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McKinleyville · Humboldt County · California

Mad River Beach Surf Report & Forecast, McKinleyville, CA

Mad River Beach, McKinleyville, California: 10–12 ft, well overhead to double overhead, at 1 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 8.7 ft at 13 seconds from the west, with an 11 mph cross-shore wind from the south, gusting 18 mph. Water is about 60°F, so a 4/3 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.5 ft at 5:40 pm.

Great

10–12 ft

well overhead to double overhead · occasional 13 ft

Swell from the west; wind from the south at 11 mph, cross-shore; the beach faces east-southeast.NSWE
first light 6:28 amrating through the daylast light 5:32 pm
Swell
8.7 ft · 13 s · W
Wind
11 mph (S), gusts 18cross-shore
Tide
5.3 ft fallinglow -0.5 ft at 5:40 pm
Water
60°F4/3
Air
59°Ffeels like 52°F
Sun
rise 6:57 amset 5:03 pm

Mad River Beach surf today and tomorrow

Best-rated hour today at Mad River Beach: 6 am, Great, on a rising mid tide.

Today Mon, Nov 9
Surf height at Mad River Beach today, Mon, Nov 9, in feet from first light to last light, with the tide, the hourly rating and the wind.51015-14811–12 ftnow6 am: Great7 am: Great8 am: Great9 am: Great10 am: Great11 am: Great12 pm: Good1 pm: Good2 pm: Good3 pm: Good4 pm: Good5 pm: Good6 pm: Great6a9a12p3p6p☀ 6:57 am5:03 pm ☾ratingwind
Tomorrow Tue, Nov 10
Surf height at Mad River Beach tomorrow, Tue, Nov 10, in feet from first light to last light, with the tide, the hourly rating and the wind.51015-1489–11 ft6 am: Great7 am: Great8 am: Great9 am: Great10 am: Great11 am: Great12 pm: Good1 pm: Fair2 pm: Good3 pm: Good4 pm: Great5 pm: Great6 pm: Great6a9a12p3p6pratingwind

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 Mad River Beach: 6 am, Great, on a rising mid tide.

Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
Today, Mon, Nov 9, first light to last light
TimeSurfRatingWindTide
6 am10–12 ftGreat8 mph offshore (SE)3.7 ft
7 am11–12 ftGreat9 mph offshore (SE), gusts 164.6 ft
8 am10–11 ftGreat9 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 145.7 ft
9 am10–12 ftGreat10 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 176.7 ft
10 am10–12 ftGreat11 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 187.2 ft
11 am10–12 ftGreat10 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 187.3 ft
12 pm10–11 ftGood10 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 186.6 ft
1 pmnow9–10 ftGood11 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 195.3 ft
2 pm9–10 ftGood10 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 183.6 ft
3 pm9–10 ftGood10 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 171.9 ft
4 pm8–9 ftGood10 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 170.5 ft
5 pm8–9 ftGood9 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 16-0.4 ft
6 pm7–8 ftGreat9 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 14-0.5 ft
Tomorrow, Tue, Nov 10
TimeSurfRatingWindTide
6 am9–10 ftGreat7 mph offshore (SE)3.5 ft
7 am9–10 ftGreat6 mph offshore (SE)4.1 ft
8 am9–11 ftGreat7 mph offshore (SE), gusts 125.0 ft
9 am9–11 ftGreat7 mph offshore (SE), gusts 126.0 ft
10 am9–11 ftGreat6 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 116.8 ft
11 am9–10 ftGreat6 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 117.1 ft
12 pm9–10 ftGood8 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 146.8 ft
1 pm8–10 ftFair9 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 175.9 ft
2 pm9–10 ftGood8 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 154.5 ft
3 pm8–10 ftGood7 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 132.8 ft
4 pm8–9 ftGreat6 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 111.2 ft
5 pm8–10 ftGreat5 mph cross-shore (S)0.0 ft
6 pm9–10 ftGreat6 mph offshore (SSE), gusts 12-0.5 ft

Mad River Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break

At 1 pm, sets at Mad River Beach arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly spilling and crumbly.

Set rhythm: about 4 waves per set every 5 minutes, with about 108 seconds between breaking waves.0 min15 min
Set waves
about 11.8 ft faces
Waves per set
about 4
Sets
every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 38 s
Lulls
about 108 s between breaking waves
How they break
Spillingwhich means soft, crumbling whitewater
Shape
Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
Breaking
72% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
Along-shore current
moderate, about 1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.

What do these mean?

Mad River Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days

Next 10 days at Mad River Beach: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 14–17 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 14–17 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 11–15 ft and Great.

Mad River Beach surf height by day for the next 10 days, in feet, with each day's best rating and main swell direction. Days 11 to 16 are in the Current app.this weekend510157–12Mon, Nov 9: GreatMonNov 98–11Tue, Nov 10: GreatTueNov 109–11Wed, Nov 11: GreatWedNov 119–14Thu, Nov 12: GreatThuNov 128–13Fri, Nov 13: FairFriNov 1314–17Sat, Nov 14: GreatSatNov 1411–15Sun, Nov 15: GreatSunNov 1511–16Mon, Nov 16: GreatMonNov 1610–13Tue, Nov 17: GreatTueNov 179–13Wed, Nov 18: GoodWedNov 18ThuNov 19FriNov 20SatNov 21SunNov 22MonNov 23TueNov 24ratingswell

Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24

Days 11–16 for Mad River Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.

