallinglow -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm
- Water
- 67°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 68°Ffeels like 68°F
- Sun
- rise 6:40 amset 5:03 pm
26th Avenue surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at 26th Avenue: 6 am, Great, on a rising high tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at 26th Avenue: 5 pm, Great, on a falling low tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 6–7 ft | Great | calm | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 6–8 ft | Great | calm | 5.1 ft |
| 8 am | 6–7 ft | Great | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 9 am | 6–7 ft | Great | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 5–7 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 6–7 ft | Great | calm | 5.5 ft |
| 12 pmnow | 6–7 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 10 | 4.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 3.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 1.7 ft |
| 3 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 0.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 11 | -0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 6 mph offshore (N), gusts 12 | -0.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 6–7 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (N), gusts 11 | 0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 3 mph offshore (NNE) | 3.9 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 4.9 ft |
| 1 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 3.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 2.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 11 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW) | -0.2 ft |
26th Avenue waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 12 pm, sets at 26th Avenue arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 6.7 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 42 s
- Lulls
- about 162 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Hollowwhich means throwing, barreling waves
- Breaking
- 38% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.8 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
26th Avenue surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at 26th Avenue: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 6–8 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 9 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 6–8 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 3–7 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for 26th Avenue are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 5–8 ft | Great | 6.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 3–5 ft | Great | 3.4 ft · 13 s · WSW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 5 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–5 ft | Great | 3.6 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | 4 mph onshore (SW) | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 3–5 ft | Good | 3.3 ft · 14 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 9 | 9 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 21 | 6 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4–7 ft | Great | 6.2 ft · 14 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 12 | 13 mph onshore (SW), gusts 26 | 6 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 6–8 ft | Great | 7.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (N), gusts 11 | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 10 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3–7 ft | Great | 6.0 ft · 17 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 10 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 5–6 ft | Great | 6.4 ft · 15 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 12 | 13 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 25 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 2–5 ft | Great | — | 7 mph offshore (N), gusts 12 | 10 mph cross-shore (NW) | 1 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2–3 ft | Good | — | calm | 10 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 1 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for 26th Avenue are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
26th Avenue tide chart and tide times
Tides at 26th Avenue today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.9 ft at 3:12 am, high 6.2 ft at 9:17 am, low -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm and high 4.2 ft at 11:26 pm. At 12 pm the tide is 4.4 ft and falling.
26th Avenue tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.9 ft at 3:12 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:17 amLow -0.2 ft at 4:42 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 11:26 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:44 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:49 amLow -0.2 ft at 5:17 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.1 ft at 12:12 amLow 3.2 ft at 4:11 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:23 amLow 0.0 ft at 6 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.1 ft at 1:13 amLow 3.6 ft at 4:44 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:55 amLow 0.3 ft at 6:44 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.1 ft at 2:14 amLow 3.8 ft at 5:21 amHigh 5.8 ft at 11:35 amLow 0.6 ft at 7:32 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.2 ft at 3:18 amLow 4.0 ft at 6:09 amHigh 5.5 ft at 12:17 pmLow 0.8 ft at 8:23 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.3 ft at 4:17 amLow 4.0 ft at 7:38 amHigh 5.0 ft at 1:03 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:13 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.2 ft at 5:07 amLow 3.7 ft at 9:16 amHigh 4.5 ft at 2:10 pmLow 0.9 ft at 10 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.5 ft at 5:35 amLow 3.4 ft at 10:52 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
26th Avenue water temperature
The water temperature at 26th Avenue is about 67°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 68°F and a 3 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 66 and 69°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near 26th Avenue
- Rockview Street0.5 mi ESE · 8–9 ft · Great
- Pleasure Point - Sewer Peak0.7 mi ESE · 8–9 ft · Great
- Pleasure Point - First Peak0.7 mi ESE · 7–9 ft · Great
- Pleasure Point0.8 mi ESE · 7–8 ft · Great
- Pleasure Point - Second Peak0.8 mi E · 6–7 ft · Great
- Santa Cruz Harbour0.9 mi WNW · 5–6 ft · Great
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About 26th Avenue
26th Avenue is a beach break in Santa Cruz County, California, facing south-southwest. Also called 26th Ave, East Cliff and Moran Lake.
Follow 26th Avenue in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.