Malibu · Los Angeles County · California
Nicholas Canyon Surf Report & Forecast, Malibu, California
Nicholas Canyon, Malibu, California: 3–4 ft, chest high, at 6 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Good. The main swell is 1.8 ft at 15 seconds from the west, with an 8 mph cross-shore wind from the west-northwest. Water is about 74°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next high tide is 4.9 ft at 9:58 pm.
3–4 ft
chest high
- Swell
- 1.8 ft · 15 s · Wplus 1.2 ft · 15 s · S
- Wind
- 8 mph (WNW)cross-shore
- Tide
- 2.1 ft risinghigh 4.9 ft at 9:58 pm
- Water
- 74°Frashguard
- Air
- 76°Ffeels like 77°F
- Sun
- rise 6:23 amset 4:56 pm
Nicholas Canyon surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Nicholas Canyon: 5 pm, Good, on a rising low 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 Nicholas Canyon: 6 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 5.8 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 6.7 ft |
| 8 am | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (NE) | 7.1 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 7.0 ft |
| 10 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 5.0 ft |
| 12 pm | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (S) | 3.6 ft |
| 1 pm | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (SW) | 2.2 ft |
| 2 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 1.1 ft |
| 3 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (W) | 0.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.6 ft |
| 5 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 1.1 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (E) | 5.5 ft |
| 7 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 6.4 ft |
| 8 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 7.0 ft |
| 9 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (E) | 7.1 ft |
| 10 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 6.7 ft |
| 11 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (SE) | 5.7 ft |
| 12 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 4.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 6 mph onshore (S) | 3.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 2–3 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (SSW) | 1.7 ft |
| 3 pm | 2 ft | Fair | 6 mph onshore (WSW) | 0.8 ft |
| 4 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (W) | 0.4 ft |
| 5 pm | 2 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.7 ft |
Nicholas Canyon waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 6 pm, sets at Nicholas Canyon arrive about every 2 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 3.7 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 2 minutes or so, each lasting about 18 s
- Lulls
- about 84 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Punchywhich means steep takeoffs and a pitching lip
- Breaking
- 22% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Nicholas Canyon surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Nicholas Canyon: the biggest day is Tuesday, Nov 17 at 4–6 ft, and the best-rated day is Tuesday, Nov 17 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 3–5 ft and Good; Sunday, Nov 15, 3–4 ft and Good.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Nicholas Canyon 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 | 3–4 ft | Good | 1.1 ft · 15 s · S | 4 mph offshore (NE) | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 5 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.2 ft · 15 s · SSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 5 mph onshore (SSW) | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 2–3 ft | Good | 0.9 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 6 mph onshore (WSW) | 5 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.2 ft · 14 s · SSW | 4 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 6 mph onshore (S), gusts 12 | 10 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 3–5 ft | Good | 1.6 ft · 13 s · SSW | calm | 8 mph onshore (SW) | 7 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 3–5 ft | Good | 1.9 ft · 15 s · SSW | 9 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 11 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3–4 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 17 s · WSW | 7 mph offshore (N) | 7 mph onshore (SW), gusts 13 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 3–4 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 5 s · WSW | 7 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 12 | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 15 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4–6 ft | Great | — | 8 mph offshore (N) | 11 mph cross-shore (W) | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3–4 ft | Great | — | 6 mph offshore (NNE) | 12 mph cross-shore (W) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Nicholas Canyon are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Nicholas Canyon tide chart and tide times
Tides at Nicholas Canyon today, Monday, Nov 9: low 3.0 ft at 1:58 am, high 7.1 ft at 8:14 am, low 0.5 ft at 3:28 pm and high 4.9 ft at 9:58 pm. At 6 pm the tide is 2.1 ft and rising.
Nicholas Canyon tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 3.0 ft at 1:58 amHigh 7.1 ft at 8:14 amLow 0.5 ft at 3:28 pmHigh 4.9 ft at 9:58 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.3 ft at 2:31 amHigh 7.2 ft at 8:47 amLow 0.4 ft at 4:05 pmHigh 4.6 ft at 10:33 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 3.5 ft at 2:55 amHigh 6.8 ft at 9:12 amLow 0.7 ft at 4:46 pmHigh 4.3 ft at 11:32 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 3.7 ft at 3:08 amHigh 6.7 ft at 9:46 amLow 1.1 ft at 5:28 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.3 ft at 12:40 amLow 4.0 ft at 3:31 amHigh 6.5 ft at 10:21 amLow 1.5 ft at 6:21 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.3 ft at 2:08 amLow 4.2 ft at 3:53 amHigh 6.1 ft at 10:59 amLow 1.6 ft at 7:18 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.4 ft at 4:21 amLow 4.4 ft at 4:35 amHigh 5.5 ft at 11:49 amLow 1.7 ft at 8:15 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.6 ft at 4:37 amLow 4.5 ft at 7:38 amHigh 5.1 ft at 1:01 pmLow 1.8 ft at 9:09 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.9 ft at 4:54 amLow 4.1 ft at 9:53 amHigh 4.8 ft at 2:36 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Nicholas Canyon water temperature
The water temperature at Nicholas Canyon is about 74°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 77°F and an 8 mph wind, a rashguard is enough. Over the next week the water stays between 73 and 74°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 Nicholas Canyon
- Zeros0.3 mi ESE · 3–4 ft · Good
- Leo Carrillo State Beach1.1 mi W · 3–4 ft · Great
- Staircase Beach1.7 mi W · 4–5 ft · Great
- El Pescador / La Piedra2.1 mi ESE · 3–4 ft · Good
- County Line2.5 mi WNW · 4 ft · Good
- El Matador State Beach2.7 mi E · 3 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Nicholas Canyon
Nicholas Canyon is a point break in Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, facing south-southwest. Also called Nicholas Beach.
Follow Nicholas Canyon 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.