About the Current app →

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
Mad River Beach 10-day surf forecast, free. Daylight hours; the main swell is the largest at midday.
DaySurfRatingMain swellWind amWind pmBest time
Mon, Nov 97–12 ftGreat11.2 ft · 14 s · W9 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 1410 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 186 am
Tue, Nov 108–11 ftGreat8.1 ft · 13 s · W7 mph offshore (SE), gusts 128 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 1510 am
Wed, Nov 119–11 ftGreat8.1 ft · 13 s · W5 mph cross-shore (SSE)9 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 156 pm
Thu, Nov 129–14 ftGreat11.1 ft · 15 s · W7 mph offshore (ESE), gusts 129 mph cross-shore (SSW)7 am
Fri, Nov 138–13 ftFair8.7 ft · 14 s · W22 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 3130 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 407 am
Sat, Nov 1414–17 ftGreat18.7 ft · 16 s · W16 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 2517 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 257 am
Sun, Nov 1511–15 ftGreat11.1 ft · 16 s · WNW9 mph offshore (SSE), gusts 198 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 167 am
Mon, Nov 1611–16 ftGreat10.2 ft · 16 s · W5 mph offshore (ESE)8 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 157 am
Tue, Nov 1710–13 ftGreat—8 mph offshore (ESE)8 mph cross-shore (S)7 am
Wed, Nov 189–13 ftGood—10 mph onshore (NW)10 mph cross-shore (NNW)4 pm
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24Days 11–16 for Mad River Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app

Mad River Beach tide chart and tide times

Tides at Mad River Beach today, Monday, Nov 9: low 3.2 ft at 4:38 am, high 7.3 ft at 10:31 am and low -0.5 ft at 5:40 pm. At 1 pm the tide is 5.3 ft and falling.

Tide height at Mad River Beach, in feet above MLLW, today and tomorrow, with high and low tide times.-113579Sun, Nov 8Mon, Nov 9Tue, Nov 10Wed, Nov 11Thu, Nov 12now 5.3 ft, fallingLow 3.2 ft4:38 amHigh 7.3 ft10:31 amLow -0.5 ft5:40 pmHigh 5.6 ft12:24 amLow 3.3 ft5:13 amHigh 7.1 ft11:03 amLow -0.5 ft6:14 pmHigh 5.6 ft1:08 amLow 3.7 ft5:44 amHigh 7.3 ft11:34 amLow -0.2 ft6:53 pmHigh 5.6 ft1:52 am
Tide height at Mad River Beach, in feet, today and tomorrow. Shaded bands are night; the dashed line is now.

Mad River Beach tide chart, November 2026

High and low tide times for the next 9 days.
DayTides
Mon, Nov 9Low 3.2 ft at 4:38 amHigh 7.3 ft at 10:31 amLow -0.5 ft at 5:40 pm
Tue, Nov 10High 5.6 ft at 12:24 amLow 3.3 ft at 5:13 amHigh 7.1 ft at 11:03 amLow -0.5 ft at 6:14 pm
Wed, Nov 11High 5.6 ft at 1:08 amLow 3.7 ft at 5:44 amHigh 7.3 ft at 11:34 amLow -0.2 ft at 6:53 pm
Thu, Nov 12High 5.6 ft at 1:52 amLow 4.0 ft at 6:18 amHigh 7.2 ft at 12:08 pmLow 0.2 ft at 7:34 pm
Fri, Nov 13High 5.6 ft at 2:39 amLow 4.3 ft at 6:57 amHigh 7.1 ft at 12:46 pmLow 0.6 ft at 8:17 pm
Sat, Nov 14High 5.6 ft at 3:30 amLow 4.6 ft at 7:44 amHigh 6.9 ft at 1:28 pmLow 1.1 ft at 9:04 pm
Sun, Nov 15High 5.7 ft at 4:23 amLow 4.7 ft at 8:53 amHigh 6.2 ft at 2:09 pmLow 1.0 ft at 9:54 pm
Mon, Nov 16High 5.4 ft at 5:20 amLow 4.2 ft at 10:09 amHigh 5.5 ft at 3:12 pmLow 1.2 ft at 10:41 pm
Tue, Nov 17High 5.6 ft at 6:05 amLow 3.9 ft at 11:35 am

Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.

Mad River Beach water temperature

The water temperature at Mad River Beach is about 60°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 52°F and an 11 mph wind, a 4/3 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 59 and 61°F.

Water temperature scale with wetsuit bands. Now 60 degrees, 4/3; 59 to 61 over the next 10 days.rashguardjacketspring3/24/3hooded 4/3hooded 5/46/5 hood60°F now

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 Mad River Beach

Spots near Mad River Beach with their rating right now, placed on a simple map.Mad River BeachClam BeachLittle River State BeachMoonstone BeachCamel RockTrinidad State BeachSamoa Beach

Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →

All 49 Northern California spots →

About Mad River Beach

Mad River Beach is a beach break in McKinleyville, Humboldt County, California, facing west-northwest. Also called Hammond Trail.

Follow Mad River Beach 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